The Carte Blanche team has cut their annual December break short to report on the past week’s political and economic developments. Instead of screening the usual festive season pre-packaged show, M-Net’s multiple award-winning investigative journalism programme will be going live again this week Sunday at 19:00.
“For the past 27 years, the Carte Blanche team has taken a well-deserved break during the holidays with inserts that have been prepared in advance,” says M-Net’s Head of Publicity, Lani Lombard. Their decision to return from their annual December hiatus once again confirms the high calibre of this team and their commitment to report on the latest news, while delivering on their promise to viewers to give them the ‘the right to see it all’.”
In two special reports this week, Carte Blanche asks whether social media can affect real political change in the country, and take a look how recent decisions taken by the Presidency have impacted the country’s economy. Moreover, there will be a repeat of the popular segment entitled “Digital Cocaine”, as well as a special festive season investigation…
The line-up:
South Africa bleeds
Economists estimate that South Africa has lost a cataclysmic R250-billion in the aftermath of the President Jacob Zuma’s decision to appoint three finance ministers in a week. Though the ruling party this week came out in support of the President’s decisions, these moves provoked fury in civil society, sent the markets into a tail spin and the currency into freefall. Carte Blanche investigates the true material, reputational and financial cost of these events and asks – just how tough will 2016 be for South Africans as the fallout is realised?
Producer: Joy Summers
Presenter: Bongani Bingwa and John Webb
Researcher: Chwayitisa Futshane
#ZumaMustFall
A force to be reckoned with, social media has become the agent of choice to effect waves of change with unprecedented speed. From the Middle East’s Arab Spring to South Africa’s recent #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall campaigns, the wrath of digital dissent has now turned on the President. The #ZumaMustFall campaign this week galvanised thousands onto the streets of major South African cities to demand political change. Carte Blanche investigates social media’s true muscle.
Producer: Bernadette Maguire
Presenter: Devi Sankaree Govender
Researcher: Chwayitisa Futshane
Digital Cocaine (repeat)
It would be rational to expect anxiety, emotional outbursts, restlessness and memory loss in someone dealing with a drug addiction. But disturbing new research reveals that extended screen use – tablets, computers and smart phones – could rewire the brain, causing similar brain pathologies and psychiatric conditions in children and adults. Carte Blanche meets tech expert Brad Huddlestone, who appeals for balance in a rapidly-changing digital world.
Producer: Anna-Maria van Niekerk
Presenter: Derek Watts
Closing in on Claus
For years, the Hawks, SARS and other law enforcement authorities have pored over security camera footage and other evidence linked to a baffling series of break-ins. They all occur in late December, millions of homes are simultaneously broken into while the occupants sleep, and strange skid marks and fresh animal droppings left on the lawn further confuse matters. Now, Carte Blanche applies its most sophisticated analytical techniques travelling the globe to trace the hefty mastermind behind it all.
Producer: Johann Botha
Presenter: Bongani Bingwa
