The Ministry of Lands went fully digital yesterday in Nairobi and anyone who wishes to perform any Land transactions at the Nairobi Land Registry will be required to access the services online. The Ministry had closed the Nairobi Registry yesterday to allow it to shift operations online.
The Lands Information Management System was rolled out in 2018 and the Lands Cabinet Secretary, Farida Karoney, stated that after successful completion of the LIMS, the operations had to migrate to the digital platform.
The system was launched yesterday by His Excellency the President, Uhuru Kenyatta.
“The system is now complete for the management of land records and transactional services as an anchor for efficient, secure, and transparent operations in the lands sector,” said Farida Karoney.
Ardhi House will no longer accept manual land documents and it will close its manual registers at the Nairobi Registry once LIMS goes live.
Online services include the issuance of consent, transfer of ownership, valuation requests, payment and issuance of a land clearance certificate, payments of stamp duty, registration fees, application and withdrawal of caution, registration of land documents, and searches.
The government believes that the digital system will help do away with loopholes in land registration and transfer processes that have allowed duplication of land titles.
LIMS is meant to improve service delivery to citizens by dealing with missing documents, failed file tracking systems, tattered records, and long timelines of service delivery among others.
According to the ministry, LIMS will enhance investor confidence through reduced timelines in registering property and it will protect investors and property owners from fraud.
LIMS will also be linked to KRA, the National Lands Commission, banks, among other key institutions involved in land issues.