Johannesburg - Government has moved to reassure foreign investors that they are welcome to do business in South Africa in the wake of the xenophobic attacks that have erupted in the country.
This follows President Jacob Zuma's cancellation of his trip to Indonesia to visit affected areas in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday.
SA missions in other countries have also been instructed to brief those governments about South Africa's efforts to quell the violence.
Briefing journalists in Pretoria today, ministers in the justice, crime prevention and security cluster insisted government was on top of the problem, including arresting those involved.
According to government, 307 people have been arrested for various crimes including the murders of the seven people who have already died during the attacks.
“To the countries that continue to invest in South Africa, we want to reassure them that South Africa is a constitutional democracy governed by laws.
“Investors are welcome to do business in South Africa. Everything is being done to restore peace and order,” said home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba.
The ministers have also defended how government reacted to the attacks, saying the swift appointment of a ministerial committee to address the problem had to be commended.
Intelligence minister David Mahlobo said they were concerned that some of the images being distributed around the world on social media were not the real images of the current situation.
Some of the images had been manipulated while some were from the initial attacks in 2008.
“Some negativity is emerging because of the false pictures and messages being circulated,” said Mahlobo.
He said so far no South Africans currently living in other countries had been injured as a result of retaliation, including during the stoning of South African buses and trucks near the Lebombo border post.
Independent Media