Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery funds paid to minstrel group

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery funds paid to minstrel group

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Minstrels perform in Athlone on two January 2017. Archive Photograph: Ashraf Hendricks

A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.3-million grant through the Countrywide Lotteries Commission to your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for a minstrels museum has observed no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators observed which the CTMCA didn't utilize the R5-million allocated to get or produce a museum.
Additionally they found that the CTMCA only bought land really worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They uncovered the CTMCA utilized funds from your Lottery to get workshop tools from among its personal administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how many rand granted to your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) from the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) to setup a museum to rejoice town’s prosperous minstrel background went astray. The museum was never made.

The details on the abuse of many rands of Lottery resources for a museum that hardly ever was are exposed in an investigative report commissioned through the NLC in 2021.

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

The very first Element of the investigation, by legislation business Dabishi Nthambeleni, was carried out concerning September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant to the CTMCA in 2014, which provided funding with the museum. The accepted finances for the museum was a lot more than R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allotted for your building to house the museum.

Read the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the purchase of a constructing for your museum and whether or not the museum “in fact existed”.

The firm was also instructed to research

the acquisition with Lottery cash of two motor vehicles – a sixty-seater bus as well as a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
a variety of devices “ordered with the producing on the costumes and hats” to the minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At enough time, convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director with 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 several directors with the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in May 2021.

The investigation followed considerable reporting by GroundUp regarding the an incredible number of rands of Lottery funding allocated towards the CTMCA (see below, right here and below) and how the funds possibly served finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign while in the Western Cape, led by at some time by Marius Fransman.



The building on the correct was the intended site of your minstrels’ museum, in the middle of an industrial place in Primrose Park, Cape City. Picture: Raymond Joseph

In reaction to a Parliamentary query, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to 3 CTMCA “jobs” - such as the museum - in between 2012 and 2015. All a few jobs had been finished, she informed MPs.

But the investigators found no evidence that a museum had at any time existed.

Initially the museum was as a result of open in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photo obtained by GroundUp on the supposed Wetton museum demonstrates a espresso store with a few musical instruments and minstrel costumes and collages of photographs haphazardly hung within the walls, as well as a model ship on its plinth in a very corner.

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

Stemmet instructed the investigators the museum had been moved mainly because they could not afford to pay for the rent of R100,000 a month. He reported the CTMCA had obtained assets for R1.seven-million in Schaapkraal to the museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and were sold for the same value. Schaapkraal is in a peri-city area much from the city.

Therefore, the museum had been moved to a fresh area in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But following visiting the premises, which are within an industrial region, the investigators reported they doubted irrespective of whether a suitable museum existed there. Photos connected to the report demonstrate a mishmash of randomly exhibited uniforms, musical devices and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed on the wall, exhibited on tables and distribute out on the ground, without having rationalization.

“There's a nominal degree of items at the museum [that] in no way symbolize the a lot more than 100-year history of your Cape Town Carnival, the investigators stated, introducing that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … generally, the museum won't seem to become open up to the public.”

The CTMCA experienced breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni famous, by shifting The situation on the museum to an alternative spot without having notifying the NLC.



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

Buses
Stemmet advised the investigators which the CTMCA experienced to maneuver in the rented Crete Street premises as it experienced operate up a R4-million personal debt with town of Cape City and was fearful its machines could well be hooked up.

“Mainly because of the lawful battles along with the debts, the organisation had to maneuver its residence from 5 Crete Highway to avoid the sheriff from attaching the assets on the organisation,” Stemmet informed the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The existing director in the CTMCA, explained to them the two buses acquired with lottery money were being stored inside of a top secret area “concealed from your Sheriff”. But the investigators mentioned they have been not able to substantiate that any buses experienced at any time been purchased.

Stemmet also confirmed the buses had been hidden to stop them becoming seized. But when the investigators asked to be taken towards the location exactly where the buses were saved, he instructed them that “the proprietor of The trick site was not accessible to open the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't present proof of payment for 2 automobiles that it allegedly bought with grant money,” the investigators claimed.

Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal residence were offered due to the debt.

“Mr Soeker stated that according to his comprehension, as a result of debt owed to the town of Cape City, the CTMCA resolved It might be finest to provide their [Schaapkraal] residence … and to also to hide the property in the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the property.”

JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for security and protection, has Beforehand explained to GroundUp which the CTMCA “threw money absent” on litigation with town.

“Each year like clockwork, as we method the top with the 12 months, the CTMCA picks a legal struggle with the town, around permits or something else. We never ever initiate it. They retain throwing dollars away on vexatious litigation that they reduce and also have costs awarded versus them. That is entirely self-inflicted,” he claimed.

Soeker advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the principle job players on problems with Lottery funding have been Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been in charge of all the admin, funds and running ตรวจ สลากกินแบ่ง รัฐบาล the CTMCA.” The investigators said they were unable to Call Momberg.

Hats
For the duration of their “investigation in loco” in the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “observed numerous machines, some in superior condition, some in negative affliction and a few that seemed rusty and intensely outdated”. Stemmet told the investigators that there was also an off-internet site storage facility wherever “devices and several machinery” had been retained.

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

Depending on photographs and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, on the objects look like tools which was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s past premises. Stemmet is dealing with rates for this removal.

Based on the closing progress report submitted on the NLC through the CTMCA, the machinery was acquired from Martin-Conne Milliners, a corporation in which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were being administrators at enough time.

The investigators uncovered this “alarming”.

“In the CIPC search of Martin-Conne Milliners and the invoices submitted, we Take note the next alarming discovering: Mr Stemmet himself is a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered tackle of the corporate is five Crete Street, Wetton, Cape City, the exact same address on which the museum was intended to be crafted and/or converted,” they noted.

An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, hooked up towards the investigative report, recorded that the CTMCA was in the entire process of paying for “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.one-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was an in depth corporation of which Stemmet was considered one of the administrators.

According to Dabishi Nthambeleni, the organization has paid R1.two-million as a deposit, this means R6.9-million is still owed, nevertheless there is not any payment date established for when this have to be compensated.

The Kopano audit along with the shut hyperlink involving the companies “reveal to us that there's ‘foul Participate in’ involved in the purchase on the equipment of your museum workshop”, the investigators stated inside the report.

“We find that it is very probable that CTMCA utilized the funding in the NLC to ‘refund’ one among its key directors for your property at a higher overpriced level than the particular value and value of the residence and/or machinery.”

Tips
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it had been not able to ascertain how the grant to the CTMCA were spent.

“The truth is, a detailed report on how the funding with the NLC was utilized, might be unattainable as being the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or proof of payments to confirm the amounts put in on Each individual item it requested funding for. The interim report and final report in the CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators identified the NLC had not performed a web site pay a visit to ahead of approving the grant. But this was not standard observe at some time plus they identified no proof of carelessness by NLC staff.

At the time, the NLC’s procedures did not involve funded organisations to submit evidence of payment with interim reviews, they identified. This intended the CTMCA was ready to receive a 2nd tranche of funding without having to supply evidence that it experienced used the primary tranche for its supposed purpose.

Subsequent the appointment of a different board, commissioner and senior govt workforce, the NLC has tightened up on these as well as other troubles.

Dabishi Nthambeleni advisable that

the NLC decrease any foreseeable future funding apps through the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any associates who had been involved in the grant be subjected into the NLC’s “delinquency” course of action;
the NLC open a prison scenario of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start out the entire process of recovering the misappropriated funds.
But, rather then act within the report’s tips, the NLC – below its former administration – chose to suppress it, because it had finished With all the past reports into corruption it had commissioned.

GroundUp sent queries to Stemmet and Soeker through SMS, and requested for e mail addresses to send out the issues by electronic mail much too. But no reaction had been obtained at the time of publication.



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