There is no need to panic following a US warning of possible terror attacks in South Africa, State Security Ministry spokesperson Brian Dube said on Tuesday.

A local news agency said on Tuesday that the alert may not have come from a credible source, but Dube said the State Security Agency was not in a position to reveal the intelligence being worked on.

Speaking to Polity, Dube said his department could not afford to dismiss issues of violence, extremism and terrorism without having done its due diligence.

The South African government was prepared to engage with the US government to discuss what the threats were in order to implement the necessary measures to ensure that the country was safe, he said.

“South Africa is a stable and safe country because our international relations and foreign policies place us in a safer position,” he said, adding that South Africa was not a prime target of [terrorism] attacks.

The British and Australian foreign embassies issued statements following an alert to their citizens travelling to South Africa, urging them to be cautious.

However, Dube added that the British and Australian governments were not discouraging their citizens from travelling to South Africa. 

Meanwhile, Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco) spokesperson Clayson Monyela criticised US Ambassador Patrick Gaspard by saying the alert had caused panic.  

Dirco was engaging with the US embassy on how best the alerts should be managed, so as not to compromise or inadvertently impact South Africa’s economic and investment relations, said Dube.