Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa says it is up to Parliament, not him, to hold members of the executive, such as Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini, to account.
"It is not the function of the leader of government business [a position Ramaphosa holds] to discipline members of the executive; it is Parliament that should do so. As members of the executive, we are all accountable to Parliament... that is a fact we sometimes gloss over," he said.
Ramaphosa was answering questions at a National Council of Provinces sitting on Wednesday. He was asked how Dlamini was allowed to avoid appearing before the Portfolio Committee on Social Development.
"Those who miss scheduled meetings without reasonable explanation can indeed be sanctioned by Parliament... I personally had a discussion with [Dlamini], and we discussed the matter of her working in a cooperative way with the committee, and that is happening," he added.
"It is not so much about what I will do; it's about what Parliament will do to make sure the executive is held accountable".
Dlamini has, for the past two weeks, evaded meetings to inform Parliament about the progress made on social grant payouts.
Ramaphosa also condemned the hoisting of the apartheid South African flag at #BlackMonday protests against farm murders on Monday.
"We condemn those who participated in that march where they flung the old South African flag. If they did anything, they actually damaged their own case. They demonstrated to all that they still hanker for the old days of apartheid," Ramaphosa said.
"I'm hoping that flag will never be flown in our country again. This must be the last time we have seen that flag being hoisted".