Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery revenue compensated to minstrel team

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

A report by attorneys Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.three-million grant through the Countrywide Lotteries Commission to the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for your minstrels museum has uncovered no evidence that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators discovered which the CTMCA did not use the R5-million allocated to buy or produce a museum.
They also discovered which the CTMCA only purchased land really worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They uncovered the CTMCA employed money from your Lottery to acquire workshop gear from amongst its possess administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how millions of rand granted into the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) via the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to build a museum to rejoice the city’s abundant minstrel record went astray. The museum was under no circumstances established.

The main points of the abuse of a lot of rands of Lottery cash for your museum that by no means was are discovered in an investigative report commissioned via the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was Portion of more than R64-million in Lottery money allocated to the CTMCA among 2003 and 2017.

The 1st Component of the investigation, by regulation company Dabishi Nthambeleni, was carried out amongst September 2020 and January 2021 and centered on a R27.3-million grant towards the CTMCA in 2014, which bundled funding for the museum. The permitted spending plan for the museum was greater than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allotted for the setting up to accommodate the museum.

Browse the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to research the purchase of the creating with the museum and whether or not the museum “really existed”.

The firm was also instructed to research

the purchase with Lottery money of two vehicles – a 60-seater bus and also a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
numerous machines “procured for that manufacturing of your costumes and hats” with the minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At time, convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director with the CTMCA. He was appointed a director in the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing as two of several directors from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed being a director in May 2021.

The investigation adopted comprehensive reporting by GroundUp concerning the numerous rands of Lottery funding allocated for the CTMCA (see in this article, in this article and in this article) and just how the money possibly aided finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign from the Western Cape, led by at the time by Marius Fransman.



The making on the appropriate was the supposed site of your minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial location in Primrose Park, Cape City. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

In response to some Parliamentary concern, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to 3 CTMCA “jobs” - such as the museum - between 2012 and 2015. All three tasks were completed, she told MPs.

But the investigators found no evidence that a museum experienced ever existed.

At the outset the museum was due to open up in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photograph received by GroundUp in the meant Wetton museum reveals a coffee store with some musical instruments and minstrel costumes and collages of photographs haphazardly hung around the partitions, in addition to a design ship on its plinth inside a corner.

In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni reported it had been “not able” to confirm if a museum had ever operated from these premises.

Stemmet informed the investigators the museum had been moved as they could no more afford the hire of R100,000 per month. He claimed the CTMCA experienced obtained house for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for the museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been offered for the same selling price. Schaapkraal is in the peri-city spot much from town.

Therefore, the museum were moved to a brand new spot in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet explained to the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But right after browsing the premises, that are within an industrial area, the investigators claimed they doubted no matter if a proper museum existed there. Photographs hooked up into the report display a mishmash of randomly exhibited uniforms, musical instruments and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed to your wall, exhibited on tables and distribute out on the floor, without having clarification.

“There is a minimum volume of products at the museum [that] under no circumstances stand for the in excess of 100-12 months background with the Cape Town Carnival, the investigators said, incorporating that there was “no signage outside the premises indicating which they housed a museum and … normally, the museum doesn't appear being open up to the general public.”

The CTMCA had breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni famous, by transferring The situation with the museum to another locale with out notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal home, on which no museum was ever developed. Photo: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet informed the investigators the CTMCA had to move from your rented Crete Road premises mainly because it had run up a R4-million personal debt with the town of Cape City and was fearful its tools could be attached.

“Due to the lawful battles as well as the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its residence from 5 Crete Highway to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the property on the organisation,” Stemmet told the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The present director on the CTMCA, explained to them that the two buses bought with lottery funds have been stored within a mystery location “hidden from your Sheriff”. Although the investigators explained they have been unable to verify that any buses had ever been acquired.

Stemmet also verified that the buses were concealed to halt them remaining seized. But if the investigators asked to generally be taken for the place the place the buses were saved, he informed them that “the proprietor of The trick location was not accessible to open up the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't provide proof of payment for 2 motor vehicles that it allegedly bought with grant income,” the investigators described.

