President Cyril Ramaphosa has summoned Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, to a meeting to discuss a purported social media post of her having lunch with former deputy higher education minister Mduduzi Manana.

The picture sparked debate on whether the minister failed to comply with the country's lockdown regulations.

"I have seen the picture of Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams sitting at a luncheon with friends and have asked her to come and see me so that we can discuss the impact of visuals like these.

"What we are trying, what we want to do...we want to instil a clear message about social distancing - that you must stay at home and don't go around on visitations," Ramaphosa said.

He was speaking after visiting the national water command centre at Rand Water in Johannesburg, where he told journalists that the government was trying hard to convince South Africans to take the novel coronavirus outbreak seriously.

The president said if people had to leave their homes, it had to be work-related, emphasising that he was at the command centre to inspect on what was being done but would return to his home immediately afterwards.

The picture, which appears to be a screengrab of a post from Manana's Instagram page, shows the two politicians and several other people having a meal together.

The caption reads: "It was great to host a former colleague and dear sister Cde Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams (Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies) on her way back from executing critical and essential services required for the effective functioning of our country during the nationwide lockdown."

Jacaranda FM News reported that Manana confirmed that the minister had visited him after finishing some work nearby.

He declined to speak on her behalf and told the broadcaster: "I think the minister must respond for herself because I was home and she was working nearby, so it was not dinner per se."

The minister's spokesperson, Mish Molakeng, told News24 he was dealing with numerous requests related to the purported social media post. His comment will be added once received.

It was unclear when the picture was taken, but the caption refers to Ndabeni-Abrahams' work during the lockdown, which is currently in effect until 16 April.

It was also unclear whether Ndabeni-Abrahams was carrying out an essential service.

Politicians demanded answers after the picture surfaced. Mmusi Maimane and DA MP Phumzile van Damme called on Ramaphosa to take action.

Manana has also not replied to attempts for comment from News24.

Before the lockdown, it was reported that Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu was captured on video saying that she found it difficult to stay home. At the time, South Africans were encouraged to practise social distancing to curb the spread of the virus.

She later apologised.

Around the world, politicians who have contravened their country’s lockdown regulations have either stepped down or have been demoted. 

In New Zealand, Health Minister Dr David Clark, was demoted for ignoring the national lockdown when he drove his family to a beach 20km away last week, according to The Guardian. 

In apologising for the incident, he said it showed poor judgment and, more recently, called himself an “idiot” for his decision.

Scotland’s chief medical officer, Catherine Calderwood, quit after she broke the country’s lockdown regulations when she took her family for an overnight visit to their holiday home, The Guardian reported.

The decision followed the first Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon’s call to Calderwood to resign after the transgression.