Bernice Swarts (born 19 February 1972) is a South African politician who is the current Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs and a

Member of the National Assembly of South Africa Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

for the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

Parliamentary career

In March 2019, the

(ANC) announced their candidate lists for the national and provincial elections on 8 May 2019. Swarts was placed 17th on the ANC's Gauteng regional to national list. At the election on May 8, the ANC won 53.2% of the vote on the national ballot in Gauteng, which resulted in them winning 26 out of the 47 regional Gauteng seats in the National Assembly. Swarts was elected to the National Assembly and sworn into office on 22 May during the first sitting of parliament following the election. On 27 June 2019, Swarts was appointed to serve on the

Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation The Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation is a portfolio committee in the National Assembly of South Africa that focuses on the Department of International Relations and Cooperation as well as the African Renaissance and In ...

and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA). In November 2019, it was reported that Swarts was being probed for allegedly deceiving businessperson Tuwani Mulaudzi in 2013 of R500,000 under the pretext that the money was going to be donated to the ANC's 2014 election campaign. Mulaudzi attempted to get Swarts to repay the money after he learnt that Swarts had decided to keep the money for herself, but she refused to repay him. Only after it was announced that she was elected an MP, he decided to reclaim the money again and reported the matter to the National Assembly speaker,

Thandi Modise Thandi Ruth Modise (born 25 December 1959) is a South African politician who served as the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans from 2021 to 2024. She was previously the Premier of the North West from 2010 to 2014, Chairperson of the Nati ...

, who referred it to the ANC chief in the National Assembly,

Pemmy Majodina Pemmy Castelina Pamela Majodina (born 24 December 1968) is a South African politician from the Eastern Cape. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), she has been the Minister of Water and Sanitation (South Africa), Minister of Water and ...

. On 15 July 2020, Swarts left the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. She then only served on the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation. In March 2021 Swarts rejected opposition parties' claims that the government turns a blind eye to officials who have been found guilty of corruption in the public sector. She said that the government is taking the matter seriously.

Career in government: 2023

Swarts was promoted to Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure in March 2023. In July 2023, Swarts unsuccessfully stood for the position of Deputy President of the

African National Congress Women's League The African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) is an auxiliary women's political organization of the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa. This organization has its precedent in the Bantu Women's League, and it oscillated from ...

at the league's elective conference. She lost to Lungi Mnganga-Gcabashe. Appointed deputy minister of department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs (DFFE) since July 2024

References

External links

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Parliament of South Africa The Parliament of the Republic of South Africa is South Africa's legislature. It is located in Cape Town; the country's legislative capital city, capital. Under the present Constitution of South Africa, the bicameralism, bicameral Parliamen ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Swarts, Bernice Living people 1972 births African National Congress politicians Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2019–2024 Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029 Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa