Development of a Land Information Management System for Baringo County

Abstract

National governments have continued to implement digital Land Information Management Systems (LIMS) to achieve accurate and up-to-date land information for efficient land-based services delivery; enhance good governance, decentralization, transparency in land administration and thus, contribute to sustainable socio-economic development. The benefits of digital LIMS include increased revenue generation; reduced multiple or unauthorized land allocations; curbed altering of land documents; increased accuracy, integrity and reliability of digital registry records; centralized system administration; real-time online transactions processing; and reduced fraudulent practices in the land sector. In Baringo County, the existing paper-based land records at the department of Lands, Housing and Urban Development were voluminous, susceptible to damage, loss, duplication, often difficult to access leading to inefficiencies in land administration procedures, poor service delivery and high cost of doing business. On this basis, it was necessary to modernize data capture, storage and retrieval by designing and developing a digital land information management system to link the datasets and workflows in the department to support effective land administration. The project’s sub-objectives were to document the existing datasets and workflows in the department, develop a system design for the LIMS and implement the LIMS software application. To achieve this, data collection was conducted using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, followed by data analysis, system modelling, data modelling and system implementation. The study revealed information on the existing datasets and land administration workflows in the department; land categories; legal and administrative framework; and LIMS system requirements. Data collected was analyzed to derive business process descriptions, workflow diagrams, data models and system architectural design for the LIMS. To implement the LIMS, a web-based application was developed with functionalities for managing land information, and lodging and processing land transactions. To enhance the prototype Baringo LIMS software developed, the following are the key recommendations; documentation and integration of more datasets and workflows; incorporation of a Document Management System (DMS) and a map server; and integration of public portal to support the department in provision of online services through remote submission of applications by public users such as land owners, surveyors, lawyers, banks and estate agents