Johannesburg - Proposals for the redistribution of land found in the government's land reform green paper would come into effect as early as March next year, Rural Development Minister Gugile Nkwinti said on Saturday.
"All these new land reform policies will come into effect during the first quarter of the year next year", Nkwinti said.
He was speaking to the Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act and the Rural Areas Act (Trancaa) consultative workshop in Cape Town.
The new policies included a four-tier land tenure system, which accounted for leased land to farmers, land redistribution, foreign ownership of land and the implementation of a democratic communal land system.
Nkwinti said cabinet had approved the proposal to establish the office of the valuer-general, which would control land prices involving government land purchases for public interest.
He emphasised that the willing-buyer-willing-seller principle would continue for individual citizens who would be selling land to each other.
A land rights management board along with its district committees would also be set up next year to protect farm workers against unfair evictions.
The land management commission would be responsible for all registration of private and public land.