The Uganda National Land Information System (UgNLIS), that was established in 2013 and aims to improve land management procedures for both government agencies and the public, is already streamlining the land administration process, promoting transparency and accountability in the land sector. Currently, it is considered as the most modern and comprehensive land information system in Africa.
Two years ago, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development launched the UgNLIS, a public portal that allows members of the public to conduct online searches after paying a sh10,000 fee for each search.
The technical process has addressed many of the challenges identified at the time it was set up, including strategies to review Uganda’s policy and legal framework to the strengthen the protection of landowners.
According to Lenin Victor Oonyu, project manager for the implementation of the system at the lands ministry, this application has so fat computerised and verified the majority of paper titles.
He also says that the system had consolidated land tenure security, is reducing cases of land fraud and corruption while improving service delivery and revenue collection from the sector.
The UgNLIS eliminates double plotting and makes illicit title-tampering extremely difficult.
Oonyu says access to land registration information through the online portal represents a substantial improvement in transparency.
The system is only applicable to registered land, which accounts for less than 20% of all the land across the country.
According to Dennis Obbo, the spokesperson for the lands ministry, the system has made a strong contribution to Uganda’s economic development, which is the realisation of multiple social and development goals, and the realisation of the government’s Vision 2040.