Barbara Creecy

{{short description|South African politician}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2019}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = The Honourable | name = Barbara Creecy | native_name = | native_name_lang = | honorific_suffix = MP | image = Barbara Creecy.jpg | image_size = 220px | small_image =  | alt = | caption = Creecy in 2014 | office = | status = | term_start = | term_end = | predecessor = | successor = | office1 = Minister of Transport | deputy1 = Mkhuleko Hlengwa | president1 = Cyril Ramaphosa | term_start1 = 3 July 2024 | term_end1 = | predecessor1 = Sindisiwe Chikunga | successor1 = | office2 = Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries | deputy2 = Maggie Sotyu | president2 = Cyril Ramaphosa | term_start2 = 30 May 2019 | term_end2 = 19 June 2024 | predecessor2 = ''Portfolio restructured'' | successor2 = Dion George | office3 = Member of the National Assembly | premier3 = | term_start3 = 22 May 2019 {{Collapsed infobox section begin |last=yes |Provincial offices<br />{{nobold|1994–2019}} |titlestyle=border:1px dashed lightgrey;}}{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes | office4 = Member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Finance | premier4 = David Makhura | term_start4 = 23 May 2014 | term_end4 = 25 May 2019 | predecessor4 = Mandla Nkomfe | successor4 = Panyaza Lesufi | office5 = Member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Education | premier5 = Nomvula Mokonyane | term_start5 = 8 May 2009 | term_end5 = 23 May 2014 | predecessor5 = Angie Motshekga | successor5 = Panyaza Lesufi | office6 = Member of the Gauteng Executive Council for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture | premier6 = Paul Mashatile<br>Mbhazima Shilowa | deputy6 = | term_start6 = 29 April 2004 | term_end6 = 8 May 2009 | predecessor6 = Mondli Gungubele | successor6 = Nelisiwe Mbatha-Mthimkhulu | office7 = Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature | leader7 = | term_start7 = 10 May 1994 | term_end7 = 7 May 2019 {{Collapsed infobox section end}} }} | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1958|06|17|df=y}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | citizenship = South Africa | party = African National Congress | other_party = United Democratic Front | spouse = | partner =  | relations = | children = | education = Roedean School | alma_mater = University of the Witwatersrand<br>University of London | occupation = | profession = Politician | known_for = | committees = | portfolio = | awards =  | website = }}

'''Barbara Dallas Creecy''' (born 17 June 1958) is a South African politician and former anti-apartheid activist who has been the Minister of Transport since July 2024. She was formerly the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries between 2019 and 2024. She is a member of the National Executive Committee and National Working Committee of the African National Congress (ANC).

Raised in Johannesburg, Creecy joined the ANC in 1979 and was active in the United Democratic Front. Between 1994 and 2019, she served continuously in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature, and she was a member of the Gauteng Executive Council from 2004 to 2019, serving as Member of the Executive Council for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture (2004 to 2009), for Education (2009 to 2014), and for Finance (2014 to 2019). She joined the National Assembly of South Africa in the May 2019 general election and thereafter was appointed to the cabinet by President Cyril Ramaphosa.

== Early life and education == Born on 17 June 1958,'''<ref name=":122">{{Cite web |date=10 April 2024 |title=Final Candidate Lists for 2024 National and Provincial Elections: National Candidates |url=https://www.elections.org.za/pw/Documents/Candidates-List-NPE2024/National%20Candidates%20List.pdf |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Electoral Commission of South Africa}}</ref>''' Creecy grew up in Johannesburg.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date= |title=MEC Profile: Ms Barbara Creecy |url=http://www.gauteng.gov.za/government/departments/provincial-treasury/Pages/MEC-profile.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511040128/http://www.gauteng.gov.za/government/departments/provincial-treasury/Pages/MEC-profile.aspx |archive-date=2017-05-11 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Government of Gauteng}}</ref> Her father, a chartered accountant who was raised in the United Kingdom, died when she was eight.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Segar |first=Sue |date=22 November 2019 |title=Environmental impact |url=https://noseweek.co.za/wp/article/environmental-impact/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Noseweek |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 August 2019 |title=Behind the Politics: Creecy on student activism, juggling career and family life |url=https://ewn.co.za/2019/08/08/behind-the-politics-creecy-on-student-activism-juggling-career-and-family-life |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424195347/https://ewn.co.za/2019/08/08/behind-the-politics-creecy-on-student-activism-juggling-career-and-family-life |archive-date=2022-04-24 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=EWN}}</ref> He had been a member of the Communist Party and a pacifist conscientious objector during World War II; her mother, the daughter of two trade unionists, was also politically progressive.<ref name=":1" />

