Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid out to minstrel team
Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid out to minstrel team
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Minstrels carry out in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Photograph: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.3-million grant because of the National Lotteries Commission to the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for just a minstrels museum has located no evidence that a museum ever existed.
The investigators found the CTMCA didn't make use of the R5-million allocated to acquire or make a museum.
Additionally they found the CTMCA only purchased land worthy of R1.seven-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They observed the CTMCA used money within the Lottery to purchase workshop machines from one among its have directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how many rand granted for the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) through the National Lotteries Fee (NLC) to build a museum to celebrate town’s loaded minstrel historical past went astray. The museum was in no way created.
The small print of the abuse of a lot of rands of Lottery funds for the museum that never was are unveiled within an investigative report commissioned from the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was Element of more than R64-million in Lottery funds allocated to the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017.
The initial Section of the investigation, by regulation company Dabishi Nthambeleni, was carried out concerning September 2020 and January 2021 and centered on a R27.three-million grant to the CTMCA in 2014, which integrated funding for the museum. The permitted spending budget to the museum was a lot more than R12.8-million, with R5-million of that allocated for just a developing to accommodate the museum.
Study the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the purchase of the creating to the museum and whether the museum “truly existed”.
The agency was also instructed to investigate
the acquisition with Lottery money of two cars – a 60-seater bus plus a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
various machines “bought to the manufacturing on the costumes and hats” for that minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At enough time, convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director on the CTMCA. He was appointed a director of the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued as two of many directors on the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as being a director in May well 2021.
The investigation adopted considerable reporting by GroundUp concerning the many rands of Lottery funding allocated to your CTMCA (see right here, in this article and here) and the best way the funds in all probability assisted finance the ANC’s 2014 election campaign within the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.
The constructing on the appropriate was the meant site of your minstrels’ museum, in the middle of an industrial space in Primrose Park, Cape Town. Photo: Raymond Joseph
In response into a Parliamentary issue, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane listed grants to three CTMCA “initiatives” - including the museum - in between 2012 and 2015. All a few assignments were accomplished, she advised MPs.
Nevertheless the investigators found no proof that a museum experienced at any time existed.
At the beginning the museum was on account of open up in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photograph acquired by GroundUp with the meant Wetton museum displays a espresso shop with some musical instruments and minstrel costumes and collages of photographs haphazardly hung around the walls, and a design ship on its plinth in the corner.
In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni reported it absolutely was “not ready” to confirm if a museum had ever operated from these premises.
Stemmet told the investigators the museum were moved mainly because they could no more manage the hire of R100,000 a month. He explained the CTMCA had purchased residence for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for that museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been marketed for the same rate. Schaapkraal is in a very peri-urban area far from the town.
Due to this fact, the museum had been moved to a brand new place in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But immediately after browsing the premises, which can be within an industrial area, the investigators explained they doubted regardless of whether a suitable museum existed there. Pics hooked up to the report present a mishmash of randomly displayed uniforms, musical instruments and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed towards the wall, displayed on tables and distribute out on the floor, with no rationalization.
“There exists a minimal amount of objects in the museum [that] on no account symbolize the more than one hundred-12 months record in the Cape City Carnival, the investigators said, including that there was “no signage exterior the premises indicating which they housed a museum and … generally, the museum will not glance to be open up to the general public.”
The CTMCA had breached the grant arrangement, Dabishi Nthambeleni observed, by going the location in the museum to an alternate area with no notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal home, on which no museum was ever built. Photo: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet told the investigators which the CTMCA experienced to move within the rented Crete Street premises mainly because it had operate up a R4-million financial debt with town of Cape Town and was fearful its tools could be connected.
“As a result of lawful battles along with the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its house from five Crete Road to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the house of your organisation,” Stemmet told the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, the current director on the CTMCA, explained to them which the two buses bought with lottery funds had been saved inside a solution area “hidden in the Sheriff”. However the investigators mentioned they were being unable to substantiate that any buses had ever been bought.
Stemmet also confirmed that the buses were hidden to stop them getting seized. But when the investigators requested to become taken to your area in which the buses had been saved, he told them that “the proprietor of The trick place wasn't available to open up the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA could not supply evidence of payment for 2 vehicles that it allegedly ordered with grant funds,” the investigators reported.
Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal house had been offered due to the credit card debt.
“Mr Soeker discussed that In accordance with his knowledge, because of the debt owed to the City of Cape City, the CTMCA resolved It might be greatest to offer their [Schaapkraal] residence … and also to also to hide the property in the CTMCA to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the property.”
JP Smith, Cape City’s mayco member for protection and protection, has previously instructed GroundUp that the CTMCA “threw money absent” on litigation with the City.
“Yearly like clockwork, as we technique the top of your 12 months, the CTMCA picks a lawful battle with town, about permits or something else. We in no way initiate it. They maintain throwing dollars absent on vexatious litigation that they shed and also have costs awarded in opposition to them. This is certainly entirely self-inflicted,” he explained.
Soeker instructed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the key position gamers on issues of Lottery funding were Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who ended up in command of each of the admin, finances and running ตรวจ the CTMCA.” The investigators said they were struggling to contact Momberg.
Hats
During their “investigation in loco” within the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “observed a lot of machines, some in fantastic problem, some in lousy problem plus some that looked rusty and very aged”. Stemmet informed the investigators that there was also an off-web page storage facility exactly where “instruments plus some equipment” were being kept.
“We asked him to get us to the ability but he was evasive to our request.”
Dependant on photos and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, on the objects appear to be gear which was illegally faraway from the CTMCA’s preceding premises. Stemmet is experiencing prices for this removal.
In accordance with the closing progress report submitted into the NLC with the CTMCA, the equipment was ordered from Martin-Conne Milliners, a business wherein Stemmet, his wife and his daughter were being administrators at time.
The investigators found this “alarming”.
“Through the CIPC look for of Martin-Conne Milliners and also the invoices submitted, we Notice the next alarming finding: Mr Stemmet himself is often a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered address of the corporate is five Crete Road, Wetton, Cape City, exactly the same deal with on which the museum was intended to be built and/or transformed,” they claimed.
An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, attached into the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the entire process of purchasing “machinery, plant and inventory” valued at R8.1-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a detailed corporation of which Stemmet was one of the administrators.
According to Dabishi Nthambeleni, the corporate has compensated R1.two-million as being a deposit, that means R6.nine-million remains to be owed, nevertheless there's no payment date set for when this has to be paid.
The Kopano audit as well as the close website link in between the businesses “suggest to us that there's ‘foul Engage in’ involved in the acquisition in the machinery of your museum workshop”, the investigators claimed inside the report.
“We discover that it's remarkably probable that CTMCA applied the funding on the NLC to ‘refund’ among its main administrators for the residence at a greater overpriced rate than the particular price and value of the assets and/or equipment.”
Tips
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it was not able to determine how the grant for the CTMCA were expended.
“In point of fact, an in depth report on how the funding from the NLC was employed, will be difficult given that the CTMCA doesn't have any receipts, or proof of payments to substantiate the quantities put in on Just about every merchandise it requested funding for. The interim report and final report of your CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators identified which the NLC had not done a web-site pay a visit to before approving the grant. But this was not conventional apply at some time and they located no proof of carelessness by NLC staff.
At enough time, the NLC’s rules did not demand funded organisations to post evidence of payment with interim experiences, they identified. This intended the CTMCA was ready to get a 2nd tranche of funding while not having to deliver evidence that it had utilized the initial tranche for its meant goal.
Subsequent the appointment of a fresh board, commissioner and senior govt crew, the NLC has tightened up on these together with other troubles.
Dabishi Nthambeleni recommended that
the NLC decrease any potential funding applications within the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any associates who were associated with the grant be subjected into the NLC’s “delinquency” method;
the NLC open up a prison case of fraud with SAPS or even the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start off the whole process of recovering the misappropriated resources.
But, rather than act on the report’s tips, the NLC – under its previous administration – selected to suppress it, since it had carried out With all the previous experiences into corruption it had commissioned.
GroundUp despatched issues to Stemmet and Soeker through SMS, and asked for e mail addresses to send the thoughts by e-mail much too. But no response had been gained at the time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Street, Wetton. Image: Raymond Joseph
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