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

A report by attorneys Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.3-million grant with the Nationwide Lotteries Fee into the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for any minstrels museum has identified no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators located that the CTMCA did not make use of the R5-million allotted to get or establish a museum.
They also observed which the CTMCA only bought land well worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They located the CTMCA made use of resources in the Lottery to get workshop products from amongst its own administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how millions of rand granted to the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) from the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) to create a museum to celebrate town’s prosperous minstrel background went astray. The museum was by no means established.

The small print of your abuse of an incredible number of rands of Lottery funds for the museum that never was are unveiled within an investigative report commissioned by the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was Section of more than R64-million in Lottery funds allocated for the CTMCA amongst 2003 and 2017.

The 1st part of the investigation, by regulation business Dabishi Nthambeleni, was conducted between September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant to the CTMCA in 2014, which incorporated funding for your museum. The approved spending plan for that museum was much more than R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allocated for your creating to deal with the museum.

Go through the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to analyze the purchase of the building to the museum and whether or not the museum “really existed”.

The organization was also instructed to analyze

the acquisition with Lottery money of two motor vehicles – a sixty-seater bus as well as a 23-seater bus – for R2.four-million; and
numerous machines “purchased with the manufacturing on the costumes and hats” to the minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At time, convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of your CTMCA. He was appointed a director of the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing as two of several administrators on the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in May possibly 2021.

The investigation adopted extensive reporting by GroundUp regarding the countless rands of Lottery funding allotted on the CTMCA (see right here, here and here) and the way the cash possibly served finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign inside the Western Cape, led by at some time by Marius Fransman.



The setting up on the appropriate was the supposed web page on the minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial area in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Image: Raymond Joseph

In reaction to the Parliamentary question, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane stated grants to 3 CTMCA “assignments” - including the museum - between 2012 and 2015. All a few tasks were accomplished, she told MPs.

Although the investigators identified no evidence that a museum experienced at any time existed.

At the outset the museum was because of open in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photograph received by GroundUp of your supposed Wetton museum exhibits a coffee shop with some musical instruments and minstrel costumes and collages of photos haphazardly hung within the walls, along with a model ship on its plinth in a corner.

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

Stemmet advised the investigators the museum had been moved because they could now not manage the rent of R100,000 per month. He stated the CTMCA experienced bought assets for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for that museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been marketed for a similar value. Schaapkraal is inside of a peri-urban location significantly from town.

Because of this, the museum had been moved to a completely new location in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But soon after viewing the premises, that are within an industrial area, the investigators said they doubted regardless of whether a correct museum existed there. Pictures hooked up to your report exhibit a mishmash of randomly shown uniforms, musical devices and diverse minstrel paraphernalia nailed to the wall, exhibited on tables and spread out on the ground, with no clarification.

“There's a small level of items with the museum [that] on no account symbolize the much more than 100-year historical past with the Cape City Carnival, the investigators said, adding that there was “no signage outside the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … usually, the museum will not search to get open to the public.”

The CTMCA experienced breached the grant arrangement, Dabishi Nthambeleni famous, by shifting the location of your museum to an alternate place with out notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal assets, on which no museum was ever built. Picture: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet informed the investigators which the CTMCA had to move within the rented Crete Road premises as it experienced run up a R4-million financial debt with town of Cape City and was frightened its products would be attached.

“Due to lawful battles and the debts, the organisation had to maneuver its property from five Crete Highway to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the assets of the organisation,” Stemmet told the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The existing director with the CTMCA, instructed them the two buses bought with lottery resources ended up stored inside a secret locale “hidden from the Sheriff”. But the investigators claimed they had been not able to confirm that any buses had at any time been bought.

Stemmet also confirmed the buses were hidden to prevent them remaining seized. But when the investigators requested being taken towards the area where by the buses were stored, he informed them that “the proprietor of The key area was not available to open the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA could not provide evidence of payment for 2 cars that it allegedly ordered with grant revenue,” the investigators documented.

