Carte Blanche’s extended interview with Richard York, spokesperson for the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa.
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PHASA Extended Interview
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Travel Cons
They sold travel dreams, but delivered nightmares instead: defrauding travellers out of hundreds of thousands and leaving clients stranded overseas. Then, when confronted by their patrons, they were nowhere to be found. Carte Blanche exposes a cunning couple masquerading as legitimate travel agents.
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The road Paved With Potholes
The City of Johannesburg’s road infrastructure seems to be in a serious state of disrepair with a marked increase in potholes, broken traffic lights and a general lack of maintenance. What’s behind the shocking state of Johannesburg’s roads? Carte Blanche investigates a trail of alleged political interference in contracts that may to be steering the demise.
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Winnie Madikizela-Mandela II
From accusations of assault and kidnapping to secret operatives assisting the apartheid government to destroy her name – the story of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has always been highly contested. Now an explosive documentary about the late struggle icon has unlocked new questions regarding her legacy. Carte Blanche analyses this developing story.
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Drought and the Hotel Industry
Cape Town is a top global tourist destination and as it continues to face an unprecedented water shortage, the cost of the drought could mean massive job losses in the hotel industry. Now, by thinking out of the box some hotels are finding innovative ways to cut their water consumption by half and still keep their doors open for business.
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Carte Blanche’s response to Mayor Herman Mashaba
This past Sunday, Mayor Herman Mashaba was interviewed on the topic of the state of the City of Johannesburg’s road infrastructure.
You can view The Road Paved With Potholes here.
In response to the story Mr Mashaba tweeted the below – among other tweets which can be found here: @HermanMashaba.
Just watched Carte Blanche after doing an interview on Wednesday, the very same day it was requested. Shocked to see how my side of the story was literally ignored https://t.co/TXxqzKmLXu
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) April 22, 2018
Please ask @carteblanchetv to show my unedited interview, not the propaganda that was aired tonight https://t.co/kZ4MFHoKU3
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) April 22, 2018
We have a number of points to make regarding the above tweets and the due processes followed in our research and communication with the Mayor and his team.
Point 1
Mayor Mashaba was afforded the opportunity to comment on the issues related to him in the programme that aired, none of which was propaganda.
Point 2
Mayor Mashaba is incorrect regarding the interview date. We requested an interview on Friday, 13 April 2018 telephonically with the Mayor’s Spokesperson, Luyanda Mfeka and followed up with a formal email request as is evident below.
Point 3
On Monday, 16 April 2018 we followed up again with an SMS and WhatsApp message. After no response we escalated it to another DA representative that previously assisted with media requests.
We received an email later on Monday, 16 April 2018 from the Spokesperson Mr. Mfeka confirming the interview in principle for Wednesday at 13:00. Then on Tuesday, 17 April 2018, we received a call from the Mayor’s Spokesperson just before 11:00 asking us to be at the Mayor’s office at 13.00 on Tuesday. We had to reschedule the already-confirmed interviews for Tuesday to accommodate the Mayor.
Point 4
Mayor Mashaba stated that he did not know about the JRA Company Secretary Karen Mills’ case – this despite it being in Dr Sean Phillips’ mail to him. Dr. Phillips also said he raised it personally with the Mayor in his meeting with the Mayor.
Point 5
As part of our investigation we looked at allegations around the establishment of a Project Management Unit (PMU) dealing with tender allocations to an outside company. While we asked the Mayor and the JRA about the matter, it was not included in the final story that aired as the PMU is still in discussion phase and it has not been decided if the unit will be established or not.
Point 6
Mayor Mashaba was unsure which investigations had been conducted by the city’s independent investigations unit when we asked about investigations into the concerns raised by Dr Phillips and in Karen Mills’ protected disclosures. We wrote to the Spokesperson Luyanda Mfeka on Friday to confirm which investigations are being conducted, but he has yet to reply to us.
To further back up our case we have made the extended interview with Mr Herman Mashaba available to view online.
Extended Carte Blanche Interview with Mayor Herman Mashaba
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Coming up: Goldman Girls
In 2014 the state steamrolled ahead with its trillion rand new nuclear build programme. But two small NGO’s refused to accept this was a done deal and took the state to court. It took more than two years but against the odds, they won. This week Makoma Lekalakala and Liz Mcdaid were honoured with the Goldman Prize for their stopping the deal in its tracks.
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Coming up: Kidnappings
From South Africa to Mozambique – wealthy business owners have become prime targets for sophisticated kidnappers. Is this new crime wave the work of international syndicates?
