Nelson Mandela's recovery was said to be "moving reasonably well" after his recent hospitalisation, South Africa's presidency said Thursday, insisting that no news is good news.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said doctors had not updated the presidency on the internationally revered icon's health which signalled that "Madiba is continuing to progress," referring to his clan name.

"In the absence of a statement, please conclude that it's all moving reasonably well," he added.

Officials have offered few details about the 94-year-old anti-apartheid hero's condition since he was discharged from hospital last week, after a stay of nearly three weeks for a recurrent lung infection and gallstone surgery.

On Friday, his daughter Zenani Mandela-Dlamini told AFP that he is "doing great" and enjoying time with his family at his Johannesburg home.

Mandela was flown to a Pretoria hospital on December 8 from his rural village home in Qunu. He was discharged last Wednesday and will receive "home-based high care" until he makes a full recovery.

"They said he was improving. The doctors are happy, there's no crisis, they've taken him out of hospital, they've taken him home," Maharaj told AFP.

After serving one term as president, Mandela has grown increasingly frail in recent years and was last seen in public in July 2010.