Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery revenue compensated to minstrel team

Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery revenue compensated to minstrel team

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Minstrels conduct in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Image: Ashraf Hendricks

A report by attorneys Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.3-million grant through the National Lotteries Commission into the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) to get a minstrels museum has discovered no evidence that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators found the CTMCA didn't utilize the R5-million allocated to purchase or create a museum.
They also found which the CTMCA only bought land worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They observed the CTMCA made use of money from the Lottery to invest in workshop tools from amongst its possess directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how numerous rand granted on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) from the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) to arrange a museum to celebrate town’s loaded minstrel history went astray. The museum was by no means designed.

The main points of your abuse of millions of rands of Lottery cash for just a museum that by no means was are unveiled within an investigative report commissioned with the NLC in 2021.

The museum grant was Element of greater than R64-million in Lottery money allocated on the CTMCA amongst 2003 and 2017.

The primary Portion of the investigation, by regulation firm Dabishi Nthambeleni, was performed in between September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant to your CTMCA in 2014, which included funding for your museum. The permitted budget for your museum was more than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allotted for just a setting up to house the museum.

Read the report (PDF, 7MB)

The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to research the acquisition of a constructing for the museum and if the museum “actually existed”.

The agency was also instructed to analyze

the acquisition with Lottery cash of two motor vehicles – a sixty-seater bus plus a 23-seater bus – for R2.four-million; and
numerous devices “procured to the producing in the costumes and hats” for that minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At enough time, convicted legal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director in the CTMCA. He was appointed a director from the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued as two of a number of administrators in the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as being a director in May 2021.

The investigation followed extensive reporting by GroundUp concerning the many rands of Lottery funding allocated on the CTMCA (see here, listed here and in this article) and the way the money in all probability served finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign in the Western Cape, led by at the time by Marius Fransman.



The creating on the appropriate was the intended web-site with the minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial place in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Photo: Raymond Joseph

In reaction into a Parliamentary issue, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to a few CTMCA “projects” - such as the museum - among 2012 and 2015. All a few initiatives had been concluded, she informed MPs.

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

At the beginning the museum was resulting from open in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photograph acquired by GroundUp of your supposed Wetton museum displays a coffee store with a few musical instruments and minstrel costumes and collages of pictures haphazardly hung within the walls, in addition to a product ship on its plinth inside a corner.

In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni explained it had been “not able” to verify if a museum had ever operated from these premises.

Stemmet informed the investigators the museum had been moved given that they could no more find the money for the lease of R100,000 a month. He reported the CTMCA had obtained property for R1.seven-million in Schaapkraal for your museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and had been bought for the same rate. Schaapkraal is in the peri-city location considerably from the city.

Because of this, the museum were moved to a fresh spot in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet instructed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But soon after browsing the premises, that are within an industrial space, the investigators stated they doubted whether or not an appropriate museum existed there. Pics attached to the report exhibit a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical instruments and diverse minstrel paraphernalia nailed into the wall, shown on tables and unfold out on the floor, with no clarification.

“There is a small quantity of things with the museum [that] on no account represent the a lot more than one hundred-yr record of your Cape City Carnival, the investigators reported, incorporating that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating they housed a museum and … usually, the museum would not glimpse to get open up to the general public.”

The CTMCA experienced breached the grant settlement, Dabishi Nthambeleni noted, by going the location of your museum to an alternative spot without the need of notifying the NLC.



The Schaapkraal residence, on which no museum was ever crafted. Photograph: Raymond Joseph

Buses
Stemmet instructed the investigators that the CTMCA had to maneuver from your rented Crete Street premises as it had run up a R4-million credit card debt with the town of Cape Town and was fearful its equipment will be hooked up.

“Due to the lawful battles and also the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its home from 5 Crete Highway to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the house in the organisation,” Stemmet told the investigators.

Sedrick Soeker, The existing director on the CTMCA, told them that the two buses purchased with lottery resources were being saved inside of a top secret location “concealed within the Sheriff”. Nevertheless the investigators explained they have been unable to substantiate that any buses had at any time been acquired.

