Hlengiwe Mnguni, News24
Cape Town – Chances of a rumoured breakout of xenophobic violence after the World Cup are low, says the Western Cape government citing police information.

Local government department head Hildegarde Fast said the South African Police Force in the Western Cape had said that no incidences of xenophobia had been reported since the province (and the country) had gone on high alert after the months-old rumour intensified in recent weeks.

"In their assessment there is a low level of threat," Fast said at a media briefing in Cape Town.

Earlier this week however, Abdi Aden, a spokesperson for the Somali Retailers Association, told News24 that a Somali shop owner had been wounded in an attack he labelled as xenophobic.

Hildergarde pointed out that police had "a difficult job" in differentiating between what might have been crime and xenophobic violence.

She said she recognised that on the ground "foreigners have real fears" but that the province was "committed to providing visible policing" and had in place early warning systems.

She said police were constantly patrolling the area along the N1 in Cape Town where scores of foreign nationals had been gathering to catch lifts across the South African border.

"Police are constantly patrolling the area to ensure that no one is dropped off with their belongings on the side of the road," she said.

While it had been reported that those people had been fleeing from xenophobic violence, Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa said the groups of people were in fact seasonal workers returning to their home countries.

The province's director of social dialogue and human rights Sifiso Mbuyisa said the province was also sending independent mediators to communities that the province had identified as "vulnerable" to xenophobic violence.

The mediators would help bridge the divide between communities and foreigners and help both groups with access to public services.