Government has finally announced its plans to improve performance and deliver much-needed basic services.

National Planning Commission Minister Trevor Manuel on Friday announced a green paper on national strategic planning at the Union Buildings, while Minister of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Collins Chabane launched his policy document on performance monitoring and evaluation.

Manuel said his ministry would develop a "Vision 2025" for South Africa.

This would not be a "wish list", Manuel told journalists, but a careful assessment of what is most needed by South Africa and what could be "traded-off to achieve those goals" by 2025.

A National Planning Commission, headed by Manuel, will make sure that Vision 2025 happens, he said.

Experts in different fields from outside government will be invited to be part of this commission.

Although he said it would not be a "super-ministry", Manuel said a five-year strategic plan for the country would be adopted at a Cabinet lekgotla and after that "would be binding on all spheres of government".

Chabane, meanwhile, is set to create a "Delivery Unit" of a small team of experienced officials "to respond to a few carefully-selected areas of blockages in delivery".

He explained that the unit would work with the government departments which are having trouble delivering services to "drive change that brings sustained improvements in delivery".