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Cape Town - Cabinet has moved to adopt policy which would regulate property market values, Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Minister Collins Chabane said on Thursday.
Cabinet approved the policy to establish the office of the valuer general, an independent, statutory body for valuing land nationwide and keeping a record of property values across the country.
Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti will now be expected to submit a bill to Parliament for debate and discussion.
"The department of land reform raised the issue... that we need a valuer general, which is an independent body to assist in the valuation of land, among others, to make sure we've got proper market value of the land available in the country," said Chabane.
The proposal for the valuer general was one of many contained in the controversial Green Paper on land reform, which sought to do away with the willing buyer, willing seller model.
Government argued property owners, such as farmers, were charging government above market prices for properties identified for restitution and redistribution purposes.
Nkwinti argued the office of the valuer general would enable the provision of fair and consistent land values for rating and taxing purposes, and the determination of compensation following an expropriation under the Expropriation Act.
Explaining government's thinking, Chabane said: "We're now not just relying on the private sector to keep records of pockets of land we have throughout the country."