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Human Rabies
It’s a brutal disease with fatal consequences. A rabies outbreak has once again reared its head in KwaZulu-Natal. This has led to the death of 4 people including its youngest victim, a 3-year-old boy who died after being scratched by a rabid stray cat. Carte Blanche asks: why has government failed to control the scourge?
Producer: Annalise Lubbe
Presenter: Claire Mawisa
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Kidnapping Prevention and Tips
Kidnapping in South Africa is on the rise, both by organised crime syndicates and amateur copycat kidnapping groups. The public should be aware that, while crime syndicates are targeting high value individuals that would likely be able to pay ransoms of millions, that everybody is at risk due to copycat kidnapping groups targeting individuals that would be able to pay smaller ransoms. Prevention is the only solution. If you feel you may be at risk or would just like to be more aware, here are a few tips:
- Do not be predictable. Alter the routes to and from work and the times you leave and return to your house. Do not set patterns.
- Make sure somebody always knows where you are. If going out with new colleagues or friends, send your location to somebody you trust.
- Be wary about social media and posting your location on Facebook, as this will assist the kidnappers in identifying your favourite places to visit.
- When socialising, do not accept drinks from unknown people, do not leave your drink unattended and stay in a group.
- Make use of smart apps that will notify chosen people if you find yourself in a dangerous situation.
- Do an advanced driving course that will equip you with tools to use when you find yourself in a threatening situation and need to escape.
- Know which routes are the safest, the locations of police stations, security companies and/or corporate companies with armed guards that could assist you.
- Familiarise yourself with how to do counter surveillance, as these techniques will provide early warning towards a potential threat.
- Report any suspicious people or vehicles to the police or your local security company. Seek professional advice from a reputable security service provider should you feel threatened.
- Trust your gut – if somebody, a situation or place makes you feel uncomfortable, remove yourself from it immediately.
Kidnappers, even amateur copycat kidnappers, should not be underestimated! They will plan the kidnapping well in advance, do surveillance and they will know the behavior and routine of their target. The abduction is generally carried out when the victim is on a regular journey such as moving between his/her home and office or by following their daily routine, oblivious to the threat.
In case of a kidnapping, it is most important to remain calm, think rationally and be cooperative. Use all your senses and note everything you can. Take in as much information about your captors, vehicles, routes, hideouts and surroundings. This information can assist the authorities in their investigation.
Less than 10 percent of kidnap victims have been killed or have died during their confinement. However, the trauma from being a kidnap victim will be endured long after. People need to take care of themselves.
Written by: Dudley Booysen, Managing Director at Achilles Risk Solutions
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Children of the Mountain
There is nothing that upsets me more than seeing people suffer, especially those who are less fortunate than most. People whose lives are riddled with poverty, crime and a lack of resources. What is even more heartbreaking, is to see the children raised in these circumstances, who have little hope and almost nothing going for them. It’s unfortunate that even after such a long time, we are still crippled by our past and suffocate from life due to inequality, economic imbalances and a government which seems not to care.
One cannot ignore South Africa’s history with the mining industry; it is an industry which formed the backbone of our economy for many years. In fact, the province of Gauteng borrows its name from the Sotho word Gauta that means gold and thus Johannesburg is fondly known as the city of gold… However we also cannot ignore the fact that these riches, which only benefitted a few, all came at a hefty price on the environment, society and many broken families. Due to apartheid, spatial planning and the greed of the mining houses, people were also forced to live in close proximity to the mines so they could get to work.
One such area is Snake Park where government-built homes, extended with tin shacks, are squeezed in between old Soweto and a mine waste dump that has been there for over a century. The people call it ‘The Mountain’. This is where people, animals and the environment have had to live with the toxins emanating from one of the worlds largest mine dumps. According to the South African Chamber of Mines guideline, people shouldn’t live closer than 500 metres to a mine dump. This is not the case with Snake Park, and upon visiting The Mountain with the Carte Blanche team, we were shocked by what we discovered. We spoke to the locals and got to know that in almost every street there are one or two, and sometimes up to three, children born with cerebral palsy. This is a disorder that affects brain development, often causing problems with speaking, vision and muscle movement.
Children and residents of Snake Park are plagued by TB, lung problems and silicosis. Many people also often complain of sore eyes. These poor children living in shacks, whose parents cannot work due to their children needing extra care and having special needs, are in a dire situation. Their parents are mostly single mothers who are unemployed and cannot afford to take them to special schools. Some children are abandoned at children’s homes due to shame and the stigma of having a disabled child. Now, we cannot for certain say that this is all caused by the mines. However David Van Wyk, a sociologist and principal researcher for the Bench Marks Foundation, a foundation which monitors the ethics of mining companies, says “there is a very, very close link between cerebral palsy and uranium, but it could also be caused by arsenic, it could also be caused by lead. If you ingest uranium, it can change your DNA codes and your DNA codes can scramble the way the kids come out”.
