Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery income paid to minstrel group

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery income paid to minstrel group

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

A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.three-million grant via the Countrywide Lotteries Commission towards the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for just a minstrels museum has found no proof that a museum ever existed.
The investigators located the CTMCA didn't use the R5-million allotted to buy or create a museum.
They also found which the CTMCA only purchased land worthy of R1.seven-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They discovered the CTMCA used money with the Lottery to purchase workshop tools from one among its have administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how many rand granted towards the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) because of the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to arrange a museum to celebrate the city’s rich minstrel historical past went astray. The museum was by no means produced.

The small print with the abuse of a lot of rands of Lottery cash for your museum that never ever was are uncovered in an investigative report commissioned by the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was A part of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery resources allotted into the CTMCA involving 2003 and 2017.

The initial Section of the investigation, by legislation organization Dabishi Nthambeleni, was done in between September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant for the CTMCA in 2014, which bundled funding with the museum. The authorised price range for that museum was greater than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allocated for any constructing to accommodate the museum.

Read through the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to research the purchase of a building with the museum and whether or not the museum “essentially existed”.

The agency was also instructed to investigate

the acquisition with Lottery cash of two autos – a sixty-seater bus in addition to a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
various devices “bought for that manufacturing with the costumes and hats” for your minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At some time, convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director on the CTMCA. He was appointed a director of the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued as two of many administrators of your organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as being a director in May possibly 2021.

The investigation adopted intensive reporting by GroundUp with regards to the many rands of Lottery funding allotted to your CTMCA (see in this article, below and below) and the best way the money most likely served finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign within the Western Cape, led by at some time by Marius Fransman.



The constructing on the proper was the meant web site of the minstrels’ museum, in the midst of an industrial space in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

In reaction to the Parliamentary issue, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to three CTMCA “assignments” - such as the museum - involving 2012 and 2015. All a few tasks had been finished, she advised MPs.

Although the investigators uncovered no evidence that a museum experienced ever existed.

To start with the museum was resulting from open in rented premises in Crete Road, Wetton. A photograph received by GroundUp in the supposed Wetton museum reveals a coffee store with some musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of pics haphazardly hung within the partitions, and also a model ship on its plinth inside of a corner.

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

Stemmet instructed the investigators the museum were moved given that they could now not afford the rent of R100,000 a month. He explained the CTMCA experienced ordered property for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal to the museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and had been bought for a similar selling price. Schaapkraal is inside of a peri-city place significantly from the town.

Therefore, the museum had been moved to a brand new location in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet explained to the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But just after traveling to the premises, that happen to be in an industrial place, the investigators mentioned they doubted whether or not an appropriate museum existed there. Shots hooked up to your report clearly show a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical instruments and diverse minstrel paraphernalia nailed on the wall, displayed on tables and unfold out on the ground, without having clarification.

“There is a nominal quantity of objects within the museum [that] in no way stand for the greater than 100-yr heritage of the Cape Town Carnival, the investigators claimed, introducing that there was “no signage outside the house the premises indicating which they housed a museum and … generally, the museum does not appear to be open up to the general public.”

The CTMCA experienced breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni noted, by transferring the location in the museum to an alternate place without having notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal home, on which no museum was at any time designed. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet informed the investigators which the CTMCA had to move from the rented Crete Road premises since it had operate up a R4-million personal debt with town of Cape City and was afraid its gear can be connected.

“Mainly because of the lawful battles and the debts, the organisation experienced to move its property from five Crete Street to avoid the sheriff from attaching the assets with the organisation,” Stemmet advised the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The existing director with the CTMCA, informed them which the two buses bought with lottery cash had been saved inside a solution place “hidden within the Sheriff”. Even so the investigators reported they had been unable to verify that any buses had ever been purchased.

Stemmet also confirmed the buses had been hidden to stop them getting seized. But once the investigators requested for being taken on the area wherever the buses ended up stored, he told them that “the operator of The key area was not accessible to open the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't give proof of payment for 2 automobiles that it allegedly purchased with grant dollars,” the investigators documented.

Soeker also told them the Schaapkraal residence were offered due to financial debt.

“Mr Soeker stated that In line with his understanding, due to personal debt owed to town of Cape City, the CTMCA determined It might be ideal to offer their [Schaapkraal] assets … also to also to cover the property on the CTMCA to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the house.”

JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for safety and stability, has Earlier advised GroundUp that the CTMCA “threw money absent” on litigation with the City.

“Each year like clockwork, as we solution the tip from the calendar year, the CTMCA picks a legal struggle with the City, around permits or something else. We hardly ever initiate it. They hold throwing money away on vexatious litigation they reduce and have charges awarded versus them. This can be fully self-inflicted,” he reported.

Soeker told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the principle purpose gamers on issues of Lottery funding have been Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been in control of each of the admin, finances and running หวย วัน นี้ the CTMCA.” The investigators mentioned they had been not able to Get hold of Momberg.

Hats
During their “investigation in loco” in the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “discovered several machines, some in good condition, some in lousy affliction and several that looked rusty and intensely previous”. Stemmet told the investigators that there was also an off-web page storage facility the place “devices and several equipment” have been saved.

“We asked him to acquire us to the facility but he was evasive to our request.”

Based upon pictures and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, with the items appear to be tools that was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s preceding premises. Stemmet is struggling with charges for this removal.

According to the final development report submitted into the NLC via the CTMCA, the equipment was acquired from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business through which Stemmet, his wife and his daughter were administrators at the time.

The investigators found this “alarming”.

“Within the CIPC lookup of Martin-Conne Milliners and also the invoices submitted, we Take note the following alarming getting: Mr Stemmet himself can be a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered handle of the business is five Crete Highway, Wetton, Cape Town, precisely the same handle on which the museum was meant to be constructed and/or converted,” they documented.

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

In keeping with Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporation has paid out R1.2-million to be a deposit, indicating R6.9-million remains owed, even though there's no payment day set for when this needs to be paid.

The Kopano audit as well as close url between the companies “point out to us that there's ‘foul play’ associated with the acquisition of your equipment from the museum workshop”, the investigators mentioned from the report.

“We discover that it's hugely possible that CTMCA utilised the funding with the NLC to ‘refund’ considered one of its most important administrators to the house at a greater overpriced price than the particular selling price and value of the property and/or equipment.”

Recommendations
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it absolutely was unable to determine how the grant on the CTMCA were put in.

“In reality, an in depth report on how the funding of the NLC was applied, could be difficult because the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or evidence of payments to substantiate the quantities spent on Every single product it asked for funding for. The interim report and remaining report of the CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators discovered that the NLC had not conducted a website pay a visit to just before approving the grant. But this was not regular practice at some time plus they located no evidence of carelessness by NLC staff.

At the time, the NLC’s procedures did not require funded organisations to post evidence of payment with interim studies, they identified. This meant the CTMCA was in a position to get a next tranche of funding without needing to deliver proof that it had applied the very first tranche for its meant reason.

Following the appointment of a fresh board, commissioner and senior government staff, the NLC has tightened up on these and other problems.

Dabishi Nthambeleni advised that

the NLC decline any potential funding applications in the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any members who were being involved with the grant be subjected into the NLC’s “delinquency” system;
the NLC open up a prison circumstance of fraud with SAPS or perhaps the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC commence the process of recovering the misappropriated resources.
But, in lieu of act within the report’s tips, the NLC – below its past administration – selected to suppress it, because it had carried out While using the earlier studies into corruption it experienced commissioned.

GroundUp despatched issues to Stemmet and Soeker by way of SMS, and requested for e mail addresses to send out the questions by email as well. But no response had been obtained at time of publication.



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