Respectfully, the security cluster is not responsible for taverns, ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe says.

Mabe, who was responding to questions about the mass shootings in Orlando, Soweto, on Sunday and two others in Katlehong and Pietermaritzburg that left 21 dead and at least 20 injured, was speaking at the Gauteng provincial conference in Boksburg on Sunday.

Asked about the reactionary nature of SA's security cluster, Mabe said more should be done by tavern owners to ensure the safety of their patrons.

Mabe suggested liquor authorities relook at the qualifying criteria before dishing out trading licences to taverns.

"I’m saying this carefully and respectfully, the security cluster of the Republic is not responsible for these establishments that sell alcohol in townships, villages and informal settlements.

"The expectation is that those that run these establishments have got to go an extra mile to protect their patrons so that it does not become a national security issue.

"It can’t be made a national security issue. Just imagine now we have to deal with gender-based violence, violent crimes and suddenly we must establish a dedicated unit in the South African police that now looks at taverns," Mabe said.

During the early hours of Sunday morning 15 patrons at Mdlalose's Tavern in Orlando, Soweto, were killed. Two died in Katlehong's Mputlane Inn Tavern while another four were killed at a tavern in Pietermaritzburg.

This comes two weeks after 21 teenagers aged between 13 and 18 died at Enyobeni tavern in East London in the Eastern Cape.

Parents of the deceased children are still waiting for the postmortems on the cause of death.

On the tavern deaths and shootings, Mabe said it was strange to see the rate at which they were happening.

"This is coincidental but we need to have a conversation. The licensing we issue to these places and the liquor authorities have to look at those and there needs to be security measures in place. If people want to run these establishments they need to at least demonstrate they can protect their patrons."

Unconfirmed reports have suggested the shooting in Soweto could have been over a turf war.

On the racial tensions in parts of Soweto that have seen movements such as #OperationDudula clash with foreign nationals, Mabe said those were part of NEC discussions.

"Part of what we discussed in [the] last NEC [meeting] was looking at immigration policies.

"Those who come to the country illegally, using fake papers as if they’ve achieved asylum have to be exposed because they’re the ones undermining the relationship we’ve always enjoyed with foreign nationals," he said.

"We don’t have to entrench the anti-foreign rhetoric as being xenophobic. We must co-exist legitimately to advance good causes.

"Those who come here legally must be allowed to do what they came to do and many other South Africans are living in other countries too.

"We must expose criminal networks whether done by South Africans or foreign nationals."