Districts get computerised land information systems

By Fred Turyakira

Mbarara land office equipped

The days of fake land titles and fraudulent land transactions are over. The Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development recently launched a computerised land information system in six zonal land registry offices.

Grace Kagoro the principal land officer explained that along with the system was the construction of pilot phase buildings that house zonal land registry offices in Kampala, Jinja Mukono, Masaka, Mbarara and Wakiso.

The project is funded by the World Bank and will be extended to all 21 zonal land registry offices in the country.

Kagoro and his team were on Tuesday meeting Mbarara district leaders on the functionality of the new system at Mbarara zonal land registry offices located at Kamukuzi hill near the district headquarters.

“Our offices have been opened and functioning. We are gradually increasing the pace of processing transactions. No data has been lost and no system has crashed in the registry because we have a backup of all data,” he said.

Kagoro said the ministry contracted IGN (Institute Georgraphique National) France International to implement the National Land Information System to veer away from the centuries-old manual system.

Christopher Burke, the communications coordinator, Desilisor project under IGN, a company that carried out the computerisation of the registry said the system is very fast. He apologised to public for the delay and inconveniences caused during the installation exercise process.

During the installation process, numerous cases of faulty title deeds were recorded. They included multiple titles issued on the same piece of land and others bearing the wrong plot number and block number. Badly-torn and damaged title records dating as far back as the beginning of the land registry in 1908 were also found.

The development of the land information system applies to freehold and mailo titles. It reduces the time required to check, update and transfer land titles, increases the security of land registration, eliminating fraud in transactions as well as delivering services nearer to the public.

“The public have easy access to land title information from the ministry and all land registry offices in the country and can counter-check documents. The process for the title takes five days after an applicant completes the necessary steps and pays a fee determined by the ministry,” Kagoro said.

He assured the public that the process was safe as the final product is forwarded through the network to a delivery clerk for issuance to the applicant. The applicant upon receipt of the title signs an acknowledgement sheet.

Clement Kandole, the Mbarara Resident District Commissioner, said the system was would boost the Government’s efforts in eliminating fraudulent land transactions.

“We have had a lot of challenges from the Ministry of Lands with forged titles and multiple titles on the same piece of land. I have received a lot of complaints in Mbarara and 70% are related to forged titles because the system was not clear, but the new system will reduce corruption,” he pointed out.

Godfrey Baryomunsi, the vice chairperson, Mbarara district, pledged to support the ministry sensitise the public on land ownership and processing of titles to curb land conflicts in the district.

Masaka residents relieved
By Ali Mambule

THE Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has opened up a land information system office in Masaka. The office under the National Land Information Development Project will save the people in the southern region from travelling to Kampala and Entebbe to process land titles.

Nadege Orlova, the Desilior project manager, a consultancy firm hired by the ministry to manage the project, said the office would handle land issues including registration of land titles, lease and free holds, caveats and mortgages among others

Addressing district leaders at the lands office recently, Nadege said equipment like computers and internet had been put in place and the staff to manage them had been trained. However, she said the rampant power shortages in the district had forced the workers to sometimes operate in corridors as they strive to get enough light.

Masaka LC5 chairperson Joseph Kalungi and the chief administrative officer Ruhemba Kweyamba commended the project saying it would limit the many cases of land wrangles in Masaka and the neighbouring districts.

He said the the process of land registration had remained a big challenge due to the unauthorised agents who were duplicating titles fraudulently.

“Those agents are not authorised but they are many in Masaka. They have caused us a problems since they compromise the integrity of the people in this department,” he lamented.

He said the introduction of the Land Information System would help eliminate them.

He, however, expressed concern over the staff in the land department who are recruited both by Government and the district.

“They ask me to explain where they belong but I have no clear answer to that,” Kweyamba noted.

Kalungi on the other hand told the consultants that the magnitude of the work in the land office was too big and the staff had to get full training to enable them handle this task.

“It would again be absurd to have these staff members transferred after a short while when they have been trained to full capacity,” Kalungi added.

He advised the Government to introduce a system in the land department where officers are given promotions as an incentive to make them work harder.

Masaka district land officer Christine Nakandi said currently the new system at Masaka cannot register new land titles but can handle issues to do with letters of administration, caveats and mortgages.

Nadege Orlova explains to the district officials how the new land information system works

System piloted in Jinja before extending to entire Busoga region
By Doreen Musingo andmJackie Nambogga

Jinja Resident District Commissioner Richard Gulume has stressed the need to give land owners security through the acquiring land titles which can help them apply for loans to boost their business.

He noted that the lack of land titles had resulted into many land wrangles in the district.

He was launching the new land information system at the Jinja zonal land offices recently. The project is under the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development recently.

He regretted that for the last three years, many people had failed to get their titles due to bureaucracy. He was happy that cases of bribing land office staff to get documents would cease.

In an interview, Dennis Obbo, the spokesperson of the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, said all the charges would remain the same apart from that of land transfer, which would be 1% of the value of the land.

Yusuf Kakerewe, the Jinja zonal registrar said the computerised system would apply to freehold, leasehold and mailo titles. The system is being piloted in Jinja before stretching to other districts in Busoga region. Kakerewe explained that less time would be taken while crosschecking facts, updating data and transferring land titles.

He said it would also reduce corruption and the backlog of applications for land titles, renewals and deed plans would be reduced.

Christopher Burke the communications coordinator for the land information system said the three year project was the first phase for laying the foundation for the nationwide implementation of reforms in land administration.

He said the system would improve access to information to prevent encroachment, multiple sale of land, unapproved schemes and haphazard developments.

It would also build confidence among international investors interested in land and other sectors of the economy, curb speculation and inflationary incidents of land prices and property and promote transparency.

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