Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has said that the country is reaping massive benefits of digitalization in the land sector.
CS Wahome said that the digitalization of land records and automation of land administration and management processes that have been going on in Nairobi and Murang’a have already greatly benefited the country.
“Digitalization has helped us in embracing improved ease of doing business, increased accessibility of land services, and enhanced transparency in day-to-day land transactions,” Wahome said in a speech read on her behalf by Acting Secretary of Lands, Sarah Maina, during the opening of the third regional research conference on land and natural resources.
Speaking at the Kenya School of Government in Nairobi, she noted that, like other nations and agencies, Kenya is also fast moving away from old methods of doing business by embracing data innovation and technology, which are vital elements in efficient governance and management of different sectors, including the land governance sector.
The CS noted that the introduction of the National Land Information System (NLIMS) to address land management records that were held in paper form and managed manually for a long time has proven very successful and timely.
Wahome added that inefficient and time-consuming old management could not support timely decision making in the land governance sector.
She said that NLIMS, dubbed the “Ardhisasa” system, has made land transactions more convenient and reduced time-consuming physical visits, especially to land offices.
The official said that land transactions that were handled through paper forms and files have today turned into e-systems, while physical visits to land offices have been reduced as services are delivered at the touch of a button from somewhere else.
She said that Kenya is committed to making land information available in a language that can be understood by populations.
Wahome noted that land claimed by minority groups, pastoral communities, disputed land, and land identified to have been irregularly allocated is being accurately classified and mapped in the land information system to reduce conflicts.
She said that Kenya plans to establish a comprehensive, computer-based, user-friendly, accessible, affordable, transparent, and gender-sensitive land information management system.
Wahome revealed that Kenya is currently developing national guidelines on land information to govern matters on land information standards, security, dissemination, and pricing.
The Ministry of Lands, she said, has gone cashless by embracing FinTech in the collection of revenue, which has replaced conventional cash payments with Mpesa mobile money payment services.
Mr. Gershom Otachi, Chairman of the National Land Commission (NLC), noted that Kenya, like other nations, endeavours to harness the transformative power of data, innovation, and technology in solving multifaceted challenges in land governance.
Mr. Otachi said that data and technology tools are not only essential for modernising land governance systems but also for ensuring transparency, accountability, and inclusivity by addressing matters to do with land tenure security, land use planning, environmental sustainability, and equitable resource distribution.
He added that Kenya is adopting the use of block chain technology, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing, and drone technology to enhance land registration, title management, create detailed and interactive maps, and provide high-resolution imagery and real-time data.
By Catherine Muindi
