Cape Town - Ministers will be expected to submit bimonthly reports to President Jacob Zuma detailing their department's progress towards achieving 12 specific outcomes.
This as government gears up for a year of action, said Collins Chabane, the Minister of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency.
Briefing the media on Friday, Chabane revealed more details of the performance outcomes and measurable inputs that government had put in place, following President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation Address on Thursday in which he emphasised that his administration would focus more on speeding up service delivery.
Ministers will be expected to submit performance reports to Zuma as from the next financial year which starts in April, said Chabane.
"We want to focus more on implementation, rather than (it) revolving around policy, because that's where our challenges lie," said Chabane, who also outlined nine of the 12 outcomes which were approved by cabinet last month.
A further three outcomes - in the areas of public administration, international relations and the environment would be discussed by Cabinet over the next two months.
"Our evaluation process is not going to wait for five years; (to do the evaluation) it will be a continuous one," he said.
Zuma will now send letters to each minister or group of ministers responsible for each of the 12 performance outcomes. These letters will form the basis of their performance and delivery agreements, Chabane said.
"I would not know what the actual contents are (of the agreements) until I see them".
He said the ministers will be expected to form delivery forums that will bring together all parties inside and outside of government that impact on the implementation of specific targets contained in the outcomes.
"The delivery forums will develop detailed service delivery agreements that will indicate each party's contribution to achieving the outputs and outcomes with typical information on budget contribution, implementation timelines and personnel allocation," he said.
Chabane said his unit in the Presidency was ready to assist any ministry that needs help in relieving hold-ups in implementing their outcomes.
Government will not take punitive action against ministers and top officials before considering what resources and skills they may need to achieve the targets, he said.
Ministers from the various government clusters are expected to detail their outcomes and associated targets in media briefings later this month.
Chabane said government was still in the process of setting up some of the new departments, adding that some of the issues involved obtaining office space.
"That is ongoing work, but that work does not disrupt what government is expected to do. We expect all departments to be functional by the beginning of the financial year," he said.
