[Source: Daily Nation, by David Mwere]
Transactions at the Ministry of Lands will soon go digital if the Business Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, currently before Parliament is enacted into law.
The bill seeks to amend various land-related laws to create a central repository system for all land records in the country through the automation of records and transactions at the ministry.
This will be achieved by developing a digitised system, Land Information Management System (LIMS), to ease the way of doing business and guard against loss of documents.
The bill seeks to remove the requirement for certificate of land rates and rent clearance as a prerequisite for registration as well as provide for the electronic execution of documents through amendments to the Land Registration Act.
Lands and Physical Planning Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney, while appearing before the Lands Committee of the National Assembly Tuesday, noted that the government requires the law to speed up service delivery as well as address inefficiencies.
The bill comes after the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) filed a petition in Parliament seeking to have Ms Karoney investigated over land administration malpractices at the ministry.
The bill is targeting the Law of Contract Act, Registration of Documents Act, Survey Act, Stamp Duty Act, Land Registration Act and the Kenya Information and Communications Act to automate the services at the ministry.
For instance, the ministry wants the Law of Contract amended to provide for electronic signatures in the execution of contracts.
The Registration of Documents Act is targeted to provide for an electronic book or register to be maintained by the land registrar as well as provision for the electronic lodging of documents.
Under the Survey Act, the ministry seeks to introduce electronic signatures, sealing of documents electronically, electronic submission of survey plans and records and electronic authentication of survey plans.
Amendments to the Stamp Duty Act and Kenya Information and Communication Act will allow electronic stamping of documents and electronic land transactions and registration respectively.
If approved, it will be a departure from the manual land registration system across the country, which has had several drawbacks including the lack of a central repository for land records.
Data collected is stored in different formats due to the different regimes of land registration, which the CS said is not only confusing but also hinder data access and has led to manipulation of records.
The different land regimes also means lengthy time required thereby affecting turnaround for transaction with the sheer volume of paper records presenting a challenge in data management.
[Full article: Daily Nation, by David Mwere]
