South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday imposed a three-month "salary sacrifice" on the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula for alleged abuse of state resources.

Mapisa-Nqakula was part of a delegation from the ruling African National Congress party that flew to Zimbabwe on an air force jet earlier this month to meet with the ZANU-PF party.

The move sparked public outrage as South Africans called for the minister's resignation, but she defended the trip saying she was on official duty and had only given the other ANC officials a lift.

She will now see her salary redirected elsewhere for three months starting November.

"Her salary for the three months should be paid into the Solidarity Fund, which was established to support the country's response to the coronavirus pandemic," said a statement from the presidency.

Ramaphosa also ordered Mapisa-Nqakula to reimburse the total cost of the flight to Zimbabwe.

The statement from the presidency noted that the minister failed to act in the best interest of good governance, failed to adhere to legal prescripts warranting care in use of state resources and acted in a way that is inconsistent with her position.