Stemmet also verified which the buses had been hidden to stop them being seized. But if the investigators asked to get taken to the spot where by the buses had been stored, he instructed them that “the operator of The trick location was not available to open up the premises for us”.

“The CTMCA couldn't provide evidence of payment for 2 motor vehicles that it allegedly purchased with grant funds,” the investigators claimed.

Soeker also told them the Schaapkraal assets were offered because of the debt.

“Mr Soeker stated that according to his knowing, due to debt owed to town of Cape Town, the CTMCA made the decision It might be most effective to offer their [Schaapkraal] home … also to also to hide the property from the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the home.”

JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for basic safety and security, has Formerly explained to GroundUp that the CTMCA “threw dollars absent” on litigation with town.

“Each year like clockwork, as we technique the tip with the 12 months, the CTMCA picks a lawful combat with the town, above permits or something else. We by no means initiate it. They maintain throwing money absent on vexatious litigation that they reduce and also have fees awarded against them. This is solely self-inflicted,” he claimed.

Soeker advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the principle purpose players on problems with Lottery funding have been Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been in charge of many of the admin, finances and managing หวย วัน นี้ the CTMCA.” The investigators claimed they had been not able to contact Momberg.

Hats
Through their “investigation in loco” in the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “observed numerous machines, some in very good ailment, some in poor problem and several that seemed rusty and very previous”. Stemmet advised the investigators that there was also an off-web-site storage facility where by “devices and several machinery” had been kept.

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

Dependant on pics and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, if not all, of your goods appear to be machines that was illegally faraway from the CTMCA’s previous premises. Stemmet is struggling with expenses for this removing.

According to the ultimate development report submitted to the NLC with the CTMCA, the equipment was purchased from Martin-Conne Milliners, an organization where Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were being administrators at some time.

The investigators discovered this “alarming”.

“From your CIPC lookup of Martin-Conne Milliners along with the invoices submitted, we Notice the following alarming discovering: Mr Stemmet himself is really a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the company is five Crete Road, Wetton, Cape City, the exact same deal with on which the museum was meant to be created and/or transformed,” they documented.

An audit by accountants Kopano Incorporated, connected to the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the whole process of acquiring “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, trading as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was an in depth Company of which Stemmet was amongst the directors.

As outlined by Dabishi Nthambeleni, the company has paid R1.two-million as a deposit, which means R6.9-million is still owed, even though there isn't a payment date set for when this should be paid.

The Kopano audit and the shut url among the companies “suggest to us that there is ‘foul play’ involved with the purchase of your machinery of your museum workshop”, the investigators explained in the report.

“We find that it's extremely probable that CTMCA made use of the funding in the NLC to ‘refund’ amongst its primary directors for that assets at a higher overpriced charge than the actual selling price and price of the assets and/or equipment.”

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

“In fact, an in depth report on how the funding of your NLC was applied, could well be unachievable given that the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or evidence of payments to verify the amounts expended on Every item it asked for funding for. The interim report and final report of your CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.

The investigators discovered which the NLC had not executed a website stop by just before approving the grant. But this wasn't standard follow at enough time plus they discovered no evidence of carelessness by NLC workforce.

At the time, the NLC’s policies didn't involve funded organisations to post proof of payment with interim reports, they identified. This intended that the CTMCA was able to receive a next tranche of funding without needing to present evidence that it had applied the main tranche for its supposed reason.

Pursuing the appointment of a completely new board, commissioner and senior government group, the NLC has tightened up on these together with other difficulties.

Dabishi Nthambeleni encouraged that

the NLC decline any upcoming funding programs in the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any users who have been involved in the grant be subjected to the NLC’s “delinquency” approach;
the NLC open up a legal scenario of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC get started the process of recovering the misappropriated funds.
But, in lieu of act on the report’s recommendations, the NLC – below its prior administration – selected to suppress it, mainly because it experienced performed with the former experiences into corruption it had commissioned.

GroundUp sent thoughts to Stemmet and Soeker by using SMS, and questioned for email addresses to ship the concerns by e-mail too. But no response were been given at time of publication.



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

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