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 execute in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Photograph: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.3-million grant from the Countrywide Lotteries Commission into the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for a minstrels museum has found no proof that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators uncovered that the CTMCA did not use the R5-million allocated to order or establish a museum.
In addition they found the CTMCA only purchased land worthy of R1.seven-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They uncovered the CTMCA applied money in the Lottery to invest in workshop gear from certainly one of its own directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how millions of rand granted to your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) via the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) to arrange a museum to rejoice the city’s loaded minstrel historical past went astray. The museum was under no circumstances established.
The small print of your abuse of countless rands of Lottery money for any museum that never was are revealed within an investigative report commissioned through the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was A part of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery resources allocated to your CTMCA in between 2003 and 2017.
The initial Portion of the investigation, by legislation firm Dabishi Nthambeleni, was executed concerning September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant on the CTMCA in 2014, which bundled funding to the museum. The accepted funds for that museum was over R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allocated for your developing to accommodate the museum.
Read through the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the purchase of the building with the museum and whether or not the museum “actually existed”.
The firm was also instructed to research
the acquisition with Lottery money of two motor vehicles – a sixty-seater bus plus a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
a variety of equipment “obtained for the manufacturing on the costumes and hats” for your minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At the time, convicted legal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of the CTMCA. He was appointed a director from the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued as two of various administrators of your organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as being a director in Could 2021.
The investigation followed extensive reporting by GroundUp regarding the millions of rands of Lottery funding allotted to your CTMCA (see below, right here and below) and the way the money likely served finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign within the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.
The constructing on the ideal was the meant web-site of your minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial place in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Photo: Raymond Joseph
In reaction to your Parliamentary concern, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane listed grants to 3 CTMCA “assignments” - including the museum - involving 2012 and 2015. All three jobs had been done, she advised MPs.
Nevertheless the investigators uncovered no proof that a museum had at any time existed.
Initially the museum was as a consequence of open in rented premises in Crete Road, Wetton. A photo acquired by GroundUp with the meant Wetton museum shows a coffee store with a few musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of photos haphazardly hung around the walls, along with a model ship on its plinth inside a corner.
In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni stated it was “not ready” to verify if a museum had at any time operated from these premises.
Stemmet instructed the investigators the museum had been moved since they could now not find the money for the rent of R100,000 per month. He mentioned the CTMCA experienced acquired property for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for the museum, but could not get it rezoned, and were sold for the same selling price. Schaapkraal is within a peri-city area much from the town.
As a result, the museum had been moved to a whole new locale in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But right after traveling to the premises, which are within an industrial space, the investigators reported they doubted whether or not a proper museum existed there. Photos hooked up on the report demonstrate a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical devices and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed to the wall, shown on tables and spread out on the ground, with no clarification.
“There's a negligible volume of items with the museum [that] in no way symbolize the much more than 100-yr heritage of your Cape City Carnival, the investigators stated, introducing that there was “no signage outside the premises indicating they housed a museum and … frequently, the museum will not glance to generally be open up to the public.”
The CTMCA had breached the grant arrangement, Dabishi Nthambeleni noted, by shifting The placement on the museum to another site with out notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal property, on which no museum was at any time designed. Picture: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet instructed the investigators the CTMCA experienced to maneuver within the rented Crete Highway premises because it experienced run up a R4-million credit card debt with the City of Cape City and was afraid its machines will be hooked up.
“Due to legal battles plus the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its house from 5 Crete Highway to avoid the sheriff from attaching the house with the organisation,” Stemmet told the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, the current director in the CTMCA, instructed them the two buses purchased with lottery resources were saved in a magic formula place “hidden from the Sheriff”. Nevertheless the investigators explained they were being unable to confirm that any buses experienced ever been purchased.
Stemmet also verified that the buses were hidden to prevent them getting seized. But in the event the investigators questioned to get taken for the put the place the buses were being saved, he informed them that “the proprietor of The key site wasn't accessible to open up the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA couldn't present evidence of payment for 2 cars that it allegedly procured with grant money,” the investigators reported.
