The state of digitisation of the land registry operations in Uganda

Abstract

This article reports the findings of the study on the digitisation of the land registry in the Ugandan Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MoLHUD), which is being done to improve access to land records. The aim of this study was to ascertain the extent to which the land registry, especially the Kampala mailo land registry, had adopted digitisation. The case study assessed the ministry’s readiness to manage electronic land records, establish the challenges and chart strategies to overcome the challenges faced by stakeholders. The study adopted a mixed research approach and used both qualitative and quantitative techniques to examine how digitisation of the land records is achieved. The quantitative methods enabled the researchers to collect data from 207 clients who visited the Kampala mailo land registry between May and December 2011. The qualitative methods were applied in interviewing MoLHUD staff (systems administrators, registrars of titles, and Senior Assistant Records Officers) regarding an interpretation and description of how digitised records are established and managed in the registry. The findings suggest that, though efforts are in place to digitise the land registry in Uganda, the bulk of the records still exist in paper format. The authors recommend strengthening the management of both paper and digital records as a matter of urgency if the land registry is to continue protecting the vital evidence that the land records contain.