“Pot” Stemmet faces expenses in excess of theft of Lottery-funded equipment
“Pot” Stemmet faces expenses in excess of theft of Lottery-funded equipment
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Richard “Pot” Stemmet, remaining, and an investigator appointed because of the National Lotteries Commission to analyze the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Image from an investigative report commissioned from the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution after gear paid for with cash within the Lottery was removed from a Cape Town creating he rented.
Stemmet is to appear in court in January.
In line with a prosecutor the criminal rates could consist of fraud, elimination of kit that were hooked up with the Sheriff and interfering having a Town of Cape City electric power meter.
The fees stem from a grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, inside of a civil court make a difference, is trying to get to recover above R2.5-million in unpaid rent, curiosity, legal fees and damage to a rented constructing in Crete Road, in the industrial region of Wetton in Cape City.
The setting up was Earlier the headquarters with the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) which is the place a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s generations-previous minstrel society was supposedly working.
Convicted prison Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution for theft and fraud following devices paid for with Lottery money was faraway from a Cape City building.
Stemmet was arrested with the Specialised Professional Criminal offense Device on 16 October 2024 and informed to seem from the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Court docket on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court docket over the working day though the matter wasn't put on the courtroom roll because the investigating officer did not produce the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to look in courtroom in January.
The criminal charges stem from the grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, that's trying to get to Get well above R2.five-million in unpaid lease, desire, legal prices and damage to a rented building in Crete Street, in the economic location of Wetton in Cape City.
The developing was Earlier the headquarters of your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA). This is when a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s centuries-aged minstrel tradition was supposedly operating.
The premises also housed several corporations owned by Stemmet, whom police have referred to as a drugs superior flier. Between the businesses Stemmet ran with the premises were a hat manufacturing business and also a nightclub. Stemmet continues to be arrested many periods for gun and drug-relevant offences and served time for armed robbery while in the 1980s.
In accordance with an SMS despatched to Meuwese because of the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in courtroom on 30 January 2025.
Despite the fact that Stemmet is still to generally be introduced that has a charge sheet, feasible prices, contain fraud, elimination of kit that had been attached by the Sheriff, and interfering that has a City of Cape Town electric power meter, In line with an electronic mail sent to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor managing the issue.
A grant of just about R13-million to determine the minstrel museum was A part of in excess of R64-million in Lottery resources allotted into the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017, with the majority of the money - above R54.3-million - compensated from the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 financial decades, In keeping with Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) yearly experiences.
Stemmet was appointed a director on the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued ผล หวย ลาว as two of quite a few directors of your organisation. Stemmet was reappointed being a director in 2021.
In accordance with Meuwese, the setting up was leased to Stalph 164, a close corporation of which Stemmet was amongst the directors. The business was deregistered by the Companies and Intellectual Residence Fee (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing once-a-year experiences.
A brand new entity With all the identical name was subsequently registered as a private company, but with Stemmet now not a director, according to CIPC documents. As a substitute, a loved one, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk had been appointed as administrators.
About the evening of twelve April 2021 and into the following morning, the Crete Highway premises have been cleared and the machinery was eradicated, In line with an affidavit by Meuwese. The equipment was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent while in the Athlone industrial space, which housed a number of of Stemmet’s firms and a new “minstrel museum”, In accordance with a leaked investigative report commissioned with the NLC. The investigator also photographed the devices at The brand new premises.
On the other hand, the meant new museum web-site, such as aged just one in Wetton, was properly from any of Cape Town’s vacationer routes and site visitors couldn't entry it. There was no signage to the making indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s organizations vacated the premises earlier this 12 months following he fell sick.
The funding to determine a museum was not the one lottery grant which the CTMCA obtained. In 2021, the association was allotted R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid aid grants. The NLC at first refused to reveal who had gained Covid funding but finally relented below media and parliamentary strain.
Other lottery grants allotted to non-financial gain entities associated with Stemmet and his spouse and children and his associates include R1.four-million with the Cape Cultural Carnival and Situations Committee in 2019/twenty, and an additional R500,000 in 2021/22, In accordance with NLC annual experiences. Stemmet is often a former director of the committee and his spouse, Zainonesa, is presently a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Affiliation, that's registered in the CTMCA’s previous Crete Highway workplaces, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/twenty, and a further R635,000 in 2021/22 for your “craft, woodwork and design and style programme”. Having said that, it appears that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC elevated questions about superb reports connected with previously funding gained by the CTMCA.
GroundUp has verified which the SIU is investigating the lottery funding been given by the CTMCA.
Also under investigation is a R1-million payment by the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which subsequently paid out R500,000 of this to legal professionals acting in the purchase of the R27-million mansion for former NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted as a conduit for an extra R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a business by which the spouse of previous NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, toward the purchase on the mansion. Zibsimanzi received R4.8-million to phase a rural soccer tournament in Limpopo soon after Letwaba Individually advised the grant be compensated to his spouse’s business.
GroundUp sent issues to Stemmet via SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.