After matriculating at the Roedean School in Parktown, Johannesburg, Creecy attended the University of the Witwatersrand on a scholarship, enrolling in 1976.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2020-11-06 |title=Barbara Creecy: 'You can make a difference if you want to' |url=https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2020-11-06-qa-sessions-you-can-make-a-difference-if-you-want-to/?login=success |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> She graduated with an Honours degree in political science, and she later completed a Master's degree in public policy and management at the University of London.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Barbara Creecy, Ms |url=https://www.gov.za/about-government/contact-directory/transport-ministry/barbara-creecy-ms |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=South African Government}}</ref>

== Anti-apartheid activism == Creecy became involved in the anti-apartheid movement as a student politician, and she joined the banned African National Congress (ANC) in her final year of university, 1979, after attending a conference at Roma University in Lesotho.<ref name=":1" /> She became increasingly involved in activism while working with human rights lawyer Priscilla Jana, and she was a founding member of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in 1983.<ref name=":1" />

Thereafter she worked with the UDF first as a member of its Civic Desk and then as an employee of a non-profit organisation that offered training and organisational development support to trade unions and civic organisations; she was closely involved in the alliance between the UDF and the Congress of South African Trade Unions under the auspices of the Mass Democratic Movement.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> She also worked with the ANC underground, reporting to its machinery in Botswana. She was briefly exiled in 1988 and spent two months in the Soviet Union.<ref name=":1" />

== Provincial political career: 1994–2019 == In South Africa's first post-apartheid elections in April 1994, Creecy was elected to represent the ANC in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. She retained her seat for the next 25 years, gaining re-election to five consecutive terms and becoming one of the longest-serving members of the legislature.<ref name=":1" /> Between 1994 and 2004, she served stints as chairperson of the portfolio committee on social development, and as chairperson of the portfolio committee on education.<ref name=":3" /> After the April 2004 general election, she was elevated to the Gauteng Executive Council when Premier Sam Shilowa appointed her as Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture.<ref name=":1" /> Later that year she was elected to the ANC's Provincial Executive Committee in Gauteng for the first time.<ref name=":0" /> She served a full five years in the sports portfolio, retained in that post after Paul Mashatile succeeded Shilowa as Premier in 2008.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2008 |title=Paul Mashatile's inauguration address |url=https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/paul-mashatiles-inauguration-address |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=Politicsweb |language=en}}</ref> [[File:Korea 2014 UN Public Service Forum 08 (14493582566).jpg|thumb|Creecy (with her successor Panyaza Lesufi) accepting the United Nations Public Service Award in Seoul, Korea in June 2014 ]] After the May 2009 general election, Creecy became MEC for Education in the government of Premier Nomvula Mokonyane.<ref>{{Cite web |date=11 May 2009 |title=Mokonyane sticks to gender promise |url=http://www.joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3818&Itemid=209 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414162609/https://joburg.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3818&Itemid=209 |archive-date=14 April 2017 |access-date=13 April 2017 |website=City of Johannesburg}}</ref> Her initiatives in the Gauteng Department of Education included a technical education turnaround programme targeting 41 technical high schools in the province,<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 March 2013 |title=Gauteng steps up youth unemployment fight |url=https://www.news24.com/fin24/gauteng-steps-up-youth-unemployment-fight-20130306 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref> as well as the Secondary School Improvement Programme (SSIP) in selected high schools.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 January 2011 |title=Programme boosts underperforming schools |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/programme-boosts-underperforming-schools-20150429 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref> The SSIP won a United Nations Public Service Award in the Improving the Delivery of Public Service category,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thusi |first=Lucky |date=2014-06-27 |title=GDE shines at UN Public Service Awards |url=https://www.citizen.co.za/southern-courier/news-headlines/2014/06/27/gde-shines-un-public-service-awards/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Southern Courier |language=en-US}}</ref> and Creecy credited it for Gauteng's record-breaking matric pass rate in the 2013 school year.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 January 2014 |title=Creecy: Gauteng setting the pace on empowerment |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/creecy-gauteng-setting-the-pace-on-empowerment-20140107 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref>

