Roses For All

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟭 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. In KwaZulu-Natal, commercial farmers are on edge. While they own the land they farm on, government owns the minerals that lie underneath, and it’s giving scores of upstart coal companies prospecting licences and rights to mine. Tensions between farmers and mining groups in Newcastle are at an all-time high as the coal prospectors move in by the dozen to mine what’s left of the area’s coal reserve. For farmers, what’s equally concerning is the risk to vital water sources like the town’s main dam that provides drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people. Who are these opportunistic mining companies and why are they being allowed to mine in sensitive and protected areas? Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

Only 6% of South Africans have university degrees - Gibson Nzimande is one of them. Living on the streets of Joburg, all odds were stacked against him and is now working towards his PhD. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟯 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. In a community stadium in Nkowankowa, Limpopo a group of soccer players converges on the field and the game begins. But this is no ordinary football match. Among the players is eighty-something-year-old Mama Annah “Bull” Bvuma, known as a fierce defender. Like her, the other players are all elderly and, while they might seem frail, they’re just as competitive as athletes half (or even a third) their age. The Vakhegula Vakhegula football club has become a firm favourite with both local and international spectators. Many of these women have travelled around the world playing in the Soccer Grannies World Championships. Carte Blanche meets the old ladies from rural communities who are taking to the beautiful game. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟰 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. In November last year, a ten-year-old girl was found during a routine traffic roadblock, squashed inside the luggage compartment of a long-distance bus. She had been smuggled from Zimbabwe into South Africa under extreme conditions for several hours. But her case isn’t unusual. In this months-long investigation, Carte Blanche unravels alleged cross-border human trafficking and the shadowy figures known as transporters who are making it all possible. Undocumented foreign nationals are lured to South Africa from numerous African countries – many of them ending up on the streets of Johannesburg North. Thousands of Malawians are lured into the country on the promise of a new life, some smuggled by long-haul bus companies and funeral parlours, only to be forced into sex work and manual labour. In an even more sinister twist, many of the victims are coerced into taking out funeral policies on themselves once they reach South Africa. It’s an unusual demand but a guaranteed income as the transporters cash in on vulnerable undocumented foreign nationals. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv