Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane has reiterated his call upon national government to tighten South Africa's porous borders and ensure it has a database of every person living in the country.

Maimane was accompanied by DA Gauteng premier candidate Solly Msimanga and other senior members during a walkabout at Princess Clinic in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg on Wednesday.

Maimane said he has never shied away from raising the issue of border protection in the country. 

"We have non-citizens who are in the country. There is no country in the world that has porous borders like we have in South Africa. We can't identify the place of origin of non-citizens in the country. Our borders need to be secured.

"South Africans and immigrants should be properly registered. Home Affairs should ensure that it does its work and documents everybody in the country," he said.

Maimane said his party doesn't condone acts of xenophobia and promised that under a DA-led government, the attack on foreign nationals - legal or illegal - would be regarded as a criminal act.

He said his party has put forward a proposal on how to manage all borders in South Africa.

Maimane assured citizens of Alexandra that Mayor Herman Mashaba would visit the township on Monday to listen to their grievances. He called upon people who had allegedly unfairly benefited from the multi-billion rand Alexandra Renewal Programme (ARP) to come forward. 

"There must be a thorough investigation on what happened to the ARP. We call on the ANC [African National Congress] not to hold rallies and protests in Alexandra against the DA. The ANC has failed the people of Alexandra over the past 22 years. There must be progress in Alexandra.

"Alexandra is a long-term project. We are inheriting the mess of the ANC. I have been informed by intelligence that there will also be shut-downs in Tshwane and Soweto. They are targeting DA municipalities. We have a plan for Alexandra to be renewed," Maimane said.

Msimanga spoke about healthcare in the province and said there is a need for 12 hospitals in Gauteng. In addition, there are 2 000 nurses in the province who have been trained but not incorporated into the health system.

He complained about the centralisation of ambulances in Gauteng and promised that under his leadership, all ambulances will be decentralised.

"We need to speed up the process to ensure there is a smooth-running health system in Gauteng. Our hospitals should have chief executive officers who are accountable and who must have their own budgets to acquire resources," he said.

Msimanga said that the DA alerted police that the recent Alexandra protests were politically motivated.