AbaThembu King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo has defended his decision to facilitate a visit by Israeli embassy officials to public hospitals in the Eastern Cape. Dalindyebo insisted that no law or constitutional provision compels him to account to either the president or the provincial government. “There is no legislation, no constitutional premise, that actually enforces me to account to a president or to a premier of whatever nature and of whatever kind,” the king said.
The remarks come amid a growing diplomatic fallout after Dalindyebo escorted Israeli officials to Mthatha General Hospital and Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital without the knowledge or approval of the department of international relations and co-operation (Dirco) or the Eastern Cape provincial government. The embassy also said that an Israeli delegation had visited the two hospitals to discuss potential co-operation with Sheba Medical Centre, Israel’s largest hospital. Israeli foreign affairs ministry senior official David Saranga, who was part of the visit, echoed the message online, saying the tour followed King Dalindyebo’s recent visit to Israel and his meeting with the director of Sheba Medical Centre.
“We held in-depth discussions with their CEOs on co-operation with Sheba, Israel’s largest and most comprehensive hospital,” Saranga said, noting that the facility has been ranked eighth among the world’s best hospitals by Newsweek. The visit however coincided with Dirco announcing that it had declared Israeli chargé d’affaires Ariel Seidman persona non grata, ordering him to leave South Africa within 72 hours. “Mr Seidman is required to depart from the Republic within 72 hours,” Dirco said in a media statement on Friday. The department said it had formally informed the Israeli government of its decision, citing what it described as a “gross abuse of diplomatic privilege” and a “fundamental breach of the Vienna Convention”.
Read Full Article on TimesLIVE
