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 complete in Athlone on 2 January 2017. Archive Picture: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.three-million grant via the Countrywide Lotteries Fee into the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) for the minstrels museum has located no evidence that a museum at any time existed.
The investigators found which the CTMCA did not make use of the R5-million allocated to acquire or create a museum.
Additionally they identified which the CTMCA only acquired land value R1.seven-million, not R5-million as allocated.
They observed the CTMCA used funds in the Lottery to buy workshop products from amongst its have administrators, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how a lot of rand granted for the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) by the Nationwide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to put in place a museum to rejoice the city’s prosperous minstrel record went astray. The museum was never designed.
The details of the abuse of many rands of Lottery cash for any museum that never was are disclosed in an investigative report commissioned by the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was A part of in excess of R64-million in Lottery funds allocated into the CTMCA between 2003 and 2017.
The 1st Section of the investigation, by regulation business Dabishi Nthambeleni, was performed amongst September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant to your CTMCA in 2014, which included funding with the museum. The accepted budget with the museum was greater than R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allotted for a creating to house the museum.
Go through the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to investigate the purchase of the creating for the museum and if the museum “really existed”.
The firm was also instructed to analyze
the purchase with Lottery cash of two vehicles – a sixty-seater bus plus a 23-seater bus – for R2.four-million; and
numerous devices “obtained with the producing of your costumes and hats” for the minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At time, convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director from the CTMCA. He was appointed a director with the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing as two of many administrators from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed like a director in Could 2021.
The investigation followed extensive reporting by GroundUp in regards to the a lot of rands of Lottery funding allotted on the CTMCA (see in this article, in this article and here) and just how the cash most likely assisted finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign from the Western Cape, led by at time by Marius Fransman.
The developing on the right was the intended site on the minstrels’ museum, in the course of an industrial region in Primrose Park, Cape City. Photograph: Raymond Joseph
In response to your Parliamentary dilemma, former NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane stated grants to 3 CTMCA “assignments” - including the museum - concerning 2012 and 2015. All 3 jobs had been accomplished, she advised MPs.
Nevertheless the investigators discovered no proof that a museum experienced at any time existed.
To start with the museum was on account of open up in rented premises in Crete Highway, Wetton. A photo received by GroundUp of the supposed Wetton museum demonstrates a coffee shop with some musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of photographs haphazardly hung to the partitions, in addition to a model ship on its plinth inside a corner.
In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni mentioned it had been “not in a position” to substantiate if a museum experienced at any time operated from these premises.
Stemmet instructed the investigators the museum had been moved because they could no longer afford the rent of R100,000 a month. He said the CTMCA experienced procured house for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal for your museum, but could not get it rezoned, and were sold for a similar selling price. Schaapkraal is inside a peri-city location considerably from the city.
Consequently, the museum had been moved to a completely new spot in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But right after traveling to the premises, that happen to be within an industrial space, the investigators said they doubted irrespective of whether an appropriate museum existed there. Photos hooked up into the report display a mishmash of randomly exhibited uniforms, musical devices and assorted minstrel paraphernalia nailed on the wall, shown on tables and distribute out on the ground, without explanation.
“There is a negligible number of items for the museum [that] by no means represent the over one hundred-12 months record of your Cape Town Carnival, the investigators mentioned, incorporating that there was “no signage outside the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … generally, the museum doesn't search to become open up to the public.”
The CTMCA experienced breached the grant arrangement, Dabishi Nthambeleni mentioned, by going The placement of the museum to an alternate location without the need of notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal home, on which no museum was ever built. Photograph: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet instructed the investigators which the CTMCA had to move with the rented Crete Highway premises because it had run up a R4-million credit card debt with the town of Cape Town and was concerned its machines would be hooked up.
“As a result of legal battles and also the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its house from five Crete Highway to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the house from the organisation,” Stemmet informed the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, The existing director on the CTMCA, advised them which the two buses purchased with lottery resources have been saved in the secret spot “concealed through the Sheriff”. However the investigators claimed they had been unable to substantiate that any buses experienced at any time been acquired.
Stemmet also verified that the buses were concealed to halt them staying seized. But if the investigators asked to become taken for the spot in which the buses were saved, he advised them that “the owner of The key place wasn't available to open up the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA couldn't present proof of payment for two motor vehicles that it allegedly bought with grant dollars,” the investigators reported.
Soeker also advised them the Schaapkraal property had been offered due to debt.
“Mr Soeker described that In accordance with his being familiar with, as a result of credit card debt owed to the City of Cape Town, the CTMCA resolved It will be ideal to market their [Schaapkraal] property … and to also to hide the property from the CTMCA to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the assets.”
JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for protection and safety, has Beforehand informed GroundUp the CTMCA “threw money absent” on litigation with the town.
“Annually like clockwork, as we strategy the tip of your year, the CTMCA picks a lawful struggle with town, more than permits or something else. We under no circumstances initiate it. They keep throwing cash away on vexatious litigation which they reduce and possess charges awarded in opposition to them. This can be entirely self-inflicted,” he claimed.
Soeker informed the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the main purpose players on issues of Lottery funding were being Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who had been accountable for each of the admin, funds and operating ltpbet the CTMCA.” The investigators said they had been not able to Call Momberg.
Hats
In the course of their “investigation in loco” with the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “uncovered several devices, some in fantastic situation, some in poor situation and several that looked rusty and very previous”. Stemmet told the investigators that there was also an off-web site storage facility the place “instruments and a few machinery” were being saved.
“We requested him to get us to the power but he was evasive to our request.”
Depending on photos and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, of the goods appear to be devices that was illegally faraway from the CTMCA’s prior premises. Stemmet is facing expenses for this removing.
According to the ultimate development report submitted towards the NLC because of the CTMCA, the equipment was purchased from Martin-Conne Milliners, an organization during which Stemmet, his wife and his daughter have been directors at time.
The investigators identified this “alarming”.
“Through the CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners along with the invoices submitted, we Notice the following alarming discovering: Mr Stemmet himself is a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered tackle of the organization is five Crete Road, Wetton, Cape Town, the same deal with on which the museum was meant to be built and/or converted,” they noted.
An audit by accountants Kopano Integrated, attached on the investigative report, recorded the CTMCA was in the whole process of acquiring “equipment, plant and inventory” valued at R8.one-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was an in depth corporation of which Stemmet was among the directors.
In keeping with Dabishi Nthambeleni, the company has compensated R1.2-million being a deposit, that means R6.9-million remains owed, though there isn't any payment day set for when this must be compensated.
The Kopano audit plus the close connection involving the companies “suggest to us that there is ‘foul Participate in’ associated with the acquisition from the machinery of the museum workshop”, the investigators explained inside the report.
“We discover that it's extremely probable that CTMCA made use of the funding in the NLC to ‘refund’ amongst its primary directors to the residence at an increased overpriced amount than the particular selling price and worth of the house and/or equipment.”
Suggestions
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it had been unable to ascertain how the grant towards the CTMCA had been expended.
“The truth is, a detailed report on how the funding from the NLC was utilised, can be unachievable as being the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or evidence of payments to confirm the amounts used on Every single product it requested funding for. The interim report and closing report in the CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators discovered that the NLC had not executed a website check out in advance of approving the grant. But this wasn't standard practice at the time and they identified no evidence of carelessness by NLC workforce.
At the time, the NLC’s principles did not require funded organisations to post proof of payment with interim reports, they identified. This meant that the CTMCA was in a position to get a next tranche of funding while not having to supply proof that it had utilized 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 as well as other difficulties.
Dabishi Nthambeleni proposed that
the NLC decline any foreseeable future funding purposes in the CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any members who had been involved in the grant be subjected for the NLC’s “delinquency” approach;
the NLC open a criminal circumstance of fraud with SAPS or perhaps the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC start out the entire process of recovering the misappropriated money.
But, rather than act over the report’s suggestions, the NLC – under its past administration – chose to suppress it, since it had finished Along with the prior experiences into corruption it experienced commissioned.
GroundUp sent inquiries to Stemmet and Soeker via SMS, and asked for email addresses to ship the inquiries by electronic mail too. But no response were received at the time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Road, Wetton. Photo: Raymond Joseph