Institute of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK) has asked the government to avail land records in the online platform to ease access to related documents to improve service delivery.
The surveyor want such records included in the Ardhisasa platform to facilitate on searches, submission of cadastral jobs, processing of other land transactions,
In a bid to improve the system, the institution suggested that there was a need for a digital database that will allow surveyors to submit their work digitally, then move to valuation and then bring the aspects of land conveyance and other land transactions.
Speaking during the Pre-AGM conference to discuss matters of land sector in regards to technology and innovation in the land and property sector, ISK President Abraham Samoei said that they full appreciate the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning for rolling out the platform, however, a lot of improvements needs to be done on the platform.
“We have noted that in the last one year the government has been spearheading in the digitization of the land sector and we appreciate the efforts being made by the national government. We however note that there are still challenges in the implementation of Ardhisasa which are causing delays in transactions in land,” said Samoei.
He added that ISK is available to assist the government to realize this dream in ensuring digitalization of the land sector.
Secondly, Samoei added that the institution has been at the forefront in championing the formulation of policies and legislations that impact the land sector and more so the surveying profession.
He said, with the current parliament almost coming to an end, various pending bills would be required to be followed through to the next parliament. These include; the Land Surveyors registration bill, Valuers’ bill, Surveys and Mapping bill and the Land Administration bill.
He noted that with the survey and evaluation policies being in formulation, the institution hopes that before the end of the year they will be in place.
“The Constitution 2010 has provided an elaborate framework on which land reforms are underpinned. We’ve had changes and amendments to the land laws and regulations that have provided a legal framework on which land reforms have been undertaken. We therefore urge all the players to build on these reforms that have been brought by legislation,” added Samoei.
Chairperson Professional Practice and Ethics Committee Emily Njeru said the use of Ardhisasa has not been effective in land transactions. Mainly in ensuring searches are being conducted, as all the records on land have not been recorded on the platform thus transacting on a land whose title is not on the platform becomes hard.
Njeru said there are still delays when it comes to moving all the transactions to Ardhisasa as not all titles from Nairobi which is a pilot for the initiative.
“As an institution, our observation is on the implementation plan, the system requires all records be on the platform, for those not on the platform it becomes hard for members of the public to carry on with transactions. Our appeal as ISK is for the ministry to review the implementation plan so that even for those whose records are not on the platform be given an opportunity to transact. From an institution side we do support the initiative as it will make our work easier,” said Njeru.
According to Morris Omollo, Chairman Finance and Audit ISK, the mainly affected registration regime is with the formerly repealed government land’s act.
“Currently it is almost impossible to get a search or to transact titles that were formerly registered under the Government Lands Act and the Registration of Titles Act. That is why there is a very big challenge and the issue when we enquire from different registrar, is that these are old records that have not been digitized up to now,” said Omollo.
