Land registries closed for 10 days w.e.f. today to set stage for digitisation.
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| A file photo of the Thika Lands Registry. |
Lands Principal Secretary Dr. Nicholas Muraguri on Sunday
announced the temporary closure of Nairobi and Central registries to allow it
to shift operations online dubbed LIMS (Lands Information Management System).
Through a notice in local dailies, the Ministry stated that
the offices would remain closed for 10 working days starting today, Monday 19
to Friday 30th. During this period, all services offered at these
registries will not be available at Ardhi House, Nairobi.
However, all other
registries will remain open.
Dr. Muraguri said there will be no more manual processing of
documents adding that the closure is aimed at streamlining the registries to
ensure efficiency and reduce turnaround time.
The PS said that this will ensure that all the records are
scanned and that the data is clean in preparation for online services.
“The ministry is entrusted with facilitating efficient land
administration and management whose key objectives are to formulate and
coordinate implementation of policies and legal framework for sustainable land
management,” he said.
The exercise will begin in Nairobi and will be cascaded to
all other registries across the country. This means that the lands records
registry and banking hall in Nairobi will remain closed for the 10 days.
Services that will be available online on the e-citizen
platform include transfer of ownership, issuance of consent, valuation
requests, payment of stamp duty, registration and consent fees.
Registration of land documents, searches, application as
well as withdrawal of cautions and restrictions will also be available online.
The closure comes against a backdrop of an audit report released
last Wednesday by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) that showed
unauthorised people were handling sensitive land documents, leading to
manipulation.
The ministry has been reeling in wanton fraud as
perpetrators take advantage of weak systems and unsecured land registries.
Individuals transacting on land have had to physically visit a land office,
with each stage requiring paperwork.
The EACC report that was compiled between September 2016 and
February 2017 also revealed that there was a duplication of land records,
including title deeds and certificates of lease.
In some registries, interns, casuals and volunteers who were
not closely supervised had unlimited access to the registries and other record
storage, creating
room for alteration and destruction. Such loopholes provided an avenue for
filing of illegitimate records, giving cartels a field day.
The EACC report also unearthed instances where sensitive
land records were poorly stored, with some piled up on floors, while others
were on ceiling boards.
Earlier this month, the Government said that it was working
on a block-chain database aimed at weeding out fake title deeds from the land
registry.
Known as the single source of truth (SSOT), the database
will be the primary reference for all land transactions.
ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru said SSOT would ride on
block-chain technology, or a distributed ledger which allows for all
transactions to have some kind of ‘public witnesses’. So if you sell land, that
change of ownership is underwritten by all the institutions in the system.
Mucheru said that the function of the database will be made
easier by digitisation of all title deeds.
The SSOT would extend to verifying ownership of any document
including birth certificate, driving licence and marriage certificate. It will
also come up with centralised procurement of ICT products and services, and
create a digital country.
This would go a long way in creating efficiency,
transparency and openness which are critical for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big
Four Agenda which consist of job creation, food security, universal healthcare
and low-cost housing.
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