Pretoria - Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has lashed out at criminals who he says are using xenophobia as an excuse to create "anarchy and anxiety" in the country.
Briefing reporters on Thursday, the minister said the xenophobic threats were "just rumours" and he believes the reported attacks in Cape Town were "simple criminal acts."
"Yes there is crime in South Africa ... but let us just make a distinction between a rumour and a real concrete report with a clear source of information."
The minister acknowledged that there are socio-economic challenges that government cannot ignore.
"I don't believe South Africans are xenophobic... We see that [xenophobia] as a pure act of criminality.
"These rumours run the risk of eroding the victory we scored with the World Cup," he said.
He said it was unlikely that South Africans would welcome World Cup visitors on the one hand and threaten foreigners on the other.
"Not so long ago we were talking about the six pack [African teams participating in the World Cup]. South Africans also stood behind Ghana when Bafana Bafana was booted out of the tournament ... let us not forget that we are all South Africans," he said.
The country's tough talking Police Commissioner, Bheki Cele said police were prepared to effectively deal with violence against anyone, including foreign nationals.
Cele said an investigation had found that scores of foreigners leaving Cape Town were not going out of fear of xenophobic violence, but because they were seasonal workers.
He said police will deal harshly with opportunistic criminals. "We continue to monitor all and any threats. Should anything be found to be credible, measures will be implemented immediately to prevent any outbreak of violence," he said.
A team that includes disaster management, community safety, traffic, local government and, emergency services has been established in Gauteng to deal with any threats and possible outbreak.
Both Mthethwa and Cele urged community leaders and political parties to spread messages of no tolerance towards criminals and those who threaten foreign nationals or intimidate them.
