Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery income compensated to minstrel group

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery income compensated to minstrel group

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Minstrels conduct in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.3-million grant via the Countrywide Lotteries Commission into the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for just a minstrels museum has located no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators located the CTMCA did not use the R5-million allocated to acquire or establish a museum.
They also uncovered the CTMCA only bought land worthy of R1.7-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They found the CTMCA applied money with the Lottery to get workshop tools from certainly one of its individual directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how many rand granted on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) by the Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) to build a museum to rejoice the town’s loaded minstrel background went astray. The museum was never produced.

The main points of your abuse of millions of rands of Lottery funds to get a museum that never ever was are uncovered in an investigative report commissioned with the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was Component of much more than R64-million in Lottery money allocated to your CTMCA among 2003 and 2017.

The initial Section of the investigation, by legislation organization Dabishi Nthambeleni, was executed amongst September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant to the CTMCA in 2014, which provided funding for your museum. The accredited price range for your museum was more than R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allocated to get a setting up to house the museum.

Browse the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to analyze the purchase of a setting up for the museum and whether the museum “basically existed”.

The organization was also instructed to research

the purchase with Lottery funds of two motor vehicles – a 60-seater bus and also a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
numerous equipment “purchased to the manufacturing of the costumes and hats” for your minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At some time, convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of the CTMCA. He was appointed a director of your CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing as two of various directors of the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in May well 2021.

The investigation adopted extensive reporting by GroundUp concerning the millions of rands of Lottery funding allotted towards the CTMCA (see in this article, below and below) and just how the funds probably helped finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign inside the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.



The setting up on the proper was the supposed website on the minstrels’ museum, in the middle of an industrial location in Primrose Park, Cape City. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

In reaction to the Parliamentary concern, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane outlined grants to 3 CTMCA “assignments” - such as the museum - among 2012 and 2015. All 3 tasks had been completed, she explained to MPs.

However the investigators located no evidence that a museum had ever existed.

Initially the museum was on account of open in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photograph received by GroundUp from the intended Wetton museum exhibits a espresso shop with a few musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of images haphazardly hung over the partitions, and also a model ship on its plinth within a corner.

In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni explained it was “not able” to verify if a museum experienced ever operated from these premises.

Stemmet informed the investigators the museum had been moved given that they could no more afford to pay for the rent of R100,000 per month. He reported the CTMCA experienced obtained home for R1.seven-million in Schaapkraal with the museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and were offered for the same cost. Schaapkraal is in a peri-city region far from the town.

Due to this fact, the museum had been moved to a fresh place in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet instructed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But following traveling to the premises, which might be in an industrial region, the investigators claimed they doubted irrespective of whether a proper museum existed there. Pictures connected to your report show a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical instruments and various minstrel paraphernalia nailed for the wall, displayed on tables and distribute out on the ground, without having rationalization.

“There's a minimum quantity of products in the museum [that] on no account stand for the more than one hundred-yr history with the Cape Town Carnival, the investigators claimed, adding that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … normally, the museum isn't going to search to become open up to the public.”

The CTMCA experienced breached the grant settlement, Dabishi Nthambeleni famous, by going the location on the museum to another locale without having notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal house, on which no museum was ever created. Picture: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet instructed the investigators the CTMCA had to maneuver from the rented Crete Road premises as it had operate up a R4-million credit card debt with the City of Cape City and was scared its gear would be connected.

“A result of the lawful battles plus the debts, the organisation experienced to move its assets from 5 Crete Highway to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the property of the organisation,” Stemmet instructed the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, the current director on the CTMCA, told them that the two buses purchased with lottery cash were being saved inside a solution locale “concealed from the Sheriff”. Although the investigators mentioned they were unable to confirm that any buses had at any time been acquired.

Stemmet also confirmed that the buses were hidden to halt them being seized. But in the event the investigators requested to become taken to the place where by the buses were stored, he advised them that “the owner of The key locale was not available to open up the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't supply evidence of payment for two vehicles that it allegedly ordered with grant income,” the investigators noted.

