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 carry out in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Picture: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.three-million grant by the Nationwide Lotteries Commission towards the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for a minstrels museum has found no evidence that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators found that the CTMCA didn't make use of the R5-million allocated to get or create a museum.
They also found the CTMCA only acquired land worthy of R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They located the CTMCA applied money with the Lottery to acquire workshop gear from certainly one of its possess administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how millions of rand granted on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) from the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) to create a museum to celebrate the town’s abundant minstrel history went astray. The museum was under no circumstances produced.
The main points on the abuse of countless rands of Lottery funds to get a museum that by no means was are uncovered in an investigative report commissioned by the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was Element of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery funds allotted to the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017.
The primary A part of the investigation, by law business Dabishi Nthambeleni, was performed in between September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.three-million grant to your CTMCA in 2014, which involved funding for the museum. The authorised price range to the museum was much more than R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allocated to get a creating to accommodate the museum.
Read the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to analyze the purchase of a constructing with the museum and whether or not the museum “really existed”.
The company was also instructed to research
the purchase with Lottery money of two cars – a 60-seater bus in addition to a 23-seater bus – for R2.four-million; and
several machines “ordered for your production from the costumes and hats” for that minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At time, convicted legal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director on the CTMCA. He was appointed a director with the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued as two of numerous directors on the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed like a director in Could 2021.
The investigation followed in depth reporting by GroundUp with regard to the a lot of rands of Lottery funding allocated into the CTMCA (see listed here, in this article and below) and the best way the cash likely aided finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign inside the Western Cape, led by at some time by Marius Fransman.
The building on the best was the intended web site from the minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial place in Primrose Park, Cape City. Photograph: Raymond Joseph
In response to your Parliamentary question, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane outlined grants to three CTMCA “initiatives” - such as the museum - among 2012 and 2015. All 3 assignments had been accomplished, she advised MPs.
But the investigators observed no evidence that a museum had at any time existed.
In the beginning the museum was on account of open in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photograph obtained by GroundUp with the meant Wetton museum exhibits a coffee shop with some musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of images haphazardly hung on the walls, along with a model ship on its plinth within a corner.
In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni claimed it absolutely was “not ready” to substantiate if a museum experienced at any time operated from these premises.
Stemmet instructed the investigators the museum had been moved given that they could no more find the money for the rent of R100,000 per month. He reported the CTMCA had acquired assets for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal to the museum, but could not get it rezoned, and were marketed for the same price tag. Schaapkraal is in the peri-city space much from town.
Subsequently, the museum were moved to a whole new spot in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But immediately after going to the premises, which can be in an industrial spot, the investigators reported they doubted regardless of whether a correct museum existed there. Images attached towards the report show a mishmash of randomly exhibited uniforms, musical instruments and diverse minstrel paraphernalia nailed to the wall, shown on tables and spread out on the ground, with no clarification.
“There is a nominal amount of goods for the museum [that] on no account stand for the more than a hundred-12 months heritage on the Cape Town Carnival, the investigators reported, introducing that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating they housed a museum and … normally, the museum isn't going to search to get open up to the general public.”
The CTMCA experienced breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni mentioned, by relocating the location from the museum to another site without notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal residence, on which no museum was ever built. Picture: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet informed the investigators which the CTMCA had to move from the rented Crete Street premises because it experienced run up a R4-million personal debt with town of Cape Town and was scared its tools would be connected.
“A result of the authorized battles and the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its residence from five Crete Highway to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the property of the organisation,” Stemmet told the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, The existing director of the CTMCA, instructed them that the two buses acquired with lottery money were being stored in a top secret spot “hidden within the Sheriff”. Although the investigators stated they ended up not able to confirm that any buses had at any time been acquired.
Stemmet also verified which the buses were hidden to stop them getting seized. But once the investigators requested for being taken on the area the place the buses have been stored, he explained to them that “the proprietor of the secret location wasn't available to open up the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA could not provide evidence of payment for two motor vehicles that it allegedly ordered with grant funds,” the investigators reported.
Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal house were offered as a result of debt.
“Mr Soeker stated that In keeping with his being familiar with, mainly because of the credit card debt owed to the City of Cape Town, the CTMCA made the decision It will be most effective to sell their [Schaapkraal] home … and also to also to cover the property with the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the property.”
JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for safety and security, has previously told GroundUp which the CTMCA “threw revenue absent” on litigation with the town.
“Each and every year like clockwork, as we strategy the end with the yr, the CTMCA picks a legal combat with the City, around permits or another thing. We never ever initiate it. They preserve throwing money away on vexatious litigation which they shed and also have prices awarded towards them. This is certainly solely self-inflicted,” he stated.
Soeker advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the leading job gamers on problems with Lottery funding have been Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been accountable for every one of the admin, finances and operating ผล สลากกินแบ่ง the CTMCA.” The investigators explained they were not able to Get hold of Momberg.
Hats
During their “investigation in loco” on the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “located quite a few devices, some in great situation, some in bad situation and some that appeared rusty and very old”. Stemmet told the investigators that there was also an off-website storage facility where by “instruments plus some machinery” were being stored.
“We questioned him to consider us to the power but he was evasive to our request.”
Dependant on shots and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, with the products seem like machines that was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s former premises. Stemmet is dealing with prices for this removal.
According to the ultimate progress report submitted to your NLC via the CTMCA, the machinery was procured from Martin-Conne Milliners, a firm during which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter had been directors at enough time.
The investigators uncovered this “alarming”.
“In the CIPC lookup of Martin-Conne Milliners along with the invoices submitted, we Notice the following alarming finding: Mr Stemmet himself is usually a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered handle of the corporation is 5 Crete Highway, Wetton, Cape Town, exactly the same handle on which the museum was intended to be designed and/or transformed,” they noted.
An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, hooked up towards the investigative report, recorded which the CTMCA was in the process of acquiring “equipment, plant and stock” valued at R8.one-million from Stalph 164 CC, investing as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a detailed Company of which Stemmet was one among the administrators.
Based on Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporation has compensated R1.two-million to be a deposit, which means R6.9-million remains owed, nevertheless there's no payment date set for when this should be compensated.
The Kopano audit and the shut website link between the businesses “show to us that there's ‘foul Perform’ involved with the acquisition in the equipment with the museum workshop”, the investigators stated from the report.
“We discover that it's highly probable that CTMCA employed the funding on the NLC to ‘refund’ considered one of its most important administrators with the residence at an increased overpriced amount than the particular price tag and worth of the home and/or machinery.”
Recommendations
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it was unable to determine how the grant to your CTMCA had been spent.
“In point of fact, a detailed report on how the funding of the NLC was used, might be extremely hard as the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or evidence of payments to confirm the quantities spent on Each individual merchandise it asked for funding for. The interim report and final report with the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators identified which the NLC experienced not carried out a web page check out before approving the grant. But this was not normal exercise at enough time they usually uncovered no proof of negligence by NLC staff.
At enough time, the NLC’s procedures didn't require funded organisations to post proof of payment with interim reviews, they identified. This meant that the CTMCA was capable to receive a next tranche of funding without the need to provide proof that it had used the main tranche for its meant goal.
Subsequent the appointment of a fresh board, commissioner and senior govt group, the NLC has tightened up on these and other troubles.
Dabishi Nthambeleni recommended that
the NLC decrease any future funding programs from the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any users who were associated with the grant be subjected on the NLC’s “delinquency” approach;
the NLC open a legal scenario of fraud with SAPS or perhaps the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC get started the process of recovering the misappropriated funds.
But, as opposed to act about the report’s suggestions, the NLC – below its prior administration – selected to suppress it, because it had carried out with the past reviews into corruption it experienced commissioned.
GroundUp despatched concerns to Stemmet and Soeker by means of SMS, and questioned for electronic mail addresses to deliver the thoughts by e-mail too. But no response were been given at the time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Road, Wetton. Photograph: Raymond Joseph