About Office of the Valuer-General
About Office of the Valuer-General
The Office of the Valuer-General is a state entity of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development established through the Property Valuation Act No. 17 of 2014 (PVA), which came into effect on 01 August 2015. The OVG was listed by the Minister of Finance, as a Schedule 3(A) public entity in terms of the Public Finance Management Act during the 2017/18 financial year.
The mandate of the OVG is to support the program of Land Reform through a provision of independent and credible property valuation services. It is envisaged that land claims will be settled with greater efficiency and decisiveness, thereby speeding up the process of Land Reform. Although the OVG works closely in co-operation with the other institutions in the Rural Development and Land Reform portfolio, it will continue to do so with a significant degree of autonomy that will add further credibility to the Land Reform process for the benefit of all the stakeholders.
Legislative and Other Mandates
The constitutional mandate of the Office of the Valuer-General is derived from Section 25 of the Constitution of the Republic of Africa, 1996 (the property clause), which provides for (a) the protection of property; (b) expropriation for a public purpose or in the public interest, subject to the payment of compensation; (c) the nation’s commitment to land reform and the provision of equitable access to South Africa’s natural resources, with specific reference also to the three land reform programmes (redistribution, tenure reform and restitution); and (d) the taking by the state of legislative and other measures to achieve land and other natural resources reform.
The Office of the Valuer-General discharges its legislative mandate by implementing its foundational act, the Property Valuation Act, 2014 (Act 17 of 2014), which determines that the Office of the Valuer-General must be impartial, exercise its powers and perform its functions, and is accountable to the Minister of Agriculture Land Reform and Rural Development. The Act states that the Office of the Valuer-General must value all land to be acquired for land reform purposes in accordance with a prescribed set of criteria based on section 25(3) of the Constitution. In addition, the Office of the Valuer-General may, in its discretion, when requested to do so by a national or provincial government department, determine the market value of property to be acquired or disposed of by such government department. The Valuer-General may make recommendations to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform relating to criteria, procedures and guidelines, and compliance monitoring. Such recommendations, and any other matters the Office of the Valuer-General is required or permitted to determine in terms of the Act, may be published as regulations by the Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform.
The Valuer-General, internally appointed Valuers and External Valuers contracted to perform valuations in accordance with the Property Valuation Act, 2014 (Act 17 of 2014) must comply with the following Acts to the extent that they provide for matters pertaining to valuation and valuers:
- Expropriation Act, 1975 (Act 63 of 1975);
- Property Valuers Profession Act, 2000 (Act 47 of 2000) (administered by the Department of Public Works);
- Council for the Built Environment Act, 2000 (Act 43 of 2000) (administered by the Department of Public Works); and
- Local Government: Municipal Property Rights, 2004 (Act 6 of 2004) (administered by the Department of Cooperative Governance).
The Office of the Valuer-General must also comply with the provisions relating to land reform and the acquisition, management and disposal of land by national and provincial government departments, as contained in the following Acts:
- Abolition of Certain Title Conditions Act, 1999 (Act 43 of 1999);
- Communal Property Associations Act, 1996 (Act 28 of 1996);
- Conversion of Certain Rights into Leasehold Act, 1988 (Act 81 of 1988);
- Deeds Registries Act, 1937 (Act 47 of 1937); Distribution and Transfer of Certain State Land Act, 1993 (Act 119 of 1993);
- Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 1997 (Act 62 of 1997);
- Geomatics Profession Act, 2013 (Act 19 of 2013);
- Government Immovable Asset Management Act, 2007 (Act 19 of 2007);
- Interim Protection of Informal Land Rights Act, 1996 (Act 31 of 1996);
- Kimberley Leasehold Conversion to Freehold Act, 1961 (Act 40 of 1961);
- KwaZulu-Natal Ingonyama Trust Act, 1994 (Act 3 of 1994);
- Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, 1996 (Act 3 of 1996);
- Land Administration Act, 1995 (Act 2 of 1995);
- Land Survey Act, 1997 (Act 8 of 1997);
- Land Reform: Provision of Land and Assistance Act, 1993 (Act 126 of 1993);
- Land Titles Adjustment Act, 1993 (Act 111 of 1993);
- Planning Profession Act, 2002 (Act 36 of 2002);
- Provincial State Land Acquisition, Management and Disposal legislation;
- Restitution of Land Rights Act, 1994 (Act 22 of 1994);
- Sectional Titles Act, 1986 (Act 95 of 1986);
- Spatial Data Infrastructure Act, 2003 (Act 54 of 2003);
- Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (Act 16 of 2013);
- State Land Disposal Act, 1961 (Act 48 of 1961);
- Town and Regional Planners Act, 1984 (Act 19 of 1984);
- Transformation of Certain Rural Areas Act, 1998 (Act 94 of 1998); and
- Upgrading of Land Tenure Rights Act, 1991 (Act 112 of 1991).
The Office of the Valuer-General must also comply with all relevant provisions of key transversal national Acts such as the –
- Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act 1 of 1999); and
- Public Service Act, 1994 (Proclamation 103 published in Government Gazette 15791 of 3 June 1994.)
Vision
To be recognised in the market as the centre of excellence and innovation in respect of all property valuation with primary focus on land reform.
Values
- Professionalism and accountability.
- Respect and integrity (ethics and honesty).
- Courtesy and compassion.
- Delivery focus.
- People centred service standards.
- Effective communication and transparency.
- Efficiency .
Mission
- Support land reform by providing impartial, efficient, just and equitable valuation services for all land-reform related matters in the country.
- Promote accurate professional valuations by informing, communicating and monitoring adherence to the criteria and guidelines applicable to land reform valuations.
- Enhance efficiency and accuracy of valuations through the development of innovative tools and processes, including a database of property value data accessible to the valuation profession as a whole.
- Provide impartial, efficient, equitable and accurate general valuation services to / on behalf of government departments.
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