Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid out to minstrel team

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid out to minstrel team

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

A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.three-million grant via the National Lotteries Fee to the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for your minstrels museum has observed no proof that a museum ever existed.
The investigators found that the CTMCA didn't use the R5-million allotted to acquire or develop a museum.
Additionally they found that the CTMCA only purchased land worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They identified the CTMCA made use of resources from the Lottery to invest in workshop products from one among its very own administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how an incredible number of rand granted towards the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) because of the National Lotteries Commission (NLC) to build a museum to celebrate the town’s loaded minstrel heritage went astray. The museum was by no means developed.

The details in the abuse of numerous rands of Lottery money for your museum that never ever was are discovered within an investigative report commissioned from the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was Portion of over R64-million in Lottery funds allocated on the CTMCA among 2003 and 2017.

The first Component of the investigation, by regulation company Dabishi Nthambeleni, was executed amongst September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.three-million grant on the CTMCA in 2014, which included funding for the museum. The accredited spending plan for the museum was more than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allocated for a making to accommodate the museum.

Study the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to analyze the purchase of a constructing to the museum and if the museum “basically existed”.

The firm was also instructed to investigate

the purchase with Lottery money of two autos – a sixty-seater bus along with a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
many devices “obtained for the producing in the costumes and hats” for that minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At some time, convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director with 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 continued as two of various directors of your organisation. Stemmet was reappointed being a director in Might 2021.

The investigation adopted comprehensive reporting by GroundUp in regards to the an incredible number of rands of Lottery funding allocated on the CTMCA (see in this article, here and right here) and the way the funds in all probability assisted finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign while in the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.



The building on the best was the supposed site on the minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial area in Primrose Park, Cape City. Image: Raymond Joseph

In response to the Parliamentary query, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane shown grants to 3 CTMCA “tasks” - such as the museum - in between 2012 and 2015. All three jobs were done, she told MPs.

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

In the beginning the museum was because of open in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photo attained by GroundUp with the meant Wetton museum reveals a espresso shop with some musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of photos haphazardly hung over the walls, along with a product ship on its plinth in a very corner.

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

Stemmet told the investigators the museum were moved since they could no more pay for the rent of R100,000 per month. He mentioned the CTMCA had ordered home for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal with the museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and were marketed for the same cost. Schaapkraal is in the peri-urban region considerably from the town.

Subsequently, the museum had been moved to a whole new place in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But following going to the premises, which might be in an industrial region, the investigators claimed they doubted no matter if an appropriate museum existed there. Shots hooked up for the report clearly show a mishmash of randomly shown uniforms, musical instruments and diverse minstrel paraphernalia nailed to your wall, exhibited on tables and distribute out on the floor, with no explanation.

“There's a small degree of goods within the museum [that] on no account characterize the a lot more than 100-yr background from the Cape City Carnival, the investigators reported, introducing that there was “no signage outside the house the premises indicating they housed a museum and … generally, the museum would not look to generally be open to the public.”

The CTMCA experienced breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni observed, by moving The situation on the museum to an alternative spot devoid of notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal property, on which no museum was ever constructed. Picture: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet instructed the investigators which the CTMCA experienced to move through the rented Crete Road premises since it experienced run up a R4-million financial debt with the City of Cape Town and was afraid its gear would be connected.

“A result of the lawful battles plus the debts, the organisation had to maneuver its house from 5 Crete Highway to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the house from the organisation,” Stemmet instructed the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The existing director of the CTMCA, advised them the two buses purchased with lottery resources were being saved inside a solution locale “concealed from the Sheriff”. Even so the investigators reported they were being not able to confirm that any buses had ever been bought.

Stemmet also confirmed which the buses had been hidden to halt them being seized. But when the investigators asked being taken into the put wherever the buses ended up stored, he informed them that “the owner of the secret spot wasn't accessible 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 revenue,” the investigators claimed.

Soeker also told them the Schaapkraal assets were marketed because of the debt.

“Mr Soeker explained that In accordance with his knowledge, because of the credit card debt owed to the town of Cape Town, the CTMCA determined It will be most effective to promote their [Schaapkraal] house … and also to also to hide the assets in the CTMCA to avoid the sheriff from attaching the property.”

JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for basic safety and safety, has Formerly informed GroundUp that the CTMCA “threw funds away” on litigation with the town.

“Every year like clockwork, as we approach the top on the year, the CTMCA picks a authorized fight with the town, around permits or another thing. We hardly ever initiate it. They preserve throwing money away on vexatious litigation which they lose and possess expenses awarded from them. This can be totally self-inflicted,” he said.

Soeker advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the primary part players on issues of Lottery funding ended up Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been in command of each of the admin, funds and functioning ตรวจ the CTMCA.” The investigators explained they had been not able to Get hold of Momberg.

Hats
During their “investigation in loco” in the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “discovered numerous devices, some in great situation, some in bad issue and many that looked rusty and intensely old”. Stemmet explained to the investigators that there was also an off-internet site storage facility in which “devices and several machinery” had been saved.

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

According to pics and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, of the products appear to be gear that was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s earlier premises. Stemmet is experiencing rates for this removing.

In accordance with the remaining development report submitted into the NLC from the CTMCA, the equipment was acquired from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business by which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter had been administrators at some time.

The investigators located this “alarming”.

“In the CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners and the invoices submitted, we note the next alarming acquiring: Mr Stemmet himself is a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the company is 5 Crete Highway, Wetton, Cape Town, the exact same tackle on which the museum was intended to be built and/or transformed,” they noted.

An audit by accountants Kopano Included, attached into the investigative report, recorded that the CTMCA was in the whole process of buying “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was an in depth Company of which Stemmet was certainly one of the directors.

Based on Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporation has paid R1.2-million to be a deposit, that means R6.nine-million remains to be owed, though there is absolutely no payment date set for when this need to be compensated.

The Kopano audit and the shut connection in between the companies “indicate to us that there's ‘foul Enjoy’ associated with the acquisition of your machinery of the museum workshop”, the investigators said in the report.

“We discover that it is highly probable that CTMCA utilized the funding of your NLC to ‘refund’ considered one of its major administrators to the assets at a better overpriced rate than the actual price and value of the house and/or machinery.”

Suggestions
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it absolutely was not able to determine how the grant into the CTMCA were spent.

“In fact, a detailed report on how the funding in the NLC was utilised, might be impossible as the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or evidence of payments to verify the amounts invested on Each and every item it asked for funding for. The interim report and remaining report of your CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators identified that the NLC had not conducted a web page take a look at prior to approving the grant. But this wasn't conventional apply at some time and so they uncovered no proof of negligence by NLC personnel.

At enough time, the NLC’s rules did not demand funded organisations to submit proof of payment with interim studies, they pointed out. This meant which the CTMCA was in the position to receive a 2nd tranche of funding without the need to present evidence that it had utilised the main tranche for its meant goal.

Adhering to the appointment of a completely new board, commissioner and senior govt staff, the NLC has tightened up on these together with other troubles.

Dabishi Nthambeleni suggested that

the NLC decrease any potential funding applications within the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any associates who were involved with the grant be subjected into the NLC’s “delinquency” method;
the NLC open up a criminal scenario of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC commence the entire process of recovering the misappropriated cash.
But, rather then act on the report’s recommendations, the NLC – beneath its past administration – selected to suppress it, mainly because it experienced performed With all the earlier reviews into corruption it experienced commissioned.

GroundUp despatched issues to Stemmet and Soeker by means of SMS, and questioned for e-mail addresses to mail the issues by email much too. But no response had been acquired at some time of publication.



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

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