Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery revenue paid out to minstrel team
Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery revenue paid out to minstrel team
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Minstrels carry out in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Picture: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni right into a R27.three-million grant with the Nationwide Lotteries Fee to your Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for your minstrels museum has found no evidence that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators located the CTMCA did not utilize the R5-million allotted to get or develop a museum.
They also uncovered the CTMCA only bought land truly worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They located the CTMCA utilized resources through the Lottery to purchase workshop devices from one among its own directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how millions of rand granted on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) from the Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) to build a museum to rejoice town’s loaded minstrel history went astray. The museum was in no way designed.
The small print on the abuse of an incredible number of rands of Lottery cash for any museum that in no way was are uncovered within an investigative report commissioned via the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was Component of a lot more than R64-million in Lottery funds allotted towards the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017.
The primary part 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 on the CTMCA in 2014, which bundled funding for your museum. The accredited spending plan for the museum was over R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allocated for any creating to house the museum.
Go through the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the purchase of the constructing to the museum and whether the museum “actually existed”.
The business was also instructed to research
the purchase with Lottery cash of two autos – a sixty-seater bus and also a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
several machines “ordered for your producing from the costumes and hats” for that minstrels carnival, for R5.four-million.
At the time, convicted legal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of your 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 comprehensive reporting by GroundUp concerning the numerous rands of Lottery funding allocated into the CTMCA (see in this article, below and below) and the best way the funds probably aided finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign during the Western Cape, led by at enough time by Marius Fransman.
The developing on the ideal was the supposed web-site from the minstrels’ museum, in the midst of an industrial area in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Picture: Raymond Joseph
In reaction to a Parliamentary issue, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane mentioned grants to three CTMCA “tasks” - including the museum - amongst 2012 and 2015. All 3 initiatives were concluded, she instructed MPs.
Though the investigators uncovered no evidence that a museum had ever existed.
Initially the museum was as a result of open in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photo obtained by GroundUp with the intended Wetton museum shows a espresso shop with a few musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of images haphazardly hung on the walls, and also a product ship on its plinth inside a corner.
In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni mentioned it absolutely was “not ready” to verify if a museum experienced at any time operated from these premises.
Stemmet explained to the investigators the museum had been moved simply because they could no longer pay for the rent of R100,000 per month. He mentioned the CTMCA experienced obtained residence for R1.seven-million in Schaapkraal for the museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been offered for a similar selling price. Schaapkraal is in a peri-urban place significantly from the town.
Due to this fact, the museum had been moved to a fresh area in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But after viewing the premises, which are within an industrial region, the investigators reported they doubted irrespective of whether a correct museum existed there. Shots attached on the report show a mishmash of randomly shown uniforms, musical devices and various minstrel paraphernalia nailed to the wall, displayed on tables and spread out on the floor, without any clarification.
“You will find a negligible quantity of products on the museum [that] by no means depict the a lot more than one hundred-year history of your Cape City Carnival, the investigators mentioned, adding that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … generally, the museum won't search to be open to the general public.”
The CTMCA had breached the grant arrangement, Dabishi Nthambeleni pointed out, by shifting The situation of the museum to an alternate site with out notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal house, on which no museum was at any time crafted. Photo: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet told the investigators that the CTMCA had to maneuver from the rented Crete Road premises because it experienced operate up a R4-million credit card debt with the town of Cape Town and was frightened its gear could be hooked up.
“Mainly because of the authorized battles along with the debts, the organisation had to maneuver its home from five Crete Road to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the home of the organisation,” Stemmet instructed the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, the current director on the CTMCA, told them the two buses acquired with lottery funds have been saved inside of a key site “concealed in the Sheriff”. Although the investigators said they were unable to confirm that any buses experienced at any time been acquired.
Stemmet also verified the buses had been hidden to halt them remaining seized. But in the event the investigators questioned being taken to your area the place the buses have been saved, he instructed them that “the proprietor of The trick site was not accessible to open the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA couldn't offer evidence of payment for 2 autos that it allegedly acquired with grant dollars,” the investigators described.
Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal residence had been sold because of the personal debt.
“Mr Soeker spelled out 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] property … 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 town.
“Every year like clockwork, as we method the end from the yr, the CTMCA picks a legal fight with the City, over permits or another thing. We hardly ever initiate it. They continue to keep throwing revenue absent on vexatious litigation that they lose and possess charges awarded towards them. This really is solely self-inflicted,” he claimed.
Soeker informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the main purpose players on issues of Lottery funding were being Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who ended up in control of the many admin, funds and working หวย ลาว วัน นี้ the CTMCA.” The investigators explained they had been not able to Make contact with Momberg.
Hats
Throughout their “investigation in loco” within the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “identified various machines, some in fantastic situation, some in undesirable condition and a few that seemed rusty and very outdated”. Stemmet explained to the investigators that there was also an off-website storage facility in which “instruments and several machinery” have been held.
“We requested him to get us to the facility but he was evasive to our request.”
Based on photos and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, on the objects appear to be machines which was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s past premises. Stemmet is going through costs for this removing.
Based on the remaining progress report submitted to the NLC because of the CTMCA, the machinery was acquired from Martin-Conne Milliners, a company during which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were directors at time.
The investigators observed this “alarming”.
“From the CIPC lookup of Martin-Conne Milliners plus the invoices submitted, we Take note the subsequent alarming finding: Mr Stemmet himself is really a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the organization is 5 Crete Highway, Wetton, Cape City, the exact same tackle on which the museum was intended to be constructed and/or transformed,” they described.
An audit by accountants Kopano Incorporated, hooked up into the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the process of paying for “machinery, plant and inventory” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, investing as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was an in depth Company of which Stemmet was one among the directors.
As outlined by Dabishi Nthambeleni, the organization has compensated R1.two-million like a deposit, this means R6.9-million continues to be owed, while there's no payment date established for when this needs to be compensated.
The Kopano audit and also the close url involving the businesses “point out to us that there's ‘foul Enjoy’ involved with the purchase on the machinery of the museum workshop”, the investigators explained inside the report.
“We find that it is hugely probable that CTMCA employed the funding in the NLC to ‘refund’ one of its primary administrators for the home at a greater overpriced price than the actual price tag and worth of the assets and/or machinery.”
Suggestions
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it was unable to determine how the grant to the CTMCA were spent.
“The truth is, a detailed report on how the funding on the NLC was utilized, could well be extremely hard as the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or proof of payments to substantiate the quantities spent on Every single merchandise it asked for funding for. The interim report and last report with the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators discovered the NLC had not carried out a web page visit before approving the grant. But this wasn't normal practice at time and they found no proof of negligence by NLC workers.
At some time, the NLC’s regulations did not involve funded organisations to submit evidence of payment with interim studies, they pointed out. This intended that the CTMCA was able to get a second tranche of funding without the need to supply evidence that it experienced employed the first tranche for its intended function.
Next the appointment of a whole new board, commissioner and senior government workforce, the NLC has tightened up on these along with other difficulties.
Dabishi Nthambeleni recommended that
the NLC decline any long term funding programs with the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any users who were being linked to the grant be subjected to your NLC’s “delinquency” approach;
the NLC open a prison situation of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start out the whole process of recovering the misappropriated money.
But, rather then act within the report’s tips, the NLC – less than its earlier administration – chose to suppress it, since it experienced performed Together with the prior studies into corruption it experienced commissioned.
GroundUp despatched queries to Stemmet and Soeker by using SMS, and asked for email addresses to deliver the queries by email as well. But no response had been acquired at some time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Highway, Wetton. Image: Raymond Joseph