It’s just over a year since ardhisasa, Kenya’s online land management system, was launched. As observed in earlier write-ups, this system was long overdue. Kenya currently boasts of over 11 million title deeds. This number continues to rise. In their hard form, and with manual procedures, managing such vast records is overwhelming. Therefore, every effort should be made to perfect and sustain the online system.

Stakeholder goodwill

Since inception, the ardhisasa system has enjoyed tremendous public goodwill, especially from progressive and well-meaning professionals. Obviously, a good functional online system will expedite professional work, and eliminate visits and queues in public offices. Nevertheless, the immense goodwill that came with the launch of ardhisasa has been gradually diminishing. Lawyers, surveyors, valuers, planners, real-estate agents and banks, have echoed their concerns. These have been consistent and near similar. However, while the Lands Ministry has done a perfect job in articulating the benefits and services offered through the system, it may not have been equally robust in responding to user feedback.

The adage that “the proof of any pudding is in the eating” applies well here. Therefore, when land professionals who are the primary users of the system recount fundamental challenges, there’s need to pay heed. The technical architecture of Kenya’s online system ought to be responsive to local realities. For instance, not enough Kenyans, even in Nairobi, are sensitized about the online system. Even fewer Kenyans are aware that there is an ongoing process of converting their title deeds and leases to conform to the Land Registration Act. This involves a change in the original land reference numbers.

New land reference numbers

Ardhisasa only accepts the new numbers. Designers could therefore consider integrating intelligence to allow it accept either the new or the old reference numbers, as happens in some banks. The system also requires a landowner to register in the system and upload their land parcels before transactions can be processed. In a country where many landowners have limited digital literacy, and limited internet infrastructure, this requirement will drastically delay the uploading of parcels onto the system. Being the custodian to the land ownership records, the Ministry could consider pre-loading all the registered parcels to produce an all-inclusive database against which system users can log in and transact. The motor vehicle and company registries, and the Kenya Revenue Authority system, provide good precedents.

Routine official searches

Moreover, the condition that one cannot obtain an official search to any parcel in the system before the owner logs in to approve such a request has, and will continue to minimize the uptake of ardhisasa. This limits lawyers, developers, valuers, auctioneers, banks and infrastructure developers who need official searches for routine use.

User traffic on ardhisasa over its first year has been poor. Management must confront this reality and have it modified and retested. A parallel manual sub-system will need to be put in place while this happens, and national rollout put on hold until the system is sufficiently modified.

Dated: 10^th June, 2022