Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery money compensated to minstrel team

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery money compensated to minstrel team

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Minstrels perform in Athlone on two January 2017. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks

A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.3-million grant through the National Lotteries Fee for the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for just a minstrels museum has found no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators found which the CTMCA didn't make use of the R5-million allotted to purchase or produce a museum.
They also located which the CTMCA only purchased land worth R1.seven-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They identified the CTMCA applied resources from your Lottery to invest in workshop tools from one of its possess administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how countless rand granted to your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) via the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) to put in place a museum to celebrate the city’s rich minstrel history went astray. The museum was by no means produced.

The small print on the abuse of many rands of Lottery money to get a museum that never ever was are unveiled in an investigative report commissioned via the NLC in 2021.

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

The very first Component of the investigation, by legislation agency Dabishi Nthambeleni, was done concerning September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant on the CTMCA in 2014, which incorporated funding for that museum. The authorised budget with the museum was much more than R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allocated for just a setting up to accommodate the museum.

Go through the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the acquisition of a developing with the museum and whether or not the museum “in fact existed”.

The company was also instructed to investigate

the purchase with Lottery money of two vehicles – a 60-seater bus as well as a 23-seater bus – for R2.four-million; and
numerous devices “ordered for that production from the costumes and hats” for the minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At time, convicted legal 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 several administrators of the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in May well 2021.

The investigation adopted intensive reporting by GroundUp about the many rands of Lottery funding allocated into the CTMCA (see right here, here and right here) and the way in which the funds in all probability aided finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign within the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.



The constructing on the right was the meant web-site on the minstrels’ museum, in the midst of an industrial region in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Photo: Raymond Joseph

In reaction to a Parliamentary concern, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane shown grants to three CTMCA “assignments” - such as the museum - involving 2012 and 2015. All three jobs had been concluded, she told MPs.

But the investigators found no proof that a museum experienced at any time existed.

At first the museum was on account of open in rented premises in Crete Road, Wetton. A photo obtained by GroundUp with the intended Wetton museum demonstrates a espresso store with a few musical instruments and minstrel costumes and collages of shots haphazardly hung about the walls, as well as a model ship on its plinth inside of a corner.

In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni claimed it was “not ready” to confirm if a museum had at any time operated from these premises.

Stemmet told the investigators the museum had been moved mainly because they could now not afford to pay for the hire of R100,000 a month. He stated the CTMCA experienced acquired home for R1.seven-million in Schaapkraal for that museum, but could not get it rezoned, and were bought for a similar rate. Schaapkraal is in a very peri-urban place much from the town.

Consequently, the museum were moved to a brand new site in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But soon after viewing the premises, which can be in an industrial spot, the investigators claimed they doubted whether or not a proper museum existed there. Photos attached for the report exhibit a mishmash of randomly shown uniforms, musical instruments and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed to the wall, shown on tables and spread out on the ground, without any rationalization.

“You will find there's negligible number of goods in the museum [that] on no account characterize the much more than one hundred-yr history of your Cape Town Carnival, the investigators stated, incorporating that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating which they housed a museum and … usually, the museum will not glance to generally be open up to the general public.”

The CTMCA had breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni mentioned, by shifting The placement of the museum to an alternative spot without the need of notifying the NLC.



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

Buses
Stemmet advised the investigators which the CTMCA had to move in the rented Crete Highway premises as it had operate up a R4-million debt with the town of Cape City and was scared its machines could be connected.

“As a result of authorized battles as well as debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its property from 5 Crete Road to avoid the sheriff from attaching the home with the organisation,” Stemmet explained to the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The existing director of your CTMCA, explained to them which the two buses acquired with lottery cash have been stored in a secret locale “hidden in the Sheriff”. However the investigators said they ended up unable to verify that any buses had at any time been bought.

Stemmet also confirmed which the buses had been hidden to halt them currently being seized. But in the event the investigators requested to generally be taken towards the position exactly where the buses have been saved, he explained to them that “the operator of the secret place was not available to open the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA could not offer proof of payment for 2 vehicles that it allegedly ordered with grant income,” the investigators reported.

