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| December 05, 2006 |
Behind the scenes : Much is made of crime statistics and the reputation of many policing areas is based on how high or low the murder and robbery rates are. This Tuesday, Special Assignment focuses on an area of Johannesburg. - More |
| November 28, 2006 |
My dead husband's land: This Tuesday Special Assignment brings you the story of a remarkable Kenyan community on the shores of Lake Victoria. There, in an unprecedented occurrence, the villagers of the Luo ethnic group have used the AIDS epidemic to transform their culture. - More |
| November 21, 2006 |
Refugees under attack: Somali refugees who fled
their war torn country in search of safety, are again under
attack - this time in the townships of the Eastern and
Western Cape. In the last three months 16 Somalis have been
killed in what appear to be extreme acts of xenophobia. - More |
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November 14, 2006 |
Silent Cries:
Girls as young
as 12 years are having multiple abortions – without their
parents’ consent. This week a Special Assignment
investigation reveals that many teenagers regard termination
of pregnancy as another form of contraception and disregard
the consequent dangers of HIV infection. -
More |
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November 07, 2006 |
The battle
for Cape Town:
Some love her. Many hate her with an
astounding passion. By her own admission she is a person not
familiar with the neutral middle-ground and is comfortable
with the strong reactions her personality provokes. Helen Zille
is the Executive Mayor of Cape Town and for
the past two weeks she has been fighting for
her political survival. -
More |
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October 31, 2006 |
The quest to
buy citizenship: This
Tuesday on Special Assignment, we bring you a special report
on a Zimbabwean woman’s quest to “buy” South African
citizenship. The results
are frightening. We bought four identity documents, a
temporary identity document, a temporary refugee permit and
several birth certificates. At each one of the six Home
Affairs offices we visited, we were successful in obtaining
documentation. - More |
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October 24, 2006 |
The road
ahead:
Special Assignment looks at the state of
South Africa’s roads. Experts say that many
of our provincial and municipal roads are in
crisis. It’s estimated they’ve deteriorated
by 40% over the past few years and that
billions of rands are needed to stop the rot.
- More |
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October 17, 2006 |
Stolen lives:
Identity theft is one of the fastest
growing crimes in South Africa. Criminals
target individuals and then use their IDs
and bank accounts to go on shopping sprees,
buying goods like clothes and furniture, or
even houses. - More |
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October 10, 2006 |
Guns for
sale:
The new firearms legislation is designed
to make licensed gun owners more responsible. But gun
lobbyists and security experts believe that tightening
controls on legal firearms is increasing the market for
illegal guns, which are already easy to access if the price
is right. - More |
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October 03, 2006 |
Soweto
surfing:
A new sport is catching on in the townships
and it’s endangering the lives of many of
the teenagers who take part in it. It’s
called train surfing and surfers perform
dangerous routines on top of or underneath
moving trains - More |
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September 26, 2006 |
Keeping the
home fires burning:
Once a week a
taxi leaves Beaufort West for Cape Town.
Its passengers are rural women who have been
recruited as domestic workers. Some are not
even 15 years old. -
More
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September 19, 2006 |
Running on
emptry:
Marine and Coastal Management (MCM) is one of South Africa’s
most important environmental agencies. It’s responsible for
protecting and conserving billions of rand worth of fish
stocks and other marine resources. -
More |
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September 12, 2006 |
Bunny town -
the kids speak out:
This Tuesday Special Assignment returns to
the streets of Cape Town to follow up our
recent investigation into paedophiles
preying on the city’s street children. We
expose some of the “bunnies” who have abused
both girl and boy children, seemingly with
impunity. - More |
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September 05, 2006 |
Jail birds:
Recently President Thabo Mbeki and big business
pledged to step up their joint efforts to tackle
South Africa’s unacceptably high crime levels. But
the treatment handed out to certain criminals by
some politicians is confusing to the public. -
More |
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August 29, 2006 |
Welcome to
Area 163:
South
Africans are living in fear, fear of the violence that
all too often accompanies even a “straightforward”
robbery or mugging. The recent spike in the crime rate
has added to already high levels of anxiety among
ordinary South Africans.
- More |
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August 22, 2006 |
Thembisa's
bones:
Much is made of crime in urban areas and on
farms, but seldom considered is what happens
in rural villages, where the suffering
caused by horrendous acts of violence has a
profound effect on communities.