All these toxins are found at the mine dump which is near Snake Park, and nobody wants to take responsibility; not the mines, not government, nobody.
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Goldman Girls
The new nuclear deal pushed by former President Jacob Zuma would have been the largest procurement ever undertaken in South Africa. It was supposed to be transparent and affordable, but it was neither, as the Department of Energy drove the process in secret. But two small NGOs, Earthlife Africa and SAFCEI refused to accept that the trillion rand procurement was a done deal. Leading their campaign, were two activists forged in the struggle, Makoma Lekalakala and Liziwe Mcdaid. This week they received the international Goldman prize for stopping the State’s nuclear procurement in its tracks.
Producer: Joy Summers
Presenter: Devi Sankaree Govender
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Kidnapping Spree
Kidnapping wealthy business owners is fast becoming the latest money-making operation for brutal, crime syndicates who demand multi-million rand ransoms. While it appears highly organized syndicates are behind the big ransom kidnappings, there are also smaller or amateur groups carrying out “copy-cat” kidnappings. But as kidnappers become more daring and sophisticated, it gets increasingly difficult for police to make a breakthrough in any of the cases. Carte Blanche investigates the modus operandi behind a spate of kidnappings that has gripped the South African Muslim Indian community.
Producer: Nicky Troll
Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
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Snake Park
Situated next to one of the world’s largest mine dumps, Snake Park near Soweto, is a community in distress with an unusually high number of Cerebral Palsy, respiratory diseases and inexplicable deformities in animals. With a growing body of evidence linking toxic dust in mine dumps to various illnesses in nearby communities, it appears environmental issues are to blame for these and other medical conditions. The circumstantial evidence is compelling, but there are still no empirical studies to make conclusive links. Carte Blanche searches for answers.
Producers: Anna-Maria van Niekerk and Sinethemba Nogude
Presenter: Macfarlane Moleli
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Coming up: Silver Bullet Against Cancer
Experts are calling it the silver bullet against cancer – a revolutionary South African-developed treatment to beat cancer!
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Wear your slippers all day on 11 May
The Reach For A Dream Foundation has discovered an interesting fact about life-threatening illnesses: a larger percentage of children survive than adults. They feel this is down to how children haven’t learnt what life-threatening means; they live each day as it is given to them. More so, fulfilling these children’s dreams in some way inspires hope and courage in the dreamer and helps them believe that tomorrow is worth fighting for.
National Slipper Day and the Reach for a Dream Foundation are selling a limited stock of slippers. You can show your support and help a child’s dream come true by purchasing a pair as well as wristbands at various stores countrywide.
SLIPPER DAY IS ON 11 MAY 2018
- R10 per wristband
- From any Pick n Pay, Wimpy or Reach For A Dream branch
To order in bulk you can fill in the form on the Reach for a Dream website.
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The Silver Bullet
A revolutionary drug discovery by scientists at the University of Johannesburg is taking the fight against cancer to new levels. Experts are calling it the silver bullet, a remarkable compound which could stop cancer cells in their tracks. Carte Blanche analyses this astonishing medical development.
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Transnet Pension Funds
For 15 years, desperate Transnet pensioners have been calling for pension increases they could actually live on. By 2013 it had culminated in the country’s largest class action lawsuit, but five years later, the case is yet to be heard. Meanwhile, thousands of pensioners are living below the poverty line with some couples so destitute they’re forced to take turns to eat. Despite protests, court cases and parliamentary recommendations, nothing has changed. Carte Blanche asks: why is nobody paying attention to the plight of these pensioners?
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The Anatomy of Hope
Lesedi Sekgolo is 16 years old and has Ewing’s Sarcoma, a rare cancer that affects the bones, while Arabella van Rooyen is just six years old with Nephroblastoma, a cancer of the kidneys. Yet these young children remain hopeful despite the challenging odds. So why do some people find and sustain hope during difficult circumstances, while others do not? Now after years of studying the recovery of his patients, US oncologist Dr Jerome Groopman, may finally have unlocked the answers.
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Lesotho Water Waste
With recent heavy rains, Gauteng’s water shortage seems to be a distant memory to most. But in reality, the province faces many water supply problems. Experts suggest that Gauteng will experience a serious water crisis by 2020. Why then are 2.1 billion litres of water from the Katse dam running into an already overfull Vaal System daily? Carte Blanche investigates.
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