Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid to minstrel team
Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid to minstrel team
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Minstrels conduct in Athlone on two January 2017. Archive photo: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by attorneys Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.three-million grant from the National Lotteries Commission to the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) to get a minstrels museum has identified no proof that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators discovered that the CTMCA did not use the R5-million allotted to buy or develop a museum.
In addition they found that the CTMCA only acquired land well worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They discovered the CTMCA utilized funds in the Lottery to buy workshop equipment from one of its have directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how countless rand granted towards the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) because of the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to set up a museum to rejoice the city’s prosperous minstrel background went astray. The museum was never ever made.
The main points from the abuse of countless rands of Lottery cash for your museum that hardly ever was are discovered in an investigative report commissioned via the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was part of over R64-million in Lottery funds allotted on the CTMCA involving 2003 and 2017.
The main Element of the investigation, by regulation business Dabishi Nthambeleni, was carried out among September 2020 and January 2021 and centered on a R27.3-million grant towards the CTMCA in 2014, which included funding with the museum. The permitted price range for your museum was much more than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allocated for just a constructing to accommodate the museum.
Browse the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the purchase of the developing to the museum and if the museum “essentially existed”.
The organization was also instructed to research
the purchase with Lottery resources of two automobiles – a sixty-seater bus as well as a 23-seater bus – for R2.four-million; and
different devices “procured to the production on the costumes and hats” for that minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At the time, convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of the CTMCA. He was appointed a director of the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing as two of a number of directors from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed for a director in Might 2021.
The investigation adopted intensive reporting by GroundUp in regards to the countless rands of Lottery funding allocated to the CTMCA (see right here, listed here and in this article) and just how the resources possibly assisted finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign during the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.
The creating on the appropriate was the supposed site with the minstrels’ museum, in the midst of an industrial space in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Photograph: Raymond Joseph
In reaction to your Parliamentary concern, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane detailed grants to three CTMCA “jobs” - such as the museum - between 2012 and 2015. All a few jobs had been accomplished, she explained to MPs.
But the investigators found no proof that a museum had ever existed.
In the beginning the museum was as a result of open up in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photo received by GroundUp in the intended Wetton museum reveals a espresso shop with a few musical instruments and minstrel costumes and collages of shots haphazardly hung about the walls, along with a design ship on its plinth inside a corner.
In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni claimed it absolutely was “not able” to substantiate if a museum experienced at any time operated from these premises.
Stemmet explained to the investigators the museum had been moved because they could no longer afford the hire of R100,000 per month. He said the CTMCA experienced procured residence for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for that museum, but couldn't get it rezoned, and had been bought for the same rate. Schaapkraal is inside a peri-urban location far from town.
Due to this fact, the museum had been moved to a completely new spot in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But immediately after visiting the premises, which might be within an industrial place, the investigators stated they doubted no matter whether a correct museum existed there. Pictures hooked up to your report clearly show a mishmash of randomly exhibited uniforms, musical instruments and diverse minstrel paraphernalia nailed on the wall, shown on tables and spread out on the floor, without any clarification.
“You will find there's small volume of goods at the museum [that] in no way symbolize the much more than a hundred-12 months history of the Cape Town Carnival, the investigators claimed, incorporating that there was “no signage outdoors the premises indicating which they housed a museum and … commonly, the museum isn't going to glimpse for being open to the public.”
The CTMCA had breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni mentioned, by moving The situation on the museum to an alternative locale with out notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal assets, on which no museum was ever designed. Photograph: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet told the investigators that the CTMCA had to maneuver from the rented Crete Street premises as it experienced operate up a R4-million personal debt with town of Cape City and was frightened its products could well be hooked up.
“A result of the authorized battles plus the debts, the organisation experienced to move its house from 5 Crete Highway to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the house on the organisation,” Stemmet advised the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, The existing director of the CTMCA, instructed them that the two buses acquired with lottery funds ended up stored in the magic formula site “hidden through the Sheriff”. However the investigators explained they were being unable to substantiate that any buses had at any time been purchased.
