Fleeing the damned

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟵 𝗦𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. Jagersfontein, a small town in the Free State, is home to the oldest open-pit diamond mine in South Africa. In this little-known community, Sunday mornings usually start slowly, but on 11 September, that changed. A dam, used to store waste from the Jagersfontein diamond mine, collapsed, triggering heavy flooding that left death and destruction in its wake. More than 70 people were injured, local farmers lost livestock, and at least 60 homes were damaged by the flood waters. But residents here say that the mine owners were warned on numerous occasions about the danger posed by this tailings dam. Carte Blanche investigates. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://bit.ly/PodcastCB

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟵 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. They were lambasted for spending millions of rands on changing the name Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha. Residents argued the municipality had bigger priorities, none more so than the metro’s looming water crisis. But they were ignored. Now, the dams supplying urban areas in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape have less than 12 percent of usable water left. Taps are running dry, and it’s projected the municipality will face Day Zero before the end of June. With no significant rainfall expected before September, the city is scrambling to keep the water flowing. But infrastructure is crumbling, and continuous electricity blackouts are not helping. Carte Blanche investigates why Gqeberha is once again facing a water shortage.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟲 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. It began as an ordinary overcast morning; minutes later large parts of East London and surrounding areas in the Eastern Cape were submerged. Severe thunderstorms battered the province, causing massive flooding and leaving hundreds of people bewildered and destitute. Now, after weeks of unusual torrential rains in some parts of the country, Carte Blanche explores the role of climate change in these extreme weather events.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟲 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. It’s an important service, helping clients give their loved ones a dignified send-off, but running a funeral business isn’t easy. And that’s especially true in times of near-continuous power cuts. The country’s energy crisis is impacting the funeral sector in multiple ways, notably its ability to store the bodies of the departed at the required temperature. As a result, mortuaries are urging the bereaved to bury their loved ones within days, while those able to afford generators are buckling under the financial pressure of keeping them running. Unsurprisingly, many funeral homes have had to close. In a country where it often takes weeks for some cultural burial rites to be performed, what, if anything, can be done? Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://bit.ly/PodcastCB