Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa has not considered suspending its diplomatic relations with Israel amid heightened tensions in the Middle East.

Responding to written questions during a sitting of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Wednesday, the Deputy President said this was done to ensure that South Africa still had a passage of communication with Israel.

Ramaphosa said this ensured that the country still had a reserved seat on the negotiation round table, and that South Africa’s unhappiness with the violence in the region is registered.

“South Africa is not considering expelling diplomatic relations with Israel. We will remain engaged and we will voice our protest,” he said.

When the Middle East crisis reached its peak, President Jacob Zuma appointed special envoys – retired High Commissioner Zola Skweyiya and former Deputy Minister Aziz Pahad – and sent them to Israel and Palestine to meet with Hamas to convey South Africa’s unhappiness and condemnation over the onslaught on innocent civilians.

Ramaphosa also said the appointment of these envoys was significant as they were, in one way or the other, involved in the democratic negotiations during the apartheid struggle.

He said the envoys would use the wealth of experience they gained through the negotiations that led to the end of South Africa’s own conflict.

“We would like to believe they did make some headway. We believe they did make South Africa’s voice very clear.

“We hope that the people of Israel and Palestine will be able to find peace and leave with one another.

“South Africa has developed a particular DNA when it comes to settling conflicts, and that DNA is conflicts are settled through negotiation, by people sitting around one table to find a solution.

“This has been bestowed upon us by our forefathers.”

He said South Africa wanted to see a permanent settlement coming out of Gaza.

Appointment of Ministerial Advisory Council on Energy not finalised

The Deputy President also said the Department of Energy had not finalised the appointment of the Ministerial Advisory Council on Energy because it was still processing numerous nominations.

He said according to the department, about 180 applications had been submitted and that once it is done finalising the preferred candidates, an announcement would be made.

Answering a separate question, Ramaphosa said while South Africa remained concerned about capital flight and tax evasion, there were no plans in government to set up a commission of enquiry to investigate the problem.

He said South Africa had institutions such as the South African Reserve Bank and the South African Revenue Service, and that that the two continually assessed all capital outflows and taxpayers.

“I think we are on record as government that tax evasion is not only a crime against the State, it is a crime against our people.

“It is a culture that we would like to remove so that nobody evades paying taxes.”

The Deputy President said, meanwhile, that government has seen a trend whereby the rate of tax evasion has gone down ever since the dawn of democracy, and that the rate continues to drop.