“Pot” Stemmet faces prices above theft of Lottery-funded equipment
“Pot” Stemmet faces prices above theft of Lottery-funded equipment
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Richard “Pot” Stemmet, remaining, and an investigator appointed via the National Lotteries Fee to research the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photo from an investigative report commissioned by the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is facing prosecution just after equipment paid for with money from the Lottery was faraway from a Cape Town setting up he rented.
Stemmet is to look in court in January.
As outlined by a prosecutor the prison charges could consist of fraud, removing of kit that had been hooked up via the Sheriff and interfering which has a Metropolis of Cape City electricity meter.
The fees stem from a criticism laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, in the civil court docket issue, is searching for to Get better above R2.five-million in unpaid hire, interest, authorized expenditures and harm to a rented building in Crete Road, in the industrial region of Wetton in Cape Town.
The creating was Formerly the headquarters from the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA) and is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s generations-outdated minstrel tradition was supposedly functioning.
Convicted prison Richard “Pot” Stemmet is experiencing prosecution for theft and fraud right after equipment compensated for with Lottery money was faraway from a Cape Town building.
Stemmet was arrested via the Specialised Industrial Criminal offense Device on sixteen Oct 2024 and advised to look within the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Court on 21 November.
GroundUp attended courtroom on the day even so the make any difference wasn't put on the courtroom roll since the investigating officer did not provide the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court docket in January.
The felony fees stem from a complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who is searching for to Recuperate above R2.5-million in unpaid rent, fascination, authorized expenses and harm to a rented making in Crete Street, in the industrial space of Wetton in Cape Town.
The creating was Formerly the headquarters of your Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA). This is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s centuries-outdated minstrel culture was supposedly working.
The premises also housed quite a few corporations owned by Stemmet, whom law enforcement have called a medications significant flier. Among the the companies Stemmet ran in the premises have been a hat production enterprise and a nightclub. Stemmet has been arrested a number of occasions for gun and drug-associated offences and served time for armed robbery within the 1980s.
In accordance with an SMS sent to Meuwese from the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in court docket on 30 January 2025.
Though Stemmet is however to be offered having a cost sheet, feasible prices, contain fraud, removing of equipment that had been attached because of the Sheriff, and interfering using a Town of Cape Town energy meter, In accordance with an e mail sent to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor handling the make a difference.
A grant of almost R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was A part of greater than R64-million in Lottery funds allotted for the CTMCA in between 2003 and 2017, with the majority of the money - about R54.3-million - paid out inside the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 economical several years, In accordance with Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) annual experiences.
Stemmet was appointed a director in the CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His spouse Zainonesa and daughter Raziah ongoing ตรวจ หวย รัฐบาล as two of numerous administrators with the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed like a director in 2021.
In line with Meuwese, the developing was leased to Stalph 164, an in depth Company of which Stemmet was certainly one of the directors. The corporation was deregistered by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in distributing once-a-year reviews.
A brand new entity Along with the same name was subsequently registered as a private organization, but with Stemmet no more a director, In line with CIPC data. In its place, a loved one, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk ended up appointed as directors.
Around the night of twelve April 2021 and into the following early morning, the Crete Road premises were being cleared as well as equipment was taken out, In accordance with an affidavit by Meuwese. The equipment was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent from the Athlone industrial location, which housed several of Stemmet’s corporations along with a new “minstrel museum”, As outlined by a leaked investigative report commissioned by the NLC. The investigator also photographed the products at the new premises.
On the other hand, the meant new museum web page, like the old 1 in Wetton, was nicely away from any of Cape Town’s vacationer routes and people could not access it. There was no signage around the creating indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s organizations vacated the premises before this 12 months right after he fell ill.
The funding to ascertain a museum wasn't the sole lottery grant which the CTMCA acquired. In 2021, the Affiliation was allocated R100,000 and R1.5-million in Covid aid grants. The NLC at first refused to expose who had gained Covid funding but ultimately relented less than media and parliamentary stress.
Other lottery grants allotted to non-profit entities connected to Stemmet and his family members and his associates incorporate R1.four-million for your Cape Cultural Carnival and Events Committee in 2019/20, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, As outlined by NLC yearly experiences. Stemmet is usually a previous director with the committee and his wife, Zainonesa, is at present a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Association, that is registered at the CTMCA’s previous Crete Road places of work, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/twenty, and an additional R635,000 in 2021/22 for your “craft, woodwork and structure programme”. Having said that, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC elevated questions about outstanding stories relevant to earlier funding gained by the CTMCA.
GroundUp has confirmed the SIU is investigating the lottery funding been given with the CTMCA.
Also less than investigation is actually a R1-million payment because of the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which subsequently compensated R500,000 of the to attorneys acting in the acquisition of the R27-million mansion for former NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted for a conduit for an extra R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a corporation in which the spouse of former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, in the direction of the acquisition of your mansion. Zibsimanzi been given R4.8-million to phase a rural soccer tournament in Limpopo soon after Letwaba Individually advisable that the grant be paid to his spouse’s organization.
GroundUp despatched queries to Stemmet via SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.