Stemmet also confirmed the buses were hidden to halt them remaining seized. But if the investigators questioned to generally be taken on the place in which the buses ended up saved, he explained to them that “the operator of The trick locale wasn't accessible to open the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA could not offer proof of payment for 2 vehicles that it allegedly acquired with grant money,” the investigators noted.
Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal assets were bought due to debt.
“Mr Soeker explained that As outlined by his understanding, a result of the financial debt owed to town of Cape Town, the CTMCA resolved It might be best to offer their [Schaapkraal] property … and also to also to hide the assets in the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the home.”
JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for basic safety and protection, has Beforehand explained to GroundUp which the CTMCA “threw revenue absent” on litigation with town.
“Each year like clockwork, as we method the top of your year, the CTMCA picks a lawful struggle with the town, in excess of permits or something else. We never initiate it. They retain throwing income away on vexatious litigation they reduce and also have prices awarded towards them. This is often completely self-inflicted,” he reported.
Soeker informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the most crucial role players on issues of Lottery funding had been Stemmet and former CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who have been answerable for the many admin, funds and jogging ltpbet the CTMCA.” The investigators reported they had been unable to Speak to Momberg.
Hats
All through their “investigation in loco” at the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “identified quite a few devices, some in great situation, some in poor situation and some that appeared rusty and very previous”. Stemmet informed the investigators that there was also an off-website storage facility where by “instruments and some machinery” were saved.
“We requested him to take us to the ability but he was evasive to our request.”
Dependant on pics and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, in the goods appear to be tools that was illegally faraway from the CTMCA’s previous premises. Stemmet is experiencing charges for this removal.
Based on the closing development report submitted into the NLC by the CTMCA, the equipment was purchased from Martin-Conne Milliners, a company by which Stemmet, his spouse and his daughter were being administrators at time.
The investigators found this “alarming”.
“From the CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners as well as the invoices submitted, we Take note the next alarming getting: Mr Stemmet himself can be a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the company is 5 Crete Street, Wetton, Cape City, exactly the same tackle on which the museum was meant to be developed and/or transformed,” they claimed.
An audit by accountants Kopano Incorporated, attached on the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the entire process of paying for “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, trading as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a close corporation of which Stemmet was among the directors.
As outlined by Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporate has paid R1.two-million to be a deposit, this means R6.9-million is still owed, though there is no payment day set for when this need to be paid.
The Kopano audit as well as close backlink between the companies “suggest to us that there is ‘foul Engage in’ linked to the purchase in the machinery with the museum workshop”, the investigators stated while in the report.
“We discover that it is hugely probable that CTMCA employed the funding in the NLC to ‘refund’ one among its major directors for the property at a higher overpriced level than the particular price tag and worth of the property and/or equipment.”
Recommendations
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it absolutely was not able to establish how the grant into the CTMCA had been invested.
“In reality, an in depth report on how the funding from the NLC was made use of, might be difficult because the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or evidence of payments to verify the quantities invested on Every product it requested funding for. The interim report and closing report from the CTMCA only attach invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators found that the NLC experienced not carried out a web page pay a visit to ahead of approving the grant. But this wasn't conventional practice at some time they usually uncovered no proof of carelessness by NLC staff.
At the time, the NLC’s rules didn't need funded organisations to post proof of payment with interim reports, they identified. This meant which the CTMCA was in the position to receive a next tranche of funding without the need to give proof that it had made use of the first tranche for its meant objective.
Following the appointment of a different board, commissioner and senior executive group, the NLC has tightened up on these along with other issues.
Dabishi Nthambeleni advised that
the NLC decrease any upcoming funding purposes from the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any customers who ended up linked to the grant be subjected into the NLC’s “delinquency” process;
the NLC open up a felony 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, as an alternative to act within the report’s tips, the NLC – underneath its prior administration – selected to suppress it, because it had done While using the preceding reviews into corruption it had commissioned.
GroundUp despatched concerns to Stemmet and Soeker by using SMS, and asked for e-mail addresses to mail the concerns by e-mail way too. But no response were acquired at enough time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Street, Wetton. Picture: Raymond Joseph