Soeker also told them the Schaapkraal home had been sold because of the debt.

“Mr Soeker defined that according to his knowledge, mainly because of the financial debt owed to the town of Cape Town, the CTMCA made a decision It might be best to sell their [Schaapkraal] home … and to also to cover the assets of your CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the house.”

JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for basic safety and security, has Earlier informed GroundUp the CTMCA “threw cash away” on litigation with town.

“Each and every year like clockwork, as we approach the tip from the 12 months, the CTMCA picks a lawful struggle with town, more than permits or something else. We never ever initiate it. They continue to keep throwing cash away on vexatious litigation they eliminate and also have prices awarded towards them. That is totally self-inflicted,” he stated.

Soeker told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the main role gamers on issues of Lottery funding have been Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who ended up answerable for the many admin, finances and functioning หวย ลาว ล่าสุด the CTMCA.” The investigators claimed they had been unable to Call Momberg.

Hats
For the duration of their “investigation in loco” for the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “identified many equipment, some in very good situation, some in lousy issue plus some that looked rusty and intensely old”. Stemmet instructed the investigators that there was also an off-web site storage facility where “devices and many equipment” had been kept.

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

Depending on photos and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, on the objects appear to be tools that was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s earlier premises. Stemmet is struggling with charges for this removing.

Based on the final development report submitted for the NLC through the CTMCA, the machinery was procured from Martin-Conne Milliners, a corporation where Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter ended up directors at enough time.

The investigators found this “alarming”.

“With the CIPC lookup of Martin-Conne Milliners and the invoices submitted, we Observe the subsequent alarming discovering: Mr Stemmet himself is often a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the corporate is five Crete Highway, Wetton, Cape City, the same address on which the museum was meant to be crafted and/or transformed,” they described.

An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, attached for the investigative report, recorded that the CTMCA was in the entire process of obtaining “machinery, plant and inventory” valued at R8.one-million from Stalph 164 CC, trading as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a detailed corporation of which Stemmet was amongst the administrators.

Based on Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporate has paid R1.2-million to be a deposit, indicating R6.9-million remains to be owed, although there is no payment date set for when this need to be paid.

The Kopano audit and the close website link concerning the businesses “indicate to us that there's ‘foul Participate in’ linked to the acquisition in the machinery of your museum workshop”, the investigators reported in the report.

“We discover that it is highly possible that CTMCA employed the funding of the NLC to ‘refund’ amongst its major administrators for that home at the next overpriced fee than the particular value and price of the assets and/or machinery.”

Recommendations
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it had been not able to determine how the grant to the CTMCA had been put in.

“The truth is, an in depth report on how the funding of the NLC was applied, would be extremely hard given that the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or evidence of payments to verify the amounts expended on Just about every product it asked for funding for. The interim report and last report from the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators located that the NLC experienced not performed a site take a look at just before approving the grant. But this wasn't normal observe at time they usually discovered no proof of carelessness by NLC personnel.

At the time, the NLC’s policies didn't involve funded organisations to post evidence of payment with interim reports, they pointed out. This intended which the CTMCA was capable of get a 2nd tranche of funding without the need to present evidence that it experienced used the primary 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 along with other difficulties.

Dabishi Nthambeleni encouraged that

the NLC drop any potential funding applications from your CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any members who ended up associated with the grant be subjected on the NLC’s “delinquency” procedure;
the NLC open up a prison scenario of fraud with SAPS or maybe the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC commence the whole process of recovering the misappropriated funds.
But, in lieu of act on the report’s recommendations, the NLC – beneath its past administration – selected to suppress it, since it had finished With all the preceding studies into corruption it had commissioned.

GroundUp despatched issues to Stemmet and Soeker by means of SMS, and asked for e mail addresses to send out the issues by e-mail too. But no reaction had been gained at time of publication.



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

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