South Africa has rejected accusations of xenophobia following recent anti-migrant protests, calling on African nations to address issues such as instability and poor governance that cause people to leave their countries.

Presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya told reporters on Wednesday that South Africans are not xenophobic, describing the demonstrations as “pockets of protest, which is permissible within our constitutional framework”.

The comments came as hundreds of people marched in the eastern city of Durban and other centres on Wednesday, demanding government action against undocumented migrants operating businesses such as small shops. Previous demonstrations have also sought to deny undocumented foreigners access to South African clinics and hospitals.

The series of anti-migrant protests in recent weeks across Africa’s most industrialised country, along with claims of attacks against foreigners, have prompted Nigeria and Ghana to voice concern.

Following talks on Tuesday between Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo and South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, both leaders agreed “the continent needs to work together to address the issues that are behind these levels of migration”, Magwenya said.

These included “conflicts, issues of instability, and in some areas… the misgovernment that causes people to migrate in large numbers and seek refuge in different parts of the continent, including South Africa”.

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Magwenya said there should “be willingness to constructively engage on what are these issues and factors behind peoples seeking to leave their countries of birth and seeking refugee elsewhere”.

Nigeria announced emergency repatriation flights for its citizens living in South Africa and warned Pretoria on Monday that it was not doing enough to address anti-immigrant threats and harassment.

Ghana summoned South Africa’s envoy in late April over several “xenophobic incidents”.

Magwenya described the label of xenophobia as a “lazy” analysis that risked “unfairly maligning” South Africa in the same way as false US claims of a “genocide” against its white minority.

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