3 Days To Go

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. It’s something few parents of children with severe disabilities ever discuss – at least not openly: the personal toll measured in stress and frustration. In some homes, the burden can become so isolating and depressing that parents sometimes keep children locked indoors for days at a time. In the Western Cape, state-sponsored Iris House Children’s Hospice provides a vital free service that gives parents much-needed respite from the pressures of raising children with disabilities. But it’s a service under threat. By the end of April, drastic budget cuts across various departments and provinces threaten to substantially reduce Iris House’s income. And it’s not the only NGO facing an existential crisis. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

Johannesburg ratepayers are fed up. For years, residents have fought the City over exorbitant municipal bills. Then the municipality implemented what it calls “water shifting”: switching off some suburbs’ water to supply others. This left residents without water for hours and sometimes even days at a time. But instead of water bills decreasing, many increased dramatically. In several cases, desperate residents checked their meters and found them spinning out of control despite there being no water in the pipes. Carte Blanche investigates why scores of households are literally paying for the air in their water pipes, instead of the water they consume. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟭 𝗙𝗲𝗯𝗿𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. War is brewing in the Red Sea as Yemen’s Houthi rebel forces launch attacks on commercial ships in protest against Israel’s war on Gaza. For multinational companies trading and shipping between Asia and Europe, the Suez Canal has now become a high-risk zone. This hostile disruption in world trade has created an opportunity for South Africa to boost its own flagging economy by offering services to ships re-routed past the Cape. It is an extraordinary detour, with hundreds of ships sailing for an extra 10 to 14 days to ensure safe passage through calmer African waters. But these ships appear to be giving South Africa a wide berth, preferring more efficient refuelling stops in Namibia and Mozambique. Why was Transnet so ill-prepared to take advantage of this potential economic windfall? Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟰 𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. In October 2022, two families and community members in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape frantically searched for missing teenagers Leila du Preez Lees and Ethan Kirkland. Three days after their disappearance, their lifeless bodies were pulled out of a water-filled quarry at an abandoned property in the middle of Stellies. But this tragedy was decades in the making. The infamous 77 Bird Street had been a problem property for over 30 years. Initially intended to be turned into a block of flats, the owners excavated the property to build basement parking but permit issues with the City halted construction, leaving a deep, unfinished pit. As water filled the quarry, this prime real estate remained unsecured. Over the years, several requests for the owners and the municipality to attend to the problem were ignored. Now, more than a year since their untimely deaths, the teens' families are baying for justice.   Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv