Johannesburg - One of South Africa's priorities in the year ahead should be to build an economy that is inclusive, ensure everyone is safe in their homes and deliver better basic services, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Alliance Mmusi Maimane said on Monday.

In a New Year message, Maimane said South Africa "must belong to all who live in it regardless of race, gender or the circumstances of their birth".

"This is crucial as we go into an election where many will seek to divide," he said.

"We must unite as South Africans against the efforts of those who seek to divide us."

Race has long been a thorny and divisive issue in South Africa, a legacy of decades of apartheid rule which discriminated against non-whites.