Rwanda is piloting an electronic land transfer system as it tries to minimise disputes and delays currently associated with the process.
Rwanda is piloting an electronic land transfer system as it tries to minimise disputes and delays currently associated with the process.
Currently, 22 land services are processed online, which are marred with land title duplications, data errors, document misplacement, land document forgery, fraud, error and the alteration of records among others.
With the paper-based process of land title transfer, the users of the service indicate that the process takes a long time for them to get the services among other challenges that the users face. “Apart from the cost which is also discouraging in the process of land transferring regardless of the size of the land it takes a long time. It can even go over one year to reach the final stage of the process.
For instance, if one of the owners of the land is dead,” said Jean Aime Ngabitsinze, a resident of Mugina sector in Rwamagana district.
According to officials, through the paperless pilot project of land transfer, dubbed ''Ubutaka'', that is underway in Gasabo district, landowners should initiate a land transfer by voluntary sale through the Irembo platform. The data entered in Irembo is then pushed to Ubutaka, which notaries in the district can utilise to verify seller and buyer identities.
The process is designed to proceed with the notary through the use of web-based Public Key Infrastructure software sign all associated identity and purchase documents digitally, and then transferred them to the Land Administration Information System, where the registrar reviews approve and sign using Public Key Infrastructure.
Upon final approval, the digital proofs of all transaction data, authorisation by the notary and approval by the registrar should be published for future auditing purposes and irrefutable proof of transfer by all parties involved.