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Johannesburg - Gauteng Premier David Makhura joined hundreds of marchers in an anti-xenophobia march on Tuesday.
He told the crowd that the province welcomed foreigners with open arms, "unlike the Donald Trump government".
He wanted the province to attract the best talent from all over the continent, in all spheres of life.
"There is no room for xenophobia in Africa. Whether you come from East, West or North Africa, you can choose whichever part of the continent will offer you best opportunities," he said.
He was addressing a gathering of civil right groups, trade unions, women's organisations, foreign nationals and South Africans at Pieter Roos Park in Parktown. They marched to the Library Gardens in the CBD.
The march was led by African Diaspora Forum (ADF), which handed Makhura a memorandum. He promised to hand it over to Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba.
ADF spokesperson Emeka Johnson said the march was intended to express their anger at recent xenophobic attacks in Rosettenville, Johannesburg, and in Pretoria.
"We want to disassociate ourselves from criminal migrants and align ourselves with positive South Africans to condemn xenophobia in the country," she said.
The marchers accused Mashaba of inciting violence.
In December 2016, Sowetan Live quoted Mashaba saying about illegal immigrants: "They are holding our country to ransom and I am going to be the last South African to allow it."
