Over the past month, the Ministry of Lands has been conducting a series of pre-launch meetings with various stakeholders regarding the roll out of the National Land Information Management System (NLIMS). NLIMS is an upgrade the current electronic land management system which only allowed persons to conduct searches on land, query and pay for land rent.
The NLIMS is set to digitize the processes involved in a land transaction, from conducting searches to registration of instruments. We understand from the meetings that the Ministry has been holding with stakeholders that the objective of the gradual automation of processes is to reduce the need to physically visit the land registry. These changes are contemplated by the Land Registration (Electronic Transactions) Regulations 2020, which empowers the Ministry to create an electronic lands registry, within which all land transactions shall be conducted and land registries shall be placed.
What is important to note at this time is that the system is yet to be launched. However, some key features that were demonstrated include:
- Land searches will only be done on parcels that are validly owned. This means that it will be impossible to complete a search on parcels of land that illegally overlap with road reserves or other public land;
- All registrations can be electronically done on the system;
- There are also a host of security measures to ensure that transactions are free from instances of fraud. For instance, for each registration a random registrar will be assigned to handle the digital file depending on the workload the registry is handling; and
- It is anticipated in the coming months that the system will be devolved to all counties.
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