Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery income paid out to minstrel group

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery income paid out to minstrel group

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Minstrels carry out in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Picture: Ashraf Hendricks

A report by attorneys Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.3-million grant with the National Lotteries Fee for the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for your minstrels museum has located no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators located which the CTMCA didn't use the R5-million allocated to acquire or create a museum.
Additionally they located the CTMCA only acquired land truly worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They identified the CTMCA used money through the Lottery to purchase workshop devices from one of its have administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how a lot of rand granted to the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) through the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to arrange a museum to rejoice the town’s wealthy minstrel background went astray. The museum was in no way produced.

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

The museum grant was Section of greater than R64-million in Lottery cash allocated into the CTMCA amongst 2003 and 2017.

The first A part of the investigation, by regulation organization Dabishi Nthambeleni, was done amongst September 2020 and January 2021 and centered on a R27.3-million grant for the CTMCA in 2014, which bundled funding for that museum. The accepted spending plan with the museum was greater than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allotted for just a constructing to house the museum.

Read the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to analyze the purchase of the building to the museum and whether the museum “in fact existed”.

The firm was also instructed to research

the acquisition with Lottery funds of two motor vehicles – a 60-seater bus and a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
various devices “ordered with the producing of the costumes and hats” for the minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At enough time, convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director on the CTMCA. He was appointed a director on the 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 to be a director in May well 2021.

The investigation followed considerable reporting by GroundUp concerning the many rands of Lottery funding allocated to your CTMCA (see right here, below and right here) and how the resources almost certainly aided finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign in the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.



The constructing on the appropriate was the meant site of the minstrels’ museum, in the middle of an industrial area in Primrose Park, Cape City. Image: Raymond Joseph

In response into a Parliamentary query, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to a few CTMCA “tasks” - such as the museum - involving 2012 and 2015. All three jobs had been completed, she instructed MPs.

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

To start with the museum was because of open in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photograph obtained by GroundUp in the intended Wetton museum reveals a espresso store with a few musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of pictures haphazardly hung within the walls, plus a design ship on its plinth in a very corner.

In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni reported it absolutely was “not able” to verify if a museum had at any time operated from these premises.

Stemmet instructed the investigators the museum had been moved given that they could not pay for the hire of R100,000 a month. He stated the CTMCA experienced acquired property for R1.seven-million in Schaapkraal for your museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and had been marketed for a similar price tag. Schaapkraal is inside a peri-urban space much from town.

Consequently, the museum had been moved to a completely new area in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet instructed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But after checking out the premises, which happen to be within an industrial space, the investigators said they doubted no matter whether a suitable museum existed there. Images connected towards the report display a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical devices and diverse minstrel paraphernalia nailed towards the wall, exhibited on tables and unfold out on the ground, without explanation.

“You will find there's nominal level of items for the museum [that] in no way characterize the over one hundred-calendar year background with the Cape City Carnival, the investigators said, including that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating they housed a museum and … frequently, the museum does not appear for being open to the public.”

The CTMCA had breached the grant settlement, Dabishi Nthambeleni pointed out, by going The situation on the museum to another place with no notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal home, on which no museum was ever created. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet told the investigators that the CTMCA had to move with the rented Crete Street premises because it had run up a R4-million financial debt with the City of Cape City and was worried its gear could well be connected.

“As a result of lawful battles along with the debts, the organisation had to move its residence from five Crete Highway to avoid the sheriff from attaching the house on the organisation,” Stemmet instructed the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The existing director of the CTMCA, told them that the two buses bought with lottery funds were stored in a secret place “hidden from your Sheriff”. Even so the investigators claimed they ended up unable to confirm that any buses experienced ever been bought.

Stemmet also confirmed that the buses had been hidden to stop them currently being seized. But if the investigators asked to be taken for the spot in which the buses were being stored, he told them that “the proprietor of the secret locale was not accessible to open the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't supply evidence of payment for 2 automobiles that it allegedly procured with grant dollars,” the investigators documented.

Soeker also informed them the Schaapkraal residence had been offered due to credit card debt.

“Mr Soeker described that In line with his comprehending, mainly because of the financial debt owed to the City of Cape City, the CTMCA made the decision It might be most effective to offer their [Schaapkraal] assets … and also to also to hide the belongings of your CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the residence.”

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

“On a yearly basis like clockwork, as we strategy the top in the yr, the CTMCA picks a lawful fight with town, above permits or something else. We under no circumstances initiate it. They keep throwing cash away on vexatious litigation which they lose and have costs awarded versus them. This is fully self-inflicted,” he explained.

Soeker explained to the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the leading position players on issues of Lottery funding were Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who ended up accountable for all the admin, finances and managing หวย ลาว ย้อน หลัง the CTMCA.” The investigators said they were unable to Get hold of Momberg.

Hats
In the course of their “investigation in loco” at the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “located numerous machines, some in very good condition, some in negative affliction plus some that looked rusty and extremely old”. Stemmet told the investigators that there was also an off-web site storage facility the place “instruments and a few machinery” were kept.

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

Based on shots and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, from the items seem like gear which was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s past premises. Stemmet is going through charges for this elimination.

In accordance with the last development report submitted to the NLC with the CTMCA, the equipment was purchased from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business wherein Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were directors at the time.

The investigators identified this “alarming”.

“Through the CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners plus the invoices submitted, we Observe the subsequent alarming acquiring: Mr Stemmet himself is often a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered tackle of the business is 5 Crete Highway, Wetton, Cape Town, the identical handle on which the museum was intended to be constructed and/or transformed,” they documented.

An audit by accountants Kopano Included, connected into the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the whole process of acquiring “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a detailed Company of which Stemmet was among the administrators.

In accordance with Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporate has compensated R1.two-million to be a deposit, meaning R6.9-million is still owed, although there isn't a payment day set for when this should be paid.

The Kopano audit and also the shut connection involving the companies “indicate to us that there's ‘foul Engage in’ involved in the acquisition on the equipment on the museum workshop”, the investigators mentioned in the report.

“We find that it's extremely possible that CTMCA used the funding on the NLC to ‘refund’ one of its major administrators with the home at a better overpriced level than the particular cost and value of the house and/or machinery.”

Suggestions
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it had been unable to establish how the grant towards the CTMCA had been spent.

“In reality, an in depth report on how the funding with the NLC was applied, might be difficult as being the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or evidence of payments to verify the quantities put in on Each and every product it requested funding for. The interim report and remaining report on the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators located which the NLC had not executed a site take a look at before approving the grant. But this was not common observe at the time and so they located no proof of carelessness by NLC workforce.

At some time, the NLC’s rules didn't require funded organisations to post evidence of payment with interim stories, they pointed out. This meant which the CTMCA was able to get a 2nd tranche of funding without needing to offer evidence that it had utilized the first tranche for its supposed goal.

Following the appointment of a completely new board, commissioner and senior government team, the NLC has tightened up on these and various concerns.

Dabishi Nthambeleni recommended that

the NLC decrease any upcoming funding applications through the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any users who were associated with the grant be subjected on the 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 than act on the report’s tips, the NLC – underneath its preceding administration – chose to suppress it, mainly because it had carried out Using the former stories into corruption it had commissioned.

GroundUp sent questions to Stemmet and Soeker by means of SMS, and asked for e-mail addresses to mail the queries by electronic mail as well. But no reaction were received at time of publication.



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

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