After the May 2014 general election, newly elected Premier David Makhura transferred Creecy to the high-profile position of MEC for Finance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 May 2014 |title=Media release on the appointment of the members of the Executive Council of the Gauteng Provincial Government by Premier David Makhura |url=https://www.gov.za/media-release-appointment-members-executive-council-gauteng-provincial-government-premier-david |access-date=2022-12-29 |website=South African Government}}</ref> She was the first woman to hold the office.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Baldwin |first=Ndaba |date=4 June 2019 |title=SACP lauds Gauteng's 'first African woman' finance MEC |url=https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/sacp-lauds-gautengs-first-african-woman-finance-mec-24979210 |access-date=28 July 2019 |website=IOL |publisher= |location=}}</ref> During her five-year tenure, she introduced an open tender system requiring public adjudication and independent auditing of procurement processes; the pilot programme was introduced in 2014 and draft legislation to entrench the new system was published in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 November 2014 |title=Open tender process for Gauteng |url=https://www.news24.com/fin24/open-tender-process-for-gauteng-20141110 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=26 June 2018 |title=Open tender system has saved Gauteng R1.2bn, says MEC |url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2018-06-26-open-tender-system-has-saved-gauteng-r12bn-says-mec/ |access-date=26 December 2024 |work=Business Day}}</ref> In 2018 Ferial Haffajee congratulated Creecy for having "cleaned up" the department and "run an efficient and innovative provincial treasury".<ref>{{cite web |last=Haffajee |first=Ferial |date=8 October 2018 |title=Who could replace Nene? Get to know Barbara Creecy and Mondli Gungubele |url=https://www.fin24.com/Economy/analysis-who-could-replace-nene-get-to-know-barbara-creecy-and-mondli-gungubele-20181008 |access-date=30 May 2019 |website=News24 |publisher=}}</ref>

While serving as Finance MEC, in December 2017, Creecy attended the ANC's 54th National Conference, which elected her to a five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee; by number of votes received, she was ranked 61st of the 80 ordinary members elected.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2017 |title=Meet the new ANC NEC |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/meet-the-new-anc-nec-20171221 |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref> She was also elected to the party's 20-member National Working Committee.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-20 |title=ANC elects new national working committee |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2018-01-20-anc-elects-new-national-working-committee/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>

==National political career: 2019–present==

=== Environment, Forestry and Fisheries === In the May 2019 general election, Creecy was elected to an ANC seat in the National Assembly, the lower house of the South African Parliament.<ref name=":1" /> The ''Mail & Guardian'' viewed her as a frontrunner for appointment as Deputy Minister of Finance;<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-17 |title=ANC survival depends on Cyril's choice |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2019-05-17-00-anc-survival-depends-on-cyrils-choice/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> indeed, the Gauteng ANC and Paul Mashatile reportedly lobbied for her to be appointed as Minister of Finance.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-05-31 |title=Cyril's Cabinet: What happened behind the scenes |url=https://mg.co.za/article/2019-05-31-00-cyril-aligns-cogs-in-his-cabinet-2/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> Instead, on 29 May 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Creecy to the post of Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 May 2019 |title=From Patricia to Pandor – Here is Ramaphosa's new (smaller) Cabinet |url=https://www.news24.com/News24/from-patricia-to-pandor-here-is-ramaphosas-new-smaller-cabinet-20190529 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref> The ''Daily Maverick'' welcomed her appointment, saying that she had "shown competency in every portfolio she managed."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knight |first=Tessa |date=2019-06-07 |title=Cyril Ramaphosa and the harbingers of the 'New Dawn' |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2019-06-07-cyril-ramaphosa-and-the-harbingers-of-the-new-dawn/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref>

