Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery cash paid to minstrel group

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery cash paid to minstrel group

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Minstrels accomplish in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Image: Ashraf Hendricks

A report by attorneys Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.three-million grant with the Countrywide Lotteries Fee for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for the minstrels museum has found no proof that a museum ever existed.
The investigators observed which the CTMCA did not make use of the R5-million allocated to obtain or build a museum.
In addition they identified that the CTMCA only bought land well worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They uncovered the CTMCA used resources within the Lottery to get workshop products from one among its very own directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how many rand granted to your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) by the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) to setup a museum to rejoice the city’s wealthy minstrel background went astray. The museum was by no means produced.

The main points of the abuse of many rands of Lottery money for a museum that in no way was are disclosed within an investigative report commissioned via the NLC in 2021.

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

The very first Component of the investigation, by law organization Dabishi Nthambeleni, was conducted among September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant to your CTMCA in 2014, which provided funding for the museum. The permitted spending budget to the museum was in excess of R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allocated for just a making to accommodate the museum.

Read through the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the purchase of the developing for the museum and if the museum “essentially existed”.

The firm was also instructed to research

the purchase with Lottery money of two autos – a sixty-seater bus along with a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
numerous machines “obtained for your manufacturing from the costumes and hats” for the minstrels carnival, for R5.4-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 spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing as two of many directors in the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in May well 2021.

The investigation followed considerable reporting by GroundUp concerning the millions of rands of Lottery funding allotted into the CTMCA (see listed here, in this article and below) and the best way the cash probably helped finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign inside the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.



The creating on the appropriate was the intended website from the minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial area in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

In reaction to your Parliamentary issue, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to three CTMCA “initiatives” - including the museum - among 2012 and 2015. All a few assignments were finished, she explained to MPs.

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

At first the museum was as a result of open up in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photograph received by GroundUp of the supposed Wetton museum shows a coffee shop with a few musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of photographs haphazardly hung over the partitions, in addition to a product ship on its plinth in a corner.

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

Stemmet told the investigators the museum were moved mainly because they could no more afford to pay for the hire of R100,000 per month. He explained the CTMCA had bought residence for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for the museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and had been bought for the same value. Schaapkraal is inside of a peri-city area far from the town.

Consequently, the museum were moved to a whole new locale in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But after checking out the premises, which might be within an industrial region, the investigators claimed they doubted regardless of whether a proper museum existed there. Pics hooked up to the report present a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical devices and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed into the wall, displayed on tables and distribute out on the ground, with no clarification.

“There's a nominal amount of objects at the museum [that] on no account stand for the greater than a hundred-calendar year history of the Cape City Carnival, the investigators stated, including that there was “no signage outdoors the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … typically, the museum will not search to become open to the general public.”

The CTMCA experienced breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni noted, by shifting The placement of your museum to another locale without notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal home, on which no museum was ever designed. Picture: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet told the investigators which the CTMCA had to maneuver from your rented Crete Street premises mainly because it had operate up a R4-million debt with town of Cape City and was scared its equipment can be attached.

“Due to lawful battles and the debts, the organisation had to maneuver its house from five Crete Street to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the property of the organisation,” Stemmet told the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The present director in the CTMCA, told them which the two buses acquired with lottery cash ended up stored within a mystery site “concealed within the Sheriff”. Though the investigators stated they had been unable to confirm that any buses experienced ever been purchased.

Stemmet also verified which the buses had been concealed to prevent them being seized. But in the event the investigators questioned to get taken into the spot where by the buses had been stored, he instructed them that “the operator of The trick location was not accessible to open up the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't offer proof of payment for 2 motor vehicles that it allegedly purchased with grant money,” the investigators claimed.

Soeker also explained to them the Schaapkraal residence had been bought due to financial debt.

“Mr Soeker defined that In line with his comprehending, mainly because of the credit card debt owed to town of Cape Town, the CTMCA made the decision it would be finest to sell their [Schaapkraal] residence … and to also to hide the belongings on the CTMCA to avoid the sheriff from attaching the home.”

JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for safety and protection, has Earlier told GroundUp that the CTMCA “threw income absent” on litigation with town.

“Each and every year like clockwork, as we solution the top in the yr, the CTMCA picks a authorized struggle with the City, above permits or something else. We never ever initiate it. They preserve throwing money away on vexatious litigation which they reduce and also have fees awarded against them. That is totally self-inflicted,” he mentioned.

Soeker informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the principle part players on problems with Lottery funding had been Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who have been in control of many of the admin, finances and jogging luckyvip77 the CTMCA.” The investigators claimed they were struggling to Call Momberg.

Hats
Throughout their “investigation in loco” on the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “located quite a few machines, some in superior issue, some in negative ailment and several that appeared rusty and intensely old”. Stemmet advised the investigators that there was also an off-web page storage facility exactly where “instruments and a few machinery” were being held.

“We questioned him to get us to the power but he was evasive to our ask for.”

Determined by photos and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, on the items seem like devices which was illegally faraway from the CTMCA’s former premises. Stemmet is going through fees for this removal.

In accordance with the remaining progress report submitted for the NLC with the CTMCA, the machinery was procured from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business by which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were being directors at time.

The investigators uncovered this “alarming”.

“From your CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners and the invoices submitted, we Be aware the next alarming obtaining: Mr Stemmet himself is usually a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the organization is 5 Crete Road, Wetton, Cape City, exactly the same address on which the museum was meant to be built and/or converted,” they described.

An audit by accountants Kopano Included, attached for the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the entire process of paying for “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, investing as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a close Company of which Stemmet was among the directors.

According to Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporation has paid out R1.two-million for a deposit, this means R6.9-million continues to be owed, although there is no payment date established for when this must be paid out.

The Kopano audit and the shut backlink in between the companies “point out to us that there's ‘foul Enjoy’ involved in the purchase in the machinery in the museum workshop”, the investigators mentioned inside the report.

“We find that it's hugely probable that CTMCA utilized the funding of the NLC to ‘refund’ one of its most important directors for the house at a higher overpriced rate than the particular selling price and worth of the house and/or machinery.”

Tips
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it had been not able to ascertain how the grant to your CTMCA had been invested.

“In point of fact, a detailed report on how the funding in the NLC was used, will be difficult given that the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or evidence of payments to substantiate the quantities used on each product it asked for funding for. The interim report and closing report on the CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators discovered which the NLC experienced not performed a website visit before approving the grant. But this wasn't conventional exercise at time and so they discovered no proof of negligence by NLC employees.

At some time, the NLC’s regulations did not require funded organisations to submit proof of payment with interim experiences, they pointed out. This meant the CTMCA was in a position to receive a 2nd tranche of funding without the need to provide proof that it had utilized the primary tranche for its supposed objective.

Subsequent the appointment of a completely new board, commissioner and senior executive group, the NLC has tightened up on these and other concerns.

Dabishi Nthambeleni advisable that

the NLC decrease any foreseeable future funding apps through the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any associates who had been associated with the grant be subjected towards the NLC’s “delinquency” process;
the NLC open up a legal circumstance of fraud with SAPS or perhaps the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start the whole process of recovering the misappropriated cash.
But, as opposed to act to the report’s recommendations, the NLC – less than its earlier administration – selected to suppress it, mainly because it experienced carried out While using the prior studies into corruption it had commissioned.

GroundUp despatched questions to Stemmet and Soeker by way of SMS, and asked for email addresses to ship the inquiries by e mail far too. But no response had been obtained at the time of publication.



The minstrel “museum” in Crete Road, Wetton. Photo: Raymond Joseph