Soeker also told them the Schaapkraal property were marketed as a result of financial debt.
“Mr Soeker described that As outlined by his knowledge, due to financial debt owed to town of Cape Town, the CTMCA resolved It could be best to offer their [Schaapkraal] home … and also to also to cover the assets on the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the home.”
JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for basic safety and stability, has previously informed GroundUp the CTMCA “threw dollars absent” on litigation with the town.
“On a yearly basis like clockwork, as we approach the end of the year, the CTMCA picks a legal struggle with town, about permits or another thing. We never ever initiate it. They hold throwing income away on vexatious litigation which they get rid of and have costs awarded versus them. That is completely self-inflicted,” he said.
Soeker advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the primary job players on issues of Lottery funding were being Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who have been in charge of each of the admin, funds and functioning ตรวจ หวย ผล สลากกินแบ่ง รัฐบาล งวด the CTMCA.” The investigators mentioned they were not able to contact Momberg.
Hats
Through their “investigation in loco” in the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “uncovered many devices, some in good problem, some in terrible condition and a few that looked rusty and extremely previous”. Stemmet advised the investigators that there was also an off-web-site storage facility where by “devices and many machinery” had been stored.
“We asked him to take us to the power but he was evasive to our ask for.”
Determined by photographs and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, with the objects appear to be machines that was illegally faraway from the CTMCA’s earlier premises. Stemmet is dealing with rates for this removal.
In accordance with the final progress report submitted into the NLC through the CTMCA, the equipment was purchased from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business wherein Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were directors at time.
The investigators located this “alarming”.
“Within the CIPC look for of Martin-Conne Milliners and also the invoices submitted, we Be aware the following alarming finding: Mr Stemmet himself is really a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the company is five Crete Street, Wetton, Cape Town, the same tackle on which the museum was intended to be built and/or transformed,” they noted.
An audit by accountants Kopano Included, attached to your 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 administrators.
According to Dabishi Nthambeleni, the business has paid out R1.2-million for a deposit, this means R6.nine-million remains owed, though there's no payment date established for when this must be compensated.
The Kopano audit as well as near url amongst the companies “suggest to us that there's ‘foul Perform’ involved in the acquisition in the equipment on the museum workshop”, the investigators mentioned in the report.
“We find that it's extremely possible that CTMCA used the funding on the NLC to ‘refund’ certainly one of its major administrators for the house at an increased overpriced rate than the actual value and worth of the residence and/or equipment.”
Suggestions
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it had been unable to ascertain how the grant on the CTMCA had been invested.
“Actually, a detailed report on how the funding of the NLC was used, would be impossible given that the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or proof of payments to substantiate the amounts used on Just about every item it asked for funding for. The interim report and last report from the CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators located which the NLC experienced not done a website check out right before approving the grant. But this wasn't typical observe at some time they usually observed no proof of negligence by NLC workers.
At the time, the NLC’s rules didn't call for funded organisations to submit evidence of payment with interim stories, they pointed out. This intended that the CTMCA was able to get a second tranche of funding while not having to supply evidence that it had applied the initial tranche for its supposed objective.
Pursuing the appointment of a fresh board, commissioner and senior government workforce, the NLC has tightened up on these and also other challenges.
Dabishi Nthambeleni suggested that
the NLC decrease any long run funding purposes within the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any members who were involved in the grant be subjected towards the NLC’s “delinquency” procedure;
the NLC open a prison scenario of fraud with SAPS or perhaps the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC commence the process of recovering the misappropriated resources.
But, rather then act to the report’s recommendations, the NLC – less than its preceding administration – chose to suppress it, since it experienced accomplished With all the former studies into corruption it experienced commissioned.
GroundUp despatched queries to Stemmet and Soeker by using SMS, and asked for e-mail addresses to send out the questions by email way too. But no reaction were been given at some time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Highway, Wetton. Photo: Raymond Joseph
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