Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery revenue compensated to minstrel team

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery revenue compensated to minstrel team

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

A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.3-million grant by the National Lotteries Commission on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for any minstrels museum has identified no evidence that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators identified the CTMCA didn't use the R5-million allocated to obtain or build a museum.
Additionally they discovered that the CTMCA only acquired land truly worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They uncovered the CTMCA utilized money with the Lottery to acquire workshop products from amongst its own administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how millions of rand granted towards the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) with the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) to setup a museum to celebrate town’s loaded minstrel historical past went astray. The museum was hardly ever developed.

The details of the abuse of millions of rands of Lottery money for any museum that never ever was are discovered in an investigative report commissioned by the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was Element of more than R64-million in Lottery money allotted towards the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017.

The primary A part of the investigation, by legislation agency Dabishi Nthambeleni, was performed amongst September 2020 and January 2021 and centered on a R27.three-million grant towards the CTMCA in 2014, which provided funding to the museum. The permitted price range with the museum was more than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allotted to get a setting up to accommodate the museum.

Study the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to analyze the purchase of the creating for the museum and if the museum “actually existed”.

The company was also instructed to analyze

the purchase with Lottery money of two cars – a sixty-seater bus and a 23-seater bus – for R2.four-million; and
different equipment “purchased for the manufacturing on the costumes and hats” for the minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At time, convicted prison Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of your CTMCA. He was appointed a director with the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing as two of various directors from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed like a director in Might 2021.

The investigation adopted substantial reporting by GroundUp regarding the countless rands of Lottery funding allotted into the CTMCA (see in this article, listed here and below) and the way the cash likely assisted finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign within the Western Cape, led by at enough time by Marius Fransman.



The constructing on the right was the intended web-site with the minstrels’ museum, in the midst of an industrial location in Primrose Park, Cape City. Photo: Raymond Joseph

In response to a Parliamentary problem, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to 3 CTMCA “initiatives” - such as the museum - among 2012 and 2015. All 3 initiatives were concluded, she told MPs.

Nevertheless the investigators observed no evidence that a museum experienced ever existed.

At first the museum was because of open up in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photo obtained by GroundUp with the supposed Wetton museum reveals a coffee shop with a few musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of pictures haphazardly hung to the walls, and also a model ship on its plinth in a very corner.

In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni claimed it was “not in a position” to verify if a museum experienced ever operated from these premises.

Stemmet told the investigators the museum were moved given that they could now not pay for the lease of R100,000 per month. He said the CTMCA had acquired assets for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for your museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been sold for the same price. Schaapkraal is in a very peri-city location far from town.

Due to this fact, the museum had been moved to a brand new locale in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But after checking out the premises, that are within an industrial area, the investigators explained they doubted no matter whether a suitable museum existed there. Shots attached for the report display a mishmash of randomly exhibited uniforms, musical devices and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed towards the wall, displayed on tables and distribute out on the ground, without having rationalization.

“There is a minimum number of merchandise at the museum [that] by no means characterize the greater than 100-12 months heritage on the Cape Town Carnival, the investigators stated, including that there was “no signage outside the house the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … frequently, the museum will not glimpse to become open up to the public.”

The CTMCA had breached the grant arrangement, Dabishi Nthambeleni noted, by relocating The placement from the museum to an alternate place without having notifying the NLC.



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

Buses
Stemmet explained to the investigators that the CTMCA experienced to move from the rented Crete Road premises since it had operate up a R4-million debt with town of Cape City and was fearful its equipment would be hooked up.

“Due to legal battles as well as the debts, the organisation experienced to move its property from 5 Crete Road to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the home of your organisation,” Stemmet explained to the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The present director of your CTMCA, instructed them that the two buses acquired with lottery money had been saved in the key site “concealed within the Sheriff”. However the investigators claimed they had been unable to substantiate that any buses experienced at any time been acquired.

