South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned that anyone trying to disrupt the country on June 30 will face the law, as tensions build around an anti-foreigner deadline pushed by anti-illegal-immigration groups.

Speaking from Parliament in Cape Town on Thursday, Ramaphosa moved to calm fears over the date, saying the state was preparing to keep daily life running.

"South Africa cannot address migration alone. Through SADC, the African Union and bilateral relations that we have with many countries, we will work together to tackle political instability, conflict and economic hardships that drive people to leave their homes and to come here. We have made it clear that every person within our borders must be here lawfully. We have also said that responsibility for enforcing our laws rests with the state and the state alone and that no individual may stop any person to demand documentation or proof of identity or nationality. There is no place for racism in our country, no place for sexism, for xenophobia, for Afrophobia, or for any other form of intolerance. As a government, we have put in place security and other measures to deal with any attempts to destabilise our country, whether by citizens or foreign nationals. And we will not tolerate any attempts to destabilise the country by anyone, whether marching or otherwise. Our security forces are ready, and those who transgress the measures that we are putting in place will definitely meet the might of the law."