Soeker also informed them the Schaapkraal residence were marketed because of the financial debt.

“Mr Soeker defined that In accordance with his knowledge, a result of the personal debt owed to the City of Cape Town, the CTMCA made a decision It will be very best to offer their [Schaapkraal] assets … and to also to cover the assets in the CTMCA to avoid the sheriff from attaching the property.”

JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for safety and safety, has previously told GroundUp that the CTMCA “threw money away” on litigation with town.

“Annually like clockwork, as we strategy the top on the year, the CTMCA picks a legal fight with town, in excess of permits or another thing. We under no circumstances initiate it. They maintain throwing dollars absent on vexatious litigation that they lose and have expenditures awarded against them. That is totally self-inflicted,” he explained.

Soeker instructed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the most crucial function players on issues of Lottery funding had been Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been in control of all of the admin, funds and managing หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 วัน นี้ the CTMCA.” The investigators mentioned they had been not able to Speak to Momberg.

Hats
Through their “investigation in loco” for the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “uncovered numerous devices, some in superior affliction, some in terrible issue and several that appeared rusty and very outdated”. Stemmet told the investigators that there was also an off-web site storage facility wherever “devices plus some machinery” have been saved.

“We questioned him to get us to the ability but he was evasive to our request.”

Depending on pics and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, with the merchandise look like machines which was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s former premises. Stemmet is struggling with fees for this removal.

In accordance with the ultimate progress report submitted to the NLC from the CTMCA, the equipment was acquired from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business by which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were directors at some time.

The investigators located this “alarming”.

“From the CIPC lookup of Martin-Conne Milliners as well as invoices submitted, we note the following alarming locating: Mr Stemmet himself is often a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered tackle of the corporate is five Crete Road, Wetton, Cape City, the same handle on which the museum was meant to be developed and/or transformed,” they described.

An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, hooked up on the investigative report, recorded that the CTMCA was in the process of purchasing “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.one-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a detailed corporation of which Stemmet was among the administrators.

In line with Dabishi Nthambeleni, the company has paid out R1.two-million like a deposit, this means R6.nine-million is still owed, even though there isn't any payment date set for when this needs to be compensated.

The Kopano audit and also the close hyperlink amongst the businesses “point out to us that there's ‘foul Participate in’ linked to the acquisition with the equipment on the museum workshop”, the investigators explained during the report.

“We discover that it is remarkably probable that CTMCA applied the funding with the NLC to ‘refund’ considered one of its key directors with the house at a greater overpriced level than the actual selling price and price of the home and/or equipment.”

Suggestions
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it absolutely was not able to establish how the grant on the CTMCA were expended.

“The truth is, an in depth report on how the funding with the NLC was made use of, could be extremely hard as being the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or proof of payments to substantiate the quantities put in on Just about every merchandise it requested funding for. The interim report and closing report in the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators identified which the NLC had not done a web-site pay a visit to prior to approving the grant. But this was not conventional follow at some time and they discovered no evidence of negligence by NLC employees.

At time, the NLC’s regulations didn't involve funded organisations to post evidence of payment with interim experiences, they identified. This intended which the CTMCA was in a position to receive a next tranche of funding without having to offer proof that it had used the very first tranche for its supposed intent.

Pursuing the appointment of a different board, commissioner and senior government team, the NLC has tightened up on these along with other problems.

Dabishi Nthambeleni recommended that

the NLC drop any potential funding applications within the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any associates who were involved with the grant be subjected for the NLC’s “delinquency” process;
the NLC open a prison case of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC get started the whole process of recovering the misappropriated cash.
But, instead of act around the report’s recommendations, the NLC – under its previous administration – selected to suppress it, mainly because it had accomplished While using the former experiences into corruption it had commissioned.

GroundUp sent issues to Stemmet and Soeker by means of SMS, and requested for email addresses to send out the queries by electronic mail way too. But no response had been received at enough time of publication.



The minstrel “museum” in Crete Highway, Wetton. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

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