Property valuation experts from the University of Ulster have been helping to train Ministry of Finance government officials in Mauritius.

A team from the School of the Built Environment, led by Dr William McCluskey and Dr Erin Montgomery, was involved in a recent knowledge transfer project with the Valuation Department of the Ministry of Finance in Mauritius.

"The government in Mauritius is carrying out a major land reform project which includes the registration and valuation of property," said Dr McCluskey.

"Our team from the University is helping to upskill employees in the Ministry of Finance in terms of valuation techniques. The aim of our training programme was to develop awareness and an understanding of automated valuation approaches.

"We delivered specific training and capacity building to the Valuation Department, introduced concepts of mass valuation, data constraints and problems, valuation methods and statistical modelling.

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"Our involvement in this part of the project has ended but it is likely that we will have an ongoing input," he said.

The Government of Mauritius has employed global consultants Infoterra – a subsidiary of the international EADS Astrium Group and a leading global supplier of geo-spatial products and services - to implement the major mapping and land administration project across the holiday islands.

The University team was contracted by Infoterra to carry out the upskilling scheme.

Another Ulster academic is also involved in the project; Visiting Professor Nigel Woods is working as a senior adviser in the LAVIMS (Land Administration, Valuation and Information Management System) team.

The LAVIMS project, which is part of the huge overall initiative, has an important property tax component - the development of a comprehensive fiscal cadastre.

“In terms of sustainability of the property tax it is essential that the Valuation Department develop the necessary skills to manage the tax into the future,” added Dr McCluskey.

"This requires the development of new skill sets and adapting working practices to reflect the unique valuation requirements when implementing a property tax," added Dr McCluskey.

"An important development with international property tax systems is the utilisation of Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (CAMA) approaches to value en masse groups of properties. In this respect the University of Ulster input to the project was designed to develop capacity within the Valuation Department in terms of mass valuation approaches utilising statistical methodologies."

(NS/GK)