Soeker also told them the Schaapkraal assets had been offered as a result of debt.

“Mr Soeker discussed that according to his comprehension, mainly because of the debt owed to the City of Cape City, the CTMCA decided It might be finest to provide their [Schaapkraal] property … and to also to cover the property in the CTMCA to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the house.”

JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for basic safety and protection, has Formerly explained to GroundUp the CTMCA “threw cash absent” on litigation with town.

“Each year like clockwork, as we solution the end of your year, the CTMCA picks a legal fight with the City, more than permits or something else. We in no way initiate it. They preserve throwing funds away on vexatious litigation which they drop and also have prices awarded from them. This is certainly solely self-inflicted,” he claimed.

Soeker explained to the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the principle position players on problems with Lottery funding were Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been in command of many of the admin, finances and running ผล หวย หุ้น the CTMCA.” The investigators said they were not able to Make contact with Momberg.

Hats
In the course of their “investigation in loco” on the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “identified many equipment, some in excellent situation, some in bad ailment and a few that seemed rusty and intensely old”. Stemmet informed the investigators that there was also an off-web-site storage facility where “instruments and a few equipment” were being kept.

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

Depending on shots and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, of your merchandise seem like products that was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s previous premises. Stemmet is experiencing expenses for this removal.

Based on the remaining progress report submitted on the NLC by the CTMCA, the machinery was acquired from Martin-Conne Milliners, a corporation by which Stemmet, his wife and his daughter have been administrators at enough time.

The investigators observed this “alarming”.

“From the CIPC search of Martin-Conne Milliners and also the invoices submitted, we Be aware the following alarming finding: Mr Stemmet himself is really a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered handle of the corporation is five Crete Street, Wetton, Cape Town, exactly the same handle on which the museum was meant to be constructed and/or transformed,” they described.

An audit by accountants Kopano Incorporated, connected towards the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the process of obtaining “equipment, plant and stock” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, investing as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a close Company of which Stemmet was certainly one of the administrators.

Based on Dabishi Nthambeleni, the business has compensated R1.two-million as being a deposit, indicating R6.nine-million is still owed, even though there is not any payment day set for when this has to be paid.

The Kopano audit and also the shut backlink amongst the companies “suggest to us that there is ‘foul play’ linked to the purchase of your machinery of the museum workshop”, the investigators claimed inside the report.

“We discover that it's very possible that CTMCA utilized the funding on the NLC to ‘refund’ one of its major administrators with the property at a better overpriced amount than the particular rate and price of the property and/or equipment.”

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

“In fact, a detailed report on how the funding of the NLC was made use of, could well be unachievable as being the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or evidence of payments to confirm the quantities invested on each merchandise it requested funding for. The interim report and ultimate report from the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators found the NLC experienced not conducted a internet site visit just before approving the grant. But this wasn't conventional practice at the time and so they located no proof of carelessness by NLC staff members.

At some time, the NLC’s procedures didn't have to have funded organisations to post proof of payment with interim reviews, they pointed out. This intended the CTMCA was capable to receive a second tranche of funding without the need to deliver proof that it experienced applied the primary tranche for its intended intent.

Adhering to the appointment of a fresh board, commissioner and senior govt group, the NLC has tightened up on these and other difficulties.

Dabishi Nthambeleni suggested that

the NLC decrease any future funding programs with the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any users who were associated with the grant be subjected to your NLC’s “delinquency” system;
the NLC open up a prison circumstance of fraud with SAPS or maybe the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC begin the process of recovering the misappropriated resources.
But, rather then act over the report’s suggestions, the NLC – beneath its earlier administration – selected to suppress it, since it had done While using the preceding reports into corruption it experienced commissioned.

GroundUp despatched inquiries to Stemmet and Soeker via SMS, and requested for email addresses to ship the thoughts by e-mail far too. But no reaction had been acquired at some time of publication.



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

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