She held the environment portfolio for five years and her tenure was generally regarded as a moderate success.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Evans |first=Julia |date=2024-07-01 |title=What the new Cabinet could mean for SA's energy and environment future |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-07-02-what-the-new-cabinet-could-mean-for-sas-energy-and-environment-future/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref>'''<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Bega |first=Sheree |date=2023-12-28 |title=Environment department has made positive strides over the past 30 years |url=https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2023-12-28-environment-department-has-made-positive-strides-over-the-past-30-years/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>''' However, although she initially made "a number of decisions that delighted environmentalists and conservationists," her ministry was frequently embroiled in political and legal disputes over environmental standards in the mining industry.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yeld |first=John |date=2020-04-08 |title="New broom" minister Barbara Creecy raises dust |url=https://groundup.org.za/article/new-broom-minister-barbara-creecy-raises-dust/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=GroundUp News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Engel |first=Kristin |date=2023-10-12 |title='Environment minister' ties the knot with her 'one true love, Big Oil' |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-10-12-environment-minister-ties-the-knot-with-her-one-true-love-big-oil/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref> In March 2022, environmental activists succeeded in obtaining a court order instructing Creecy to implement the Highveld Priority Area Air Quality Management Plan for air pollution in the Transvaal coal belt.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Court orders government to clean up air in coal belt |url=https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2022-03-18-court-orders-government-to-clean-up-air-in-coal-belt/ |access-date=2022-03-22 |website=BusinessLIVE |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-03-20 |title=Court gives Environment Minister a year to enforce clean air plan |url=https://sabcnews.com/those-responsible-for-pollution-must-be-held-accountable-groundwork/ |access-date=2022-03-22 |website=SABC News |language=en-US |archive-date=20 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220320074657/https://www.sabcnews.com/those-responsible-for-pollution-must-be-held-accountable-groundwork/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Her supporters argued that the scope for environmental reforms was limited, given the political clout of the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy under Gwede Mantashe.'''<ref name=":4" />''' Creecy was also embroiled in a long-running dispute with the commercial wildlife breeding industry; she reportedly blocked a proposed 2020 amendment to the Meat Safety Act that would have allowed the commercial sale of lion meat, and she introduced a sweeping new policy on biodiversity.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-20 |title=Proposal to allow 'the sale of lion meat in SA' blocked by minister |url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/lion-meat-sales-south-africa-blocked/ |access-date=2022-03-22 |website=The South African |language=en-ZA}}</ref>

As minister, Creecy was chairman of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment between 2019 and 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2019-11-15 |title=SA assumes chairmanship of African Ministerial Conference on Environment |url=https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sa-assumes-chairmanship-of-african-ministerial-conference-on-environment/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525234130/https://www.sabcnews.com/sabcnews/sa-assumes-chairmanship-of-african-ministerial-conference-on-environment/ |archive-date=25 May 2024 |access-date=2024-12-26 |work=SABC News |language=en-US |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2023, she and her Danish counterpart, Dan Jørgensen, were appointed by COP28 president Sultan Al Jaber to chair international political negotiations on the "global stocktake" of the Paris Agreement.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bega |first=Sheree |date=2023-07-19 |title=Creecy 'honoured' by appointment to consult nations for the first stocktake on climate progress |url=https://mg.co.za/the-green-guardian/2023-07-19-creecy-honoured-by-appointment-to-consult-nations-for-the-first-stocktake-on-climate-progress/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Harvey |first1=Fiona |author-link1=Fiona Harvey |last2=Lakhani |first2=Nina |date=2023-12-08 |title='This may be our last chance': Cop28 talks enter final phase |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/dec/08/this-may-be-our-last-chance-cop28-talks-enter-final-phase |access-date=2024-08-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> She also launched South Africa's Just Energy Transition Investment Plan at COP28, which was held in Dubai that December.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yende |first=Sizwe sama |date=4 December 2023 |title=COP28: Creecy launches SA's R1.5 trillion green energy transition plan |url=https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/cop28-creecy-launches-sas-r15-trillion-green-energy-transition-plan-20231204 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=City Press |language=en-US}}</ref>

