Pretoria — Cabinet has approved the policy to establish the office of the Valuer-General, which would be responsible for valuing land nationwide.

The valuer-general would be an independent institution that would assist in the valuation of land, ensure proper market value of the land which is available in the country, without relying solely on the private sector, and keep records of the value of land.

During a post Cabinet media briefing on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Collins Chabane said the office would be an independent statutory body, which would also be charged with the responsibility of keeping a collated hub of property values.

"It will facilitate the effective collection of better land market information and more effective regulation of the property valuation industry," he added.

With regards to what had triggered the need for the establishment of the office of the valuer-general, the minister said the Department of Land Affairs and various institutions dealing with land issues had for some time been raising the issue of the valuer-general.

Chabane noted that it would take some time for the office to be set up.

He said Cabinet had approved the principle of the establishment of the office of the valuer-general.

This would still need to be taken to Parliament in the form of a bill for the office to be established in terms of law.