More |
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August 15, 2006 |
End of the
line:
Everyday 6
to 7 million people travel on Metrorail. It is a
vital mode of transport for the poor, yet the
trains they board are unsafe and unreliable.
The Metrorail system is in many areas virtually
collapsing due to government’s ongoing
under-funding of the service.
- More |
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August 8, 2006 |
Bunny Town:
Next week
a British priest goes on trial in Cape Town on
charges of indecent assault. His alleged
victim is a ten year old boy – an orphan who
had been placed in one of the city’s
shelters for homeless children. This
is not an isolated case. -
More |
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July 25, 2006 |
Rent a womb:
Statistics show that children as young as six are
sexually active in KwaZulu-Natal. Over 2000
schoolgirls fell pregnant over the last two years in
Gauteng, while in the Eastern Cape one high school alone
reported 26 pregnant schoolgirls in 2005. -
More |
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July 11, 2006 |
The Jacob
Zuma Story:
On the eve of Jacob Zuma’s corruption trial we visit his
ancestral village in Nkandla, deep in rural Zululand as it
was known. Speaking to his younger brother Michael, a cousin
and a local chief, we find a community that
is unconditionally loyal to its beloved son
and leader. |
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July 4, 2006 |
For the boys:
In December 2005
Dion Edwards was arrested for a traffic offence allegedly
committed seven years earlier. For two nights he was jailed
in the holding cell at the Port Shepstone Police Station.
While inside, he was gang-raped. |
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June 27,2006 |
SNCEDENI – help us -
Maintenance is an
emotional issue at the best of times. As if the stress of
compelling ex-husbands to pay through a court order isn’t
enough, many women also face a different battle. Instead of
going through the simple process of collecting the money at a
maintenance office every month, they find themselves queuing for
hours, in vain. |
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June 20,2006 |
Housing and
Controversy -
As you come in to
land at Cape Town International, a near-endless sea of shacks is
visible from the air. Every day people arrive in the Mother City
from the rural areas, in search of greener pastures. They are
desperate for jobs, they require health care. Most importantly,
perhaps, they need housing. It’s a mammoth job, but one that
demands political will and careful managing. |
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June13,2006 |
Destination
Unknown-
This Tuesday on Special
Assignment we ask: is South African Airways
in trouble with its customers? Is service up
to scratch or is it driving customers away?
From flight delays to baggage theft, rude
staff, lost voyager miles and inefficient
call centres – the complaints and
allegations are varied and many. |
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June06,2006 |
Tiger's Don't
Cry - In recent
months, the country has been rocked by a
series of tragic suicides and family
murders, committed by members of the South
African Police Service. This week
Special Assignment looks at some of the
factors that could drive an ordinary cop to
snap. |
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May30,2006 |
Jail Birds -
The fact that
South Africa’s
crime statistics – especially violent crimes - are among the
highest in the world is well known. What is mentioned less
often is the gender of our criminals.
Nowadays, more and more women are being found guilty of violent
crimes. This week Special
Assignment meets some of these female killers and
robbers in Pollsmoor Prison,
Cape Town. |
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May23,2006 |
Bleeding On The Inside -
Piracy is
robbing South Africa’s film and music industry of millions of
rand. While local actors and musicians are being crippled
financially, organised crime syndicates are raking in big bucks
by flooding the market with counterfeit DVDs and CDs. |
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May16,2006 |
Do Cell Masts Fry Your Brain? -
To many, cell phone towers represent no
problem at all and are simply ignored. But there are those who
seem to be sensitive to the low levels of radiation emitted by
the masts, particularly at night. |
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May09,2006 |
Zuma
Interview -
In
a change of schedule, Special Assignment
broadcasted an exclusive interview with
Jacob Zuma.
Recorded at his home in Forest
Town Johannesburg,
Zuma spoke about his rise in the
ANC, his rape trial, his feelings towards his accuser and his political ambitions. |
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May02,2006 |
Power Crash
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This Tuesday
Special Assignment
talks to experts in the field to find out what the consequences
of outages are likely to be. There have already been reports
that some entrepreneurs have pulled out of investing in South
Africa, because they cannot be assured of regular supplies. |
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Apr25,2006 |
No Room For
The Poor -
This Tuesday
Special Assignment
takes us into the lives of the families who live in these dark
and dilapidated blocks. Up till now the City of Joburg’s response
to these so-called bad buildings was to evict the people living
there. It was part of the strategy to transform Jozi into a
world class city. Recently a high court judge ruled this to be
unconstitutional: unless the city could come up with a plan for
alternative housing, the evictions couldn’t be carried out. |
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Apr18,2006 |
Living with
Aids -
Special Assignment
is proud to broadcast a fine documentary by
award-winning journalist Sorious Samura.
