“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, still left, and an investigator appointed by the Nationwide Lotteries Fee to analyze the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Photo from an investigative report commissioned because of the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is dealing with prosecution just after equipment paid for with money through the Lottery was faraway from a Cape Town constructing he rented.
Stemmet is to seem in courtroom in January.
In keeping with a prosecutor the prison costs could incorporate fraud, removal of kit that had been connected from the Sheriff and interfering having a City of Cape City electricity meter.
The fees stem from a grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, inside a civil court subject, is trying to get to Get better about R2.five-million in unpaid rent, fascination, legal costs and damage to a rented constructing in Crete Road, in the commercial space of Wetton in Cape City.
The making was Beforehand the headquarters with the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) and it is exactly where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s hundreds of years-previous minstrel lifestyle was supposedly running.
Convicted prison Richard “Pot” Stemmet is going through prosecution for theft and fraud right after gear paid for with Lottery funds was faraway from a Cape City building.
Stemmet was arrested by the Specialised Commercial Criminal offense Device on 16 Oct 2024 and explained to to look within the Wynberg Justice of the peace’s Courtroom on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court docket about the working day but the subject was not placed on the courtroom roll as the investigating officer didn't produce the docket to prosecutors. Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in courtroom in January.
The felony costs stem from a grievance laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's seeking to Get well in excess of R2.5-million in unpaid hire, desire, lawful costs and damage to a rented creating in Crete Highway, in the commercial place of Wetton in Cape Town.
The making was Beforehand the headquarters with the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA). This is where a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating town’s centuries-outdated minstrel culture was supposedly running.
The premises also housed quite a few enterprises owned by Stemmet, whom police have described as a drugs substantial flier. Amongst the companies Stemmet ran within the premises ended up a hat producing organization and a nightclub. Stemmet is arrested many situations for gun and drug-relevant offences and served time for armed robbery from the nineteen eighties.
In accordance with an SMS despatched to Meuwese through the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to seem in courtroom on thirty January 2025.
Although Stemmet is still to become introduced by using a demand sheet, doable expenses, consist of fraud, elimination of equipment that had been attached by the Sheriff, and interfering which has a City of Cape Town electricity meter, In accordance with an e-mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor handling the make any difference.
A grant of almost R13-million to establish the minstrel museum was Element of over R64-million in Lottery cash allotted to your CTMCA between 2003 and 2017, with the bulk of the money - more than R54.3-million - compensated within the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 monetary a long time, As outlined by Nationwide Lotteries Commission (NLC) once-a-year stories.
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 วัน นี้ as two of many directors from the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in 2021.
Based on Meuwese, the building was leased to Stalph 164, an in depth corporation of which Stemmet was one of the directors. The company was deregistered by the Companies and Mental Property Commission (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in distributing yearly experiences.
A whole new entity with the similar identify was subsequently registered as a private organization, but with Stemmet not a director, according to CIPC records. Alternatively, a loved one, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk were being appointed as administrators.
Over the night of twelve April 2021 and into the next morning, the Crete Road premises were being cleared as well as machinery was eliminated, In accordance with an affidavit by Meuwese. The equipment was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent during the Athlone industrial space, which housed quite a few of Stemmet’s firms and also a new “minstrel museum”, In accordance with a leaked investigative report commissioned from the NLC. The investigator also photographed the products at The brand new premises.
Even so, the meant new museum site, similar to the aged a single in Wetton, was well from any of Cape Town’s tourist routes and site visitors could not obtain it. There was no signage on the building indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s businesses vacated the premises previously this yr following he fell unwell.
The funding to establish a museum wasn't the sole lottery grant which the CTMCA gained. In 2021, the association was allotted R100,000 and R1.five-million in Covid reduction grants. The NLC initially refused to reveal who experienced received Covid funding but at last relented underneath media and parliamentary pressure.
Other lottery grants allocated to non-financial gain entities linked to Stemmet and his spouse and children and his associates incorporate R1.four-million for that Cape Cultural Carnival and Occasions Committee in 2019/20, and a further R500,000 in 2021/22, In line with NLC yearly reviews. Stemmet is actually a former director from the committee and his wife, Zainonesa, is currently a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Affiliation, and that is registered for the CTMCA’s former Crete Highway offices, was allotted R190,000 in 2019/20, and an additional R635,000 in 2021/22 for any “craft, woodwork and design and style programme”. Nevertheless, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld after the NLC raised questions about superb reviews connected to earlier funding obtained because of the CTMCA.
GroundUp has verified which the SIU is investigating the lottery funding received from the CTMCA.
Also beneath investigation is often a R1-million payment because of the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which subsequently paid out R500,000 of this to lawyers performing in the acquisition of the R27-million mansion for former NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted like a conduit for a further R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a company in which the spouse of former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, in the direction of the acquisition in the mansion. Zibsimanzi obtained R4.eight-million to stage a rural soccer Event in Limpopo immediately after Letwaba personally recommended the grant be compensated to his wife’s corporation.
GroundUp despatched queries to Stemmet by using SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.