Mobile Systems and Hackers

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟴 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. It’s a bacterial disease that causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration in patients. If left untreated, it can be fatal. Cholera is usually spread through contaminated water and is rarely found in developing countries with proper sanitation systems – countries like South Africa. But when several people in Hammanskraal - a stone’s throw from the country’s administrative capital, Pretoria - became violently ill and died, it became clear that the city had a deadly outbreak on its hands. Now, at least 20 people, including a three-year-old toddler, are dead. But this is a tragedy that’s been decades in the making and, despite a desperate bid via the Pretoria High Court to force the municipality to provide clean and safe drinking water, residents are now paying the ultimate price for government’s failures. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟲 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. Times are tough, cash is tight and many of us are looking for ways of cutting back on living expenses. Some, though, are even prepared to break the law if it means saving a buck, and electricity it seems is the preferred way to do it. With more tariff hikes on the way – courtesy of our beleaguered power utility, Eskom – so-called electricity meter hackers are brazenly offering their services. For a once-off fee and with some deft manipulation, these qualified electricians ensure consumers pay a fraction of their normal electricity costs. It’s all illegal, of course, and punishable by up to 15 years in jail. Carte Blanche goes undercover to expose these self-styled Robin Hoods and how they’re costing municipalities hundreds of millions of rands.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. It was a perfect storm of poorly maintained drainage systems and a predictable, periodic deluge intensified by climate change. But this was not the first time KwaZulu-Natal suffered severe storms and flooding. So, why were early warning systems and mitigation measures not put in place to protect the people of Durban against landslides and loss of life? Carte Blanche assesses the hundreds of millions of rands in damage to roads, bridges, schools and clinics – the bitter price of an unpredictable climate and inadequate maintenance.

With COVID-19 not yet in our rear-view mirror, scientists are emphasising the importance of further studying zoonotic diseases and how we could better prevent and manage future outbreaks. Professor Delia Randolph, a veterinary epidemiologist at the International Livestock Research Institute and lead author of a 2020 UNEP report titled "Preventing the Next Pandemic", talks to our producer Laura Byrne about both the good and the bad science and how especially improved food systems and wildlife and livestock management could greatly limit the chances of a potential outbreak.