The ANC's 55th National Conference was held in December 2022, and Creecy was re-elected to the National Executive Committee; she received 1,242 votes across roughly 4,000 ballots, making her the 48th-most popular member of the committee.<ref>{{Cite web |date=22 December 2022 |title=Full list: ANC NEC members |url=https://www.enca.com/news/full-list-anc-nec-members |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=eNCA |language=en}}</ref> By that time she was viewed as a firm political ally of incumbent ANC president Ramaphosa.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ferreira |first=Emsie |date=2022-12-21 |title=ANC's NEC balance weighs in Ramaphosa's favour |url=https://mg.co.za/politics/2022-12-21-ancs-nec-balance-weighs-in-ramaphosas-favour/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref> At the new committee's first meeting in February 2023, she was appointed as the committee's chief representative in the Western Cape and as deputy chairperson of the subcommittee on elections and campaigns.<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 February 2023 |title=Members of deployment committee and other committees appointed – ANC NEC |url=https://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/members-of-deployment-committee-and-other-committe |access-date=2023-08-02 |website=Politicsweb |language=en}}</ref> She was also re-elected to the National Working Committee; she received the support of 54 of the National Executive's 80 members, making her the second-most popular candidate behind Mmamoloko Kubayi.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-29 |title=Ramaphosa consolidates control over ANC with clean sweep in national working committee |url=https://mg.co.za/politics/2023-01-29-ramaphosa-consolidates-control-over-anc-with-clean-sweep-in-national-working-committee-2/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=The Mail & Guardian |language=en-ZA}}</ref>

=== Transport === Creecy was re-elected to the National Assembly in the May 2024 general election. On 30 June, announcing his new multi-party cabinet, Ramaphosa appointed her to succeed Sindy Chikunga as Minister of Transport, in which capacity she is deputised by Mkhuleko Hlengwa of the Inkatha Freedom Party.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 June 2024 |title=Working together to 'serve the people': Ramaphosa names new Cabinet |url=https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/read-in-full-working-together-to-serve-the-people-ramaphosa-names-new-cabinet-20240630 |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=News24 |language=en-US}}</ref> She said that her initial priority would be stabilising the Department of Transport and its governance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Payne |first=Suné |date=2024-07-15 |title=New Transport Minister Creecy prioritises 'stabilisation, improved governance' |url=https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-07-15-new-transport-minister-barbara-creecy-prioritises-stabilisation-and-improved-governance/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=Daily Maverick |language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life == Creecy is divorced.<ref name=":2" /> She has two children.<ref name=":0" />

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{People's Assembly (South Africa)|id=creecy-barbara|name=Ms Barbara Creecy}} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eX98ZVBM4B8 Interview] with Eyewitness News (2019) {{Ramaphosa second cabinet}}{{Ramaphosa third cabinet}}{{Current MPs of South Africa}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creecy, Barbara}} Category:Living people Category:1958 births Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2024–2029 Category:African National Congress politicians Category:Women members of the National Assembly of South Africa Category:University of the Witwatersrand alumni Category:White South African anti-apartheid activists Category:South African anti-apartheid activists Category:Women government ministers of South Africa Category:Members of the National Assembly of South Africa 2019–2024 Category:Alumni of Roedean School, South Africa Category:Politicians from Johannesburg Category:Members of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Category:Women members of provincial legislatures of South Africa Category:South African women civil rights activists