“Pot” Stemmet faces costs in excess of theft of Lottery-funded gear
“Pot” Stemmet faces costs in excess of theft of Lottery-funded gear
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Richard “Pot” Stemmet, still left, and an investigator appointed through the Countrywide Lotteries Commission to investigate the Lottery-funded minstrel museum: Picture from an investigative report commissioned by the NLC
Richard “Pot” Stemmet is dealing with prosecution following devices compensated for with resources from the Lottery was faraway from a Cape City making he rented.
Stemmet is to seem in court in January.
In accordance with a prosecutor the legal costs could contain fraud, removing of apparatus that were connected by the Sheriff and interfering with a Town of Cape Town energy meter.
The costs stem from the complaint laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who, in a very civil court docket make a difference, is looking for to Get well around R2.5-million in unpaid rent, curiosity, authorized charges and damage to a rented creating in Crete Road, in the industrial location of Wetton in Cape Town.
The building was Beforehand the headquarters of your Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) and is particularly where by a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the town’s hundreds of years-old minstrel society was supposedly working.
Convicted criminal Richard “Pot” Stemmet is facing prosecution for theft and fraud after products compensated for with Lottery money was faraway from a Cape City developing.
Stemmet was arrested because of the Specialised Professional Criminal offense Unit on 16 October 2024 and informed to seem during the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on 21 November.
GroundUp attended court about the working day but the make a difference was not put on the court docket 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 legal expenses stem from a criticism laid by Stemmet’s landlord, Sean Meuwese, who's searching for to recover about R2.5-million in unpaid lease, interest, lawful charges and damage to a rented setting up in Crete Street, in the economic spot of Wetton in Cape City.
The creating was Beforehand the headquarters from the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Affiliation (CTMCA). This is when a non-existent, Lottery-funded museum celebrating the city’s centuries-previous minstrel lifestyle was supposedly functioning.
The premises also housed a number of organizations owned by Stemmet, whom police have referred to as a medications significant flier. Among the the businesses Stemmet ran from your premises have been a hat production firm in addition to a nightclub. Stemmet continues to be arrested numerous instances for gun and drug-related offences and served time for armed theft within the nineteen eighties.
As outlined by an SMS sent to Meuwese because of the investigating officer, Stemmet has now been summonsed to appear in courtroom on thirty January 2025.
Even though Stemmet is still to become offered that has a demand sheet, achievable fees, involve fraud, removing of kit that were hooked up via the Sheriff, and interfering with a City of Cape City energy meter, according to an electronic mail despatched to Meuwese by a senior prosecutor dealing with the make a difference.
A grant of almost R13-million to determine the minstrel museum was Section of a lot more 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 in the 2012/2013, 2013/2014 and 2014/2015 fiscal years, As outlined by Countrywide Lotteries Commission (NLC) annual studies.
Stemmet was appointed a director of your CTMCA in September 1996 but resigned in December 2016. His wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued ผล สลาก as two of various directors with the organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as being a director in 2021.
In keeping with Meuwese, the creating was leased to Stalph 164, a detailed Company of which Stemmet was certainly one of the directors. The corporate was deregistered by the businesses and Mental Assets Fee (CIPC) in March 2023 for non-compliance in publishing once-a-year experiences.
A new entity With all the very same title was subsequently registered as a private company, but with Stemmet now not a director, In keeping with CIPC data. As a substitute, a member of the family, Ra’ees Stemmet, and Alfonzo van Niekerk had been appointed as administrators.
Within the night of 12 April 2021 and into the subsequent morning, the Crete Street premises were cleared plus the machinery was taken out, according to an affidavit by Meuwese. The products was moved to new premises rented by Stemmet in Mymoena Crescent in the Athlone industrial location, which housed various of Stemmet’s companies plus a new “minstrel museum”, As outlined by a leaked investigative report commissioned by the NLC. The investigator also photographed the equipment at the new premises.
Nevertheless, the supposed new museum site, like the aged a person in Wetton, was very well faraway from any of Cape Town’s vacationer routes and website visitors could not entry it. There was no signage within the developing indicating that it housed a museum.
Stemmet’s businesses vacated the premises previously this calendar year soon after he fell ill.
The funding to ascertain a museum wasn't the only lottery grant that the CTMCA gained. In 2021, the Affiliation was allotted R100,000 and R1.5-million in Covid relief grants. The NLC to begin with refused to expose who experienced received Covid funding but last but not least relented underneath media and parliamentary tension.
Other lottery grants allotted to non-revenue entities linked to Stemmet and his loved ones and his associates incorporate R1.4-million for your Cape Cultural Carnival and Activities Committee in 2019/20, and an extra R500,000 in 2021/22, In keeping with NLC yearly reviews. Stemmet is really a previous director on the committee and his wife, Zainonesa, is now a director.
And, the Peninsula and District Carnival Association, which is registered within the CTMCA’s former Crete Street places of work, was allocated R190,000 in 2019/twenty, and an extra R635,000 in 2021/22 for any “craft, woodwork and structure programme”. Even so, it seems that the 2021/22 payment was withheld once the NLC raised questions about exceptional stories related to earlier funding obtained through the CTMCA.
GroundUp has confirmed that the SIU is investigating the lottery funding obtained through the CTMCA.
Also beneath investigation is actually a R1-million payment through the CTMCA to MDU Consulting Engineers, which in turn compensated R500,000 of this to lawyers performing in the purchase of the R27-million mansion for former NLC Board chairperson Alfred Nevhutanda.
MDU also acted as being a conduit for an extra R3-m payment by Zibsimanzi, a business by which the spouse of former NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba was a director, toward the purchase with the mansion. Zibsimanzi obtained R4.eight-million to phase a rural soccer tournament in Limpopo just after Letwaba personally advisable which the grant be paid to his wife’s firm.
GroundUp despatched questions to Stemmet by way of SMS but he had not replied by the time of publication.