Over the years Sorious has travelled the
African continent, reporting on many of the
major issues of our times. Viewers will
remember his shocking exposé
of the terrible atrocities committed in the
civil war in his native country Sierra
Leone. |
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Apr11,2006 |
Could
Fish Make My Child Smart?
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It’s known that Omega 3 oils
found in fatty fish like sardines and tuna
help prevent heart attacks and strokes.
There’s now tantalising new research that
suggests that Omega 3 could improve
children’s learning and even help
depression. |
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Apr04,2006 |
Blackboard Seige -
On 27 February the
body of 11-year-old Dane Darries was found stabbed 14 times in
the toilet of his primary school in Cape Town. He is the latest
casualty of the violence that is plaguing our classrooms. This
Tuesday’s Special Assignment
investigates the safety of South African schools. |
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Mar28,2006 |
Second Chance
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Should society give
ex-prisoners a second chance once they are released from prison?
Can South Africans sick of crime find it in their hearts to open
doors for those who spent time behind bars? This Tuesday
Special Assignment
meets of a number
of former inmates who have managed to turn their lives around,
with the help of strangers prepared to give them a break. |
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Mar21,2006 |
The Green
Dam
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This Tuesday
Special Assignment
meets some of South
Africa’s new poor whites.
Disillusioned,
isolated and often ill-informed, they are struggling to
understand why they lost their privileges and trying to make
sense of the political changes that have swept the country. |
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Mar14,2006 |
Boxing Babes
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This week Special Assignment
follows a group of women battling tremendous odds to
become professional boxers. From the promoters’ offices, to the
smelly change-rooms and the ring, these black women are smashing
traditional stereotypes – literally. |
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Mar7, 2006 |
.... a better life
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This
week Special Assignment
looks at the plight of thousands of Zimbabweans crossing the
border into South Africa. To
escape political turmoil and increasing food shortages, many
risk the crocodile- infested Limpopo River and razor wire fences
to get here. |
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Feb28,2006 |
Towards
Tomorrow
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Towards Tomorrow looks at grassroots
organizations that are taking on the major parties in the
upcoming local elections. They are hoping to win votes on
specific issues like free water and electricity. |
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Feb21,2006 |
Bottom of the Heap -
This Tuesday
Special Assignment
broadcasts the moving story of an abandoned community.
We
travel to the settlement of Second Creek in East London where we
meet a group of people who live off the pickings of a rubbish
dump. These are people who have fallen through the cracks of our
society, surviving off what we throw away. As the local
government elections loom, we ask, “Where have we failed these
people?” |
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Feb14,2006 |
The Buffalo Soldiers -
Join
Special
Assignment as we witness the emotional reunion of
veterans of this controversial unit and the man they call their
father – the colourful storyteller and one of
South Africa’s
most decorated military men, Col. Jan Breytenbach. On the eve of their dispersement
Special
Assignment invited Breytenbach to Pomfret to say
goodbye to this elite unit that he had founded. |
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Feb07,2006 |
In the Shadow of the Mountain
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This week Special
Assignment travels to Bergville and examines the lack of development in this IFP
heartland. In the eighties, the area was a flash point when
people were forcibly removed to make way for Woodstock Dam. The
Nkosi of the Amangwane, Tshanibezwe Hlongwane, was sent into
exile by the KwaZulu Homeland Government for leading the violent
protests. |
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Jan31,2006 |
Celebrating
in Hope -
looks at the pitfalls associated with land
claims. It documents the successes and
failures of three communities and suggests
ways of avoiding these pitfalls. |
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Jan24 , 2006 |
Capital Shame - This week Special Assignment investigates a
darker and more sinister side to South Africa’s Capital. A
disturbing trend is playing itself out in the city’s sex
industry, with more and more children selling their bodies for
quick cash. |
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Jan17 , 2006 |
The Shiny Future - This Tuesday’s
Special Assignment
looks at the impact of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome on many
communities around the country. Alcohol causes
untold harm to the unborn child. It damages the brain and other
organs. Known as Foetal Alcohol Syndrome or FAS, children born
with it are mentally retarded, with severe
behavioural problems. |
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Special Assignment 2005
Special Assignment 2004
Special Assignment
2003 |
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