Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery cash paid to minstrel team

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery cash paid to minstrel team

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

A report by attorneys Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.three-million grant through the Nationwide Lotteries Commission for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) to get a minstrels museum has identified no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators discovered the CTMCA didn't make use of the R5-million allotted to order or create a museum.
They also identified that the CTMCA only purchased land truly worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They identified the CTMCA applied resources through the Lottery to invest in workshop machines from among its very own administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how millions of rand granted for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) with the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to set up a museum to celebrate town’s rich minstrel background went astray. The museum was never ever designed.

The small print of the abuse of millions of rands of Lottery resources for your museum that never was are disclosed in an investigative report commissioned by the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was Section of over R64-million in Lottery resources allotted towards the CTMCA involving 2003 and 2017.

The very first part of the investigation, by law organization Dabishi Nthambeleni, was conducted involving September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.three-million grant towards the CTMCA in 2014, which included funding for the museum. The authorized spending budget with the museum was more than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allotted for any developing to accommodate the museum.

Study the report (PDF, 7MB)

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

The agency was also instructed to analyze

the acquisition with Lottery funds of two cars – a sixty-seater bus along with a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
many machines “bought for your production on the costumes and hats” for that minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At enough time, convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of your 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 various directors of the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed being a director in May well 2021.

The investigation adopted comprehensive reporting by GroundUp in regards to the countless rands of Lottery funding allotted towards the CTMCA (see right here, in this article and in this article) and how the cash likely assisted finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign inside the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.



The developing on the correct was the meant web-site from the minstrels’ museum, in the middle of an industrial area in Primrose Park, Cape City. Picture: Raymond Joseph

In response into a Parliamentary question, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane stated grants to 3 CTMCA “projects” - including the museum - between 2012 and 2015. All three assignments were completed, she advised MPs.

Even so the investigators uncovered no evidence that a museum had ever existed.

At the outset the museum was due to open in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photo acquired by GroundUp of your supposed Wetton museum displays a coffee shop with a few musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of photos haphazardly hung within the walls, and also a product ship on its plinth inside of a corner.

In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni said it absolutely was “not ready” to verify if a museum had ever operated from these premises.

Stemmet explained to the investigators the museum were moved as they could not pay for the hire of R100,000 a month. He mentioned the CTMCA experienced procured residence for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for that museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been marketed for the same selling price. Schaapkraal is in the peri-city region significantly from town.

Due to this fact, the museum were moved to a fresh location in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But immediately after visiting the premises, which can be in an industrial spot, the investigators claimed they doubted whether or not a proper museum existed there. Pictures attached into the report show a mishmash of randomly exhibited uniforms, musical instruments and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed to the wall, exhibited on tables and unfold out on the floor, without having clarification.

“There's a negligible number of goods on the museum [that] in no way characterize the in excess of 100-yr record from the Cape Town Carnival, the investigators reported, adding that there was “no signage outdoors the premises indicating they housed a museum and … commonly, the museum does not appear for being open to the public.”

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



The Schaapkraal house, on which no museum was ever crafted. Picture: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet informed the investigators which the CTMCA had to maneuver through the rented Crete Road premises mainly because it had operate up a R4-million credit card debt with the City of Cape City and was frightened its equipment might be attached.

“Due to the authorized battles plus the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its property from 5 Crete Road to avoid the sheriff from attaching the home on the organisation,” Stemmet instructed the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The present director on the CTMCA, advised them the two buses bought with lottery money had been stored in a mystery locale “concealed within the Sheriff”. But the investigators said they were not able to verify that any buses experienced ever been bought.

Stemmet also verified which the buses were concealed to prevent them being seized. But if the investigators asked to become taken to the place exactly where the buses were being saved, he advised them that “the operator of The key location was not available to open the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA could not provide proof of payment for 2 motor vehicles that it allegedly ordered with grant funds,” the investigators claimed.

Soeker also informed them the Schaapkraal residence were bought because of the debt.

“Mr Soeker described that In keeping with his understanding, because of the financial debt owed to the City of Cape City, the CTMCA resolved It will be best to provide their [Schaapkraal] house … also to also to hide the belongings in the CTMCA to avoid the sheriff from attaching the house.”

JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for security and stability, has Formerly informed GroundUp that the CTMCA “threw funds absent” on litigation with the City.

“Annually like clockwork, as we strategy the top on the yr, the CTMCA picks a authorized struggle with town, about permits or something else. We hardly ever initiate it. They hold throwing cash away on vexatious litigation which they shed and possess expenses awarded in opposition to them. This really is totally self-inflicted,” he stated.

Soeker advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the main part players on issues of Lottery funding ended up Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who ended up answerable for the many admin, finances and working หวย หุ้น ช่อง 9 วัน นี้ the CTMCA.” The investigators said they had been struggling to contact Momberg.

Hats
For the duration of their “investigation in loco” for the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “uncovered various devices, some in very good ailment, some in lousy condition and some that appeared rusty and very old”. Stemmet instructed the investigators that there was also an off-web page storage facility the place “devices and several equipment” have been kept.

“We questioned him to consider us to the ability but he was evasive to our ask for.”

Based upon pictures and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, of your things seem like equipment that was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s past premises. Stemmet is struggling with rates for this removing.

In accordance with the remaining development report submitted to the NLC via the CTMCA, the equipment was purchased from Martin-Conne Milliners, an organization wherein Stemmet, his wife and his daughter had been directors at the time.

The investigators found this “alarming”.

“In the CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners and also 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 corporation is five Crete Street, Wetton, Cape Town, the exact same tackle on which the museum was meant to be designed and/or converted,” they claimed.

An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, attached towards the investigative report, recorded which the CTMCA was in the entire process of getting “machinery, plant and stock” 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.

As outlined by Dabishi Nthambeleni, the organization has paid out R1.two-million as a deposit, which means R6.9-million remains to be owed, though there is absolutely no payment date set for when this has to be paid.

The Kopano audit and also the close link between the businesses “suggest to us that there's ‘foul Enjoy’ associated with the purchase on the machinery from the museum workshop”, the investigators said from the report.

“We find that it is remarkably probable that CTMCA made use of the funding with the NLC to ‘refund’ considered one of its major administrators for your residence at a better overpriced level than the actual price tag and price of the house and/or equipment.”

Tips
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it was not able to establish how the grant into the CTMCA had been invested.

“In point of fact, an in depth report on how the funding in the NLC was applied, could be difficult given that the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or proof of payments to substantiate the quantities expended on Each individual merchandise it requested funding for. The interim report and final report from the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators found which the NLC had not conducted a web site pay a visit to ahead of approving the grant. But this was not common follow at some time and they observed no proof of negligence by NLC staff members.

At the time, the NLC’s procedures did not have to have funded organisations to post evidence of payment with interim stories, they identified. This intended which the CTMCA was in a position to receive a second tranche of funding without needing to supply proof that it experienced made use of the first tranche for its supposed purpose.

Following the appointment of a fresh board, commissioner and senior government crew, the NLC has tightened up on these together with other troubles.

Dabishi Nthambeleni recommended that

the NLC decrease any long term funding purposes with the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any customers who were involved in the grant be subjected to your NLC’s “delinquency” course of action;
the NLC open up a legal case of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start off the process of recovering the misappropriated funds.
But, as an alternative to act to the report’s tips, the NLC – under its previous administration – selected to suppress it, since it experienced performed with the previous experiences into corruption it experienced commissioned.

GroundUp sent queries to Stemmet and Soeker by way of SMS, and questioned for electronic mail addresses to ship the queries by electronic mail way too. But no response were acquired at the time of publication.



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

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