Politics

African National Congress Distances Itself From Bernice Swarts Donating Bread in Gauteng

Published 11 Mar 2026 at 3:59 PM

by Tebogo Mokwena

2 min read

The African National Congress (ANC) has commented on Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and Environmental Affairs Bernice Swarts' recent donation
Swarts donated 10,000 loaves of bread to underprivileged communities in Gauteng's informal settlements at the beginning of March, sparking outrage from the public
The ANC's national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, shared the party's stance on Swarts' actions, which it did not condone or approve

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Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, covered local and international politics, political analysis, and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his 10 years of experience.

The African National Congress spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu said the ANC did not approve of Bernice Swarts' bread donation — The ANC slammed Bernice Swarts for her bread stunt. Images: Per-Anders Petterson/ AFP via Getty Images and @TebogoTheScribe/ X
Source: UGC

JOHANNESBURG— The African National Congress (ANC) is not happy with Deputy Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs Bernice Swarts' recent donation of 10,000 loaves of bread to Gauteng informal settlements.

The ANC released a statement on its @MYANC X account on 11 March 2026. The party's national spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, said that Swarts' donation was not an ANC campaign and was not authorised by any of the structures in the party. She added that the ANC distanced itself from Swarts' actions.

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Bhengu also said that the party reprimanded Swarts and other members of the party who were involved in her donation. She added that her donation created the false impression that the activity formed part of an official ANC programme or campaign. Swarts has since deleted the posts on social media.

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"Members are reminded that acts of charity or community assistance must never be conducted using the ANC name, colours or branding, nor should they be presented as organisational programmes when they are private initiatives," she said.

Read the full statement on X here:

Briefly News has reached out to Tiger Brands for comment. The article will be updated once the comment becomes available.

Source: Briefly News

Authors:

Tebogo Mokwena (Current Affairs editor) Tebogo Mokwena is the Deputy Head of the Current Affairs desk and a current affairs writer at Briefly News. With a Diploma in Journalism from ALISON, he has a strong background in digital journalism, having completed training with the Google News Initiative. He began his career as a journalist at Daily Sun, where he worked for four years before becoming a sub-editor and journalist at Capricorn Post. He then joined Vutivi Business News in 2020 before moving to Briefly News in 2023.

Tags:

Johannesburg ANC - African National Congress Gauteng

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