Stemmet also confirmed the buses were concealed to prevent them becoming seized. But in the event the investigators requested to generally be taken on the area where by the buses were stored, he informed them that “the owner of the secret location was not available to open up the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't deliver proof of payment for two autos that it allegedly acquired with grant funds,” the investigators documented.

Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal home were bought because of the debt.

“Mr Soeker explained that In keeping with his knowledge, as a result of personal debt owed to the town of Cape City, the CTMCA made the decision It will be very best to market their [Schaapkraal] house … and to also to hide the property in the CTMCA to avoid the sheriff from attaching the assets.”

JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for security and stability, has Earlier informed GroundUp which the CTMCA “threw dollars away” on litigation with the City.

“Each year like clockwork, as we solution the top of the 12 months, the CTMCA picks a legal struggle with the town, about permits or something else. We never initiate it. They continue to keep throwing income absent on vexatious litigation that they get rid of and possess expenses awarded from them. This really is totally self-inflicted,” he reported.

Soeker advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the most crucial position players on issues of Lottery funding were Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who were being in charge of each of the admin, finances and managing ผล หวย ลาว the CTMCA.” The investigators explained they were not able to contact Momberg.

Hats
All through their “investigation in loco” within the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “located several equipment, some in fantastic affliction, some in terrible problem and some that seemed rusty and intensely old”. Stemmet instructed the investigators that there was also an off-web site storage facility where “devices and several equipment” were held.

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

Based upon pics and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, with the objects seem like tools that was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s prior premises. Stemmet is dealing with expenses for this removal.

According to the remaining progress report submitted to the NLC because of the CTMCA, the equipment was acquired from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business in which Stemmet, his wife and his daughter were being administrators at the time.

The investigators observed this “alarming”.

“In the CIPC lookup of Martin-Conne Milliners plus the invoices submitted, we Take note the subsequent alarming finding: Mr Stemmet himself is a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the company is five Crete Street, Wetton, Cape City, exactly the same address on which the museum was meant to be created and/or converted,” they described.

An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, hooked up on the investigative report, recorded that the CTMCA was in the whole process of obtaining “equipment, plant and stock” valued at R8.one-million from Stalph 164 CC, trading as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was an in depth Company of which Stemmet was certainly one of the administrators.

As outlined by Dabishi Nthambeleni, the company has paid R1.2-million like a deposit, indicating R6.nine-million remains owed, although there is not any payment day established for when this need to be paid out.

The Kopano audit plus the near url amongst the companies “show to us that there is ‘foul Participate in’ involved with the purchase from the equipment on the museum workshop”, the investigators stated in the report.

“We discover that it is really possible that CTMCA employed the funding from the NLC to ‘refund’ amongst its major directors for that property at a better overpriced level than the actual selling price and value of the home and/or equipment.”

Tips
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it was unable to establish how the grant for the CTMCA had been invested.

“The truth is, an in depth report on how the funding of your NLC was used, could be difficult given that the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or proof of payments to confirm the quantities expended on Each individual product it requested funding for. The interim report and last report of the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators uncovered the NLC had not executed a web-site check out prior to approving the grant. But this wasn't common practice at enough time and they identified no proof of carelessness by NLC personnel.

At some time, the NLC’s principles didn't need funded organisations to post evidence of payment with interim experiences, they identified. This intended which the CTMCA was able to receive a next tranche of funding without having to offer proof that it experienced applied the 1st tranche for its meant objective.

Following the appointment of a completely new board, commissioner and senior govt crew, the NLC has tightened up on these and also other troubles.

Dabishi Nthambeleni advised that

the NLC drop any potential funding applications from the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any customers who were involved with the grant be subjected to the NLC’s “delinquency” approach;
the NLC open up a felony circumstance of fraud with SAPS or even the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC get started the whole process of recovering the misappropriated funds.
But, as an alternative to act to the report’s suggestions, the NLC – beneath its preceding administration – selected to suppress it, because it had carried out With all the earlier reports into corruption it experienced commissioned.

GroundUp sent concerns to Stemmet and Soeker via SMS, and questioned for e-mail addresses to send the issues by e-mail much too. But no response were obtained at some time of publication.



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

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