SOPA 2026 | Mabuyane commits R416m to Mthatha hospital upgrades, slams Israel bid

Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane has pledged R416m for much-needed upgrades in Mthatha’s Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital while taking a jab at Israel’sbilateral agreementswith AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, relating to planned upgrades at the same hospital. Mabuyane made this pledge in Bhisho on Thursday, while delivering his second state of the province address in this new term of governance. Mabuyane said before the end of this year, the provincial government will complete the construction of a cancer unit at the hospital in Mthatha.

“We have invested R416m in this project so that people can access these services closer to home,” he said. Mabuyane used his address to also take a veiled jab towards the recent Israeli embassy’s diplomatic visit to Mthatha Hospital and Nelson Mandela Academic. I don’t want us to be confused and think hospitals in Mthatha are not being looked after and are in the care of people from Israel.

Their visit was organised byDalindyebo, who visited the facilities together with Israeli diplomat David Saranga in late January. The delegation visited the two facilities without the provincial government’s blessings, much to Mabuyane’s annoyance. “We don’t want help from Israelis in that region,” said Mabuyane. Mabuyane further said the provincial government is determined to reduce dependence on other provinces for highly specialised healthcare services.