Soeker also explained to them the Schaapkraal property had been offered due to debt.

“Mr Soeker described that As outlined by his understanding, as a result of financial debt owed to the City of Cape Town, the CTMCA determined It might be finest to provide their [Schaapkraal] assets … and to also to hide the belongings from the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the property.”

JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for protection and security, has Formerly advised GroundUp which the CTMCA “threw money away” on litigation with the City.

“Each and every year like clockwork, as we solution the end of the calendar year, the CTMCA picks a legal combat with the town, about permits or another thing. We in no way initiate it. They retain throwing revenue absent on vexatious litigation which they reduce and also have charges awarded in opposition to them. This can be solely self-inflicted,” he explained.

Soeker informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the main purpose players on issues of Lottery funding ended up Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who have been in charge of all the admin, finances and operating ตรวจ หวย ลาว วัน นี้ the CTMCA.” The investigators mentioned they had been struggling to Call Momberg.

Hats
Through their “investigation in loco” for the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “identified numerous machines, some in fantastic condition, some in undesirable ailment and several that looked rusty and extremely old”. Stemmet advised the investigators that there was also an off-internet site storage facility where by “devices and many equipment” have been held.

“We requested him to just take us to the facility but he was evasive to our ask for.”

Dependant on shots and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, from the merchandise seem like gear which was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s past premises. Stemmet is going through expenses for this removal.

Based on the remaining progress report submitted to your NLC from the CTMCA, the machinery was ordered from Martin-Conne Milliners, an organization through which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were directors at time.

The investigators identified this “alarming”.

“With the CIPC look for of Martin-Conne Milliners and the invoices submitted, we note the following alarming obtaining: Mr Stemmet himself is actually a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the company is five Crete Street, Wetton, Cape City, the same tackle on which the museum was intended to be crafted and/or converted,” they claimed.

An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, hooked up for the investigative report, recorded which the CTMCA was in the process of obtaining “equipment, plant and stock” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a detailed Company of which Stemmet was among the administrators.

According to Dabishi Nthambeleni, the business has paid out R1.2-million being a deposit, indicating R6.nine-million remains to be owed, while there is no payment day established for when this have to be paid.

The Kopano audit and also the close connection involving the companies “indicate to us that there's ‘foul Perform’ involved in the acquisition from the equipment from the museum workshop”, the investigators reported while in the report.

“We discover that it is hugely possible that CTMCA utilized the funding with the NLC to ‘refund’ certainly one of its key administrators for the house at an increased overpriced rate than the actual cost and value of the house and/or machinery.”

Recommendations
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it was unable to establish how the grant to the CTMCA were expended.

“The truth is, a detailed report on how the funding in the NLC was utilized, could be not possible given that the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or proof of payments to verify the amounts expended on Every single item it requested funding for. The interim report and remaining report on the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators identified which the NLC experienced not performed a web page pay a visit to right before approving the grant. But this wasn't regular follow at enough time they usually found no evidence of carelessness by NLC workers.

At the time, the NLC’s principles did not need funded organisations to submit evidence of payment with interim experiences, they identified. This meant that the CTMCA was able to get a 2nd tranche of funding without needing to supply evidence that it had utilized the first tranche for its supposed goal.

Following the appointment of a completely new board, commissioner and senior government workforce, the NLC has tightened up on these together with other problems.

Dabishi Nthambeleni proposed that

the NLC decline any foreseeable future funding purposes in the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any customers who were being involved in the grant be subjected for the NLC’s “delinquency” approach;
the NLC open up a felony scenario of fraud with SAPS or perhaps the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start off the whole process of recovering the misappropriated cash.
But, in lieu of act to the report’s suggestions, the NLC – below its prior administration – selected to suppress it, since it had finished Along with the earlier reports into corruption it experienced commissioned.

GroundUp despatched inquiries to Stemmet and Soeker via SMS, and requested for electronic mail addresses to ship the thoughts by e-mail far too. But no reaction had been acquired at some time of publication.



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

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