Transparency in COVID-19 Relief Funding

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟳 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰. In the Eastern Cape, thousands suffer from severe malnutrition. It’s a condition that has led to the deaths of at least seven children in the province, and a crisis that requires significant funding and political will to resolve. But in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, home to one of the province’s biggest cities, the priority seems to be multi-million rand vanity projects that have become a financial drain on the municipality’s coffers. Despite being cash-strapped, the municipality established a development agency tasked with boosting tourism and economic development; an agency that is now cashing in on major projects funded by the municipality and its ratepayers. In East London, what should’ve been a world-class beachfront upgrade has disintegrated into nothing more than a glorified “stoep”, while the bill for the Waterworld Fun Park revamp has ballooned to an eye-watering R120 million. Carte Blanche investigates why an entity with a poor track record for delivery is still in business. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

M-Net celebrates Freedom Day with the broadcast of a 90-minute Carte Blanche special, looking back at three decades of democracy in South Africa. Watch it on Sunday 28 April at 19:00 on M-Net channel 101. Find more exclusive content on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟮𝟲 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟯. In a quiet, isolated village in the Eastern Cape, nurses prepare for the day shift at a local clinic. Tholeni near Gcuwa in the Eastern Cape is one of the most impoverished villages in the area - unemployment is high and most families rely on grants for survival. But last year, even the government-sponsored social relief and food parcels couldn’t save seven children from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM). The children died within three months of each other. Theirs are the tragic faces of an under-reported and existential crisis in the country’s poorest regions: kwashiorkor, a painful condition often affecting children starved of proper nutrition. In South Africa, among the two wealthiest countries on the continent, around 15 000 children required hospitalisation because of the condition. It’s a crisis of hunger that’s spread throughout the country and government seems powerless to respond. Carte Blanche investigates. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://linktr.ee/carteblanchetv

One of the longest-running American crime shows is back. Watch the 21st season of NCIS on Fridays at 19:00 on M-Net channel 101, starting 1 March.