South Africa is not a xenophobic country, and would “reject” that suggestion, Vincent Magwenya, spokesperson for the presidency, told journalists this week. He was briefing them on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s schedule.

South Africa has recently been involved in diplomatic spats with other African countries (and received a rebuke from the United Nations Secretary General) over harassment of their citizens and has seen demonstrations targeting foreign nationals. Migrants from across the continent have been a frequent lightning rod for public discontent – this is usually expressed in terms of illegal immigration, although this is a distinction that demonstrators often seem to ignore.

President Ramaphosa also held talks with his Mozambican counterpart, President Daniel Chapo, in Pretoria this week. According to Magwenya, they agreed that South Africa was not a xenophobic country, and a more coordinated, continental approach to migration was required.

Magwenya said that demonstrations were permissible, but that violence or the violation of laws would not be tolerated. "In this regard, the president expects law enforcement to play its role to prevent any acts of violence against any individual," he said.

He also noted that foreign nationals were not being murdered at any appreciable scale. Proper analysis and careful description were needed to describe the realities. “Otherwise, we’ll risk unfairly maligning the country the same way as the country has been maligned over the so-called white genocide.”

He went on to say that merely criticising South Africa without looking at the causes of migration was unwise. Africa needed to deal with these causes “openly and quite frankly.”

He added: “The continent needs to work together to address the issues that are behind these levels of migration that we see across our continent, issues of conflict, issues in instability, and, in some areas, if you’re being honest, the misgovernance that causes people to migrate in large numbers and seek refuge in different parts of the continent, including South Africa.”

Issues of governance failure and ongoing conflict have been a major part of the governance conversation in Africa. In the early 2000s, the newly formed African Union put “good governance” at the centre of its development agenda, a theme championed by then-president Thabo Mbeki. However, commitment to bringing this about has been uneven.

South Africa has seen millions of migrants coming from Zimbabwe over the past thirty years as the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front responded to electoral challenges with violence and accepted ruinous economic damage as a consequence. South Africa’s government refuses to offer any condemnation.