Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars compensated to minstrel team
Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars compensated to minstrel team
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Minstrels perform in Athlone on two January 2017. Archive Image: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.three-million grant by the Countrywide Lotteries Commission for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for your minstrels museum has observed no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators observed which the CTMCA did not make use of the R5-million allotted to acquire or make a museum.
They also observed which the CTMCA only bought land well worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They observed the CTMCA employed resources from your Lottery to buy workshop equipment from amongst its personal directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how many rand granted towards the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) with the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to set up a museum to rejoice the town’s wealthy minstrel historical past went astray. The museum was under no circumstances developed.
The small print with the abuse of many rands of Lottery cash for the museum that in no way was are unveiled within an investigative report commissioned because of the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was A part of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery funds allocated towards the CTMCA between 2003 and 2017.
The main Element of the investigation, by law company Dabishi Nthambeleni, was carried out concerning September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.three-million grant to the CTMCA in 2014, which incorporated funding with the museum. The approved spending budget for the museum was over R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allotted for just a constructing to accommodate the museum.
Study the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the acquisition of a building with the museum and whether or not the museum “truly existed”.
The business was also instructed to investigate
the purchase with Lottery resources of two autos – a sixty-seater bus as well as a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
a variety of machines “ordered for that manufacturing with the costumes and hats” with the minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At some time, convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director with the CTMCA. He was appointed a director with the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued as two of quite a few directors of the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed being a director in Might 2021.
The investigation followed extensive reporting by GroundUp regarding the countless rands of Lottery funding allocated on the CTMCA (see listed here, listed here and listed here) and the way in which the money most likely assisted finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign while in the Western Cape, led by at the time by Marius Fransman.
The building on the best was the supposed website on the minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial area in Primrose Park, Cape City. Photo: Raymond Joseph
In reaction into a Parliamentary dilemma, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane listed grants to a few CTMCA “initiatives” - such as the museum - among 2012 and 2015. All a few projects were concluded, she instructed MPs.
Nevertheless the investigators discovered no proof that a museum experienced at any time existed.
To start with the museum was on account of open up in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photograph attained by GroundUp of the meant Wetton museum demonstrates a espresso shop with some musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of pics haphazardly hung about the partitions, plus 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 at any time operated from these premises.
Stemmet informed the investigators the museum were moved since they could no longer afford to pay for the lease of R100,000 a month. He stated the CTMCA had purchased assets for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for that museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been marketed for a similar rate. Schaapkraal is in the peri-city region significantly from the town.
Subsequently, the museum had been moved to a different place in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet instructed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But following checking out the premises, which can be in an industrial space, the investigators stated they doubted whether a proper museum existed there. Pictures hooked up towards the report present a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical instruments and various minstrel paraphernalia nailed to your wall, exhibited on tables and unfold out on the floor, without clarification.
“There is a nominal amount of items with the museum [that] on no account signify the a lot more than one hundred-yr historical past in the Cape City Carnival, the investigators reported, introducing that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … frequently, the museum will not glance to be open to the public.”
The CTMCA experienced breached the grant arrangement, Dabishi Nthambeleni observed, by transferring the location of the museum to an alternate spot with out notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal house, on which no museum was at any time developed. Photograph: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet explained to the investigators the CTMCA had to move from the rented Crete Road premises since it experienced run up a R4-million debt with the City of Cape City and was fearful its machines would be hooked up.
“Mainly because of the legal battles and the debts, the organisation had to move its house from five Crete Highway to avoid the sheriff from attaching the home on the organisation,” Stemmet explained to the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, The existing director of your CTMCA, instructed them the two buses bought with lottery funds had been stored in the solution location “concealed from the Sheriff”. Even so the investigators reported they were not able to verify that any buses had at any time been purchased.
Stemmet also verified that the buses were hidden to halt them getting seized. But once the investigators asked to generally be taken on the location where by the buses were saved, he informed them that “the proprietor of The key place was not accessible to open the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA could not give evidence of payment for 2 vehicles that it allegedly obtained with grant income,” the investigators claimed.
Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal house were offered because of the personal debt.
“Mr Soeker discussed that In line with his comprehension, because of the credit card debt owed to town of Cape City, the CTMCA determined It could be ideal to market their [Schaapkraal] assets … and also to also to hide the belongings of the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the home.”
JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for safety and safety, has Beforehand instructed GroundUp which the CTMCA “threw money absent” on litigation with the City.
“On a yearly basis like clockwork, as we method the tip on the yr, the CTMCA picks a legal struggle with town, about permits or another thing. We never initiate it. They hold throwing dollars away on vexatious litigation they drop and possess expenditures awarded from them. This is often solely self-inflicted,” he claimed.
Soeker informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the main purpose players on problems with Lottery funding have been Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who were being in control of many of the admin, finances and operating สลาก กิน the CTMCA.” The investigators explained they were struggling to Speak to Momberg.
Hats
Throughout their “investigation in loco” for the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “found quite a few devices, some in good problem, some in undesirable affliction plus some that appeared rusty and intensely aged”. Stemmet informed the investigators that there was also an off-site storage facility in which “instruments plus some equipment” had been kept.
“We requested him to just take us to the facility but he was evasive to our request.”
Based on shots and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, on the things appear to be gear which was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s prior premises. Stemmet is struggling with fees for this removing.
According to the closing development report submitted on the NLC from the CTMCA, the machinery was purchased from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business wherein Stemmet, his wife and his daughter have been administrators at enough time.
The investigators uncovered this “alarming”.
“In the CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners as well as invoices submitted, we Take note the subsequent alarming acquiring: Mr Stemmet himself is usually a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered handle of the corporate is 5 Crete Road, Wetton, Cape City, the same handle on which the museum was intended to be built and/or transformed,” they noted.
An audit by accountants Kopano Incorporated, attached towards the investigative report, recorded which the CTMCA was in the whole process of obtaining “equipment, plant and stock” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, trading as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was an in depth corporation of which Stemmet was amongst the directors.
According to Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporate has compensated R1.two-million as being a deposit, that means R6.nine-million remains owed, although there isn't a payment day set for when this has to be paid.
The Kopano audit and the shut url in between the businesses “show to us that there's ‘foul Participate in’ involved with the purchase of your machinery of the museum workshop”, the investigators explained inside the report.
“We discover that it's remarkably probable that CTMCA utilised the funding from the NLC to ‘refund’ one of its major directors to the residence at the next overpriced rate than the actual price and price of the property and/or machinery.”
Recommendations
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it was not able to establish how the grant towards the CTMCA had been spent.
“In point of fact, an in depth report on how the funding with the NLC was utilised, can be extremely hard because the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or evidence of payments to confirm the amounts expended on Every single item it asked for funding for. The interim report and final report in the CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators observed that the NLC experienced not conducted a internet site stop by prior to approving the grant. But this was not common exercise at some time they usually discovered no proof of carelessness by NLC staff members.
At enough time, the NLC’s procedures didn't have to have funded organisations to post proof of payment with interim reports, they identified. This meant the CTMCA was in the position to receive a 2nd tranche of funding without needing to supply proof that it experienced utilised the initial tranche for its supposed function.
Following the appointment of a completely new board, commissioner and senior executive staff, the NLC has tightened up on these and also other issues.
Dabishi Nthambeleni advisable that
the NLC drop any future funding programs through the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any customers who ended up involved with the grant be subjected to your NLC’s “delinquency” system;
the NLC open up a legal case of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start the whole process of recovering the misappropriated cash.
But, as opposed to act around the report’s tips, the NLC – beneath its previous administration – selected to suppress it, as it experienced done While using the earlier experiences into corruption it had commissioned.
GroundUp sent queries to Stemmet and Soeker by using SMS, and asked for e-mail addresses to ship the issues by electronic mail also. But no response had been acquired at enough time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Street, Wetton. Image: Raymond Joseph