Lands Ministry PS Dorcas Okalany (R) Minister Sam Mayanja (C) and a World Bank’s Alwaleed Alatabani at the launch of the online land portal on October 2, 2024. PHOTO | NOELINE NABUKENYA
The Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development (MLHUD), has unveiled an online lands transaction public portal to enhance service delivery and ease access to land information instantly.
“As you sit home, or in the office, or at your business, click a button and there you have, in your hands, at a mere Shs10,000 information on your land title,” Mr Sam Mayanja, the Minister for State for Lands, said this during the launch of the public portal from the Wakiso Ministry Zonal office on the second day of October 2024.
The portal can be accessed via the website (https://ugnlis.mlhud.go.ug) or the mobile app, UgNLIS, available on both Google Play and the Apple App Store for the mobile gadget users.
This reform in the lands sector, among many others, has come from the Government of Uganda Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project (CEDP) fully funded by the World Bank, and coordinated by the Private Sector Foundation.
The objective of the 10 year project has been to improve the competitiveness of enterprises by providing support for: the implementation of business environment reforms, including land administration reform; and the development of priority productive and service sectors like Tourism, Fisheries, ICT and Agribusiness with areas of focus being improving land administration and registration, strengthening business registration institutions and processes, Tourism competitiveness development and private sector enterprises support
The land public portal is, among so many other reforms in the same sector and the key enhancements of the system are supporting large-scale land titling, issuing freehold and customary land titles in streamlined processes, eliminating the need for in-person visits to Ministry Zonal Offices (MZOs) and allowing users to request property valuations and initiate real estate transactions online among others.
With this portal, users will have access to accurate information on ownership, encumbrances and location of the land and be able to identify ownership of the property.
The minister was akin to the fact that the Ministry had been registering cases of fraud and corruption, but all would now be significantly wiped out since physical interaction with the lands staff shall be minimized.
“Citizens in Uganda and abroad can have access to land information,” he explained, noting that tracking land transactions and verification of parcel details shall also be possible.
The Permanent Secretary (PS) in the ministry of lands, Ms Dorcas Okalany, revealed that there will be integration of the land information system with other government agencies. Agencies like the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA), Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), URSB, among others.
“This will bring about a new level of security of land owners across the country, empowering local communities and promoting fairness in land ownership,” she said.
She added: “This is a great step towards promoting transparency, reducing time spent in processing land-related requests. The portal represents a modern, efficient, customer-friendly approach to manage land matters.”
Ms Okalany also says the digital system will increase revenue for the government.
According to Mr Lenin Victor Oonyu, the Project Manager National Land Information System since the pilot study began in August, at least 7,000 accounts have been registered and a sum of Shs30 million realised with 2,500 searches performed to date.
How the portal works
Authorities at the Ministry reveal that there has been distortion of information over time, and people were paying a lot of money to do verifications. “The portal is accessible on the internet through web browsers available on your device, whether on Google chrome and FireFox, among others,” Mr Oonyu says.
Mr Oonyu emphasizes that before conducting a search, users will ensure that they register their credentials and get an account.
“Ensure you have credit on your account using mobile money or a credit card and log onto your account,” he added, adding “after logging onto the system, the user will be asked to select a tenure type, enter your ministry zonal office and provide a block and plot number before proceeding.”
The system also asks you to provide your personal details and once the search is complete, one will be able to see the land title details.
This will enable users to identify the rightful land owners and reduce land conflicts as the system will be able to track land information like multiple titling, caveat, and transactions.
“Registered users shall have fast access to accurate information on the ownership, encumbrances and location of land. Users will only need a smartphone and internet connection.”
There are many advantages to the system. For each user, the online land services shall eliminate delays in providing land related information for decision making, and this will save time since there will be no need to travel long distances to get these services physically at zonal offices. You will do the transaction in the comfort of your home.
“We believe this is going to be a game-changer, especially when it comes to land conflicts, because you will be able to get details of the land before making any transactions,” Mr Oonyu stressed.
He urged the public to embrace the online land services, promising their commitment to developing a new corporate portal that will integrate other government agencies into the system. “We used to face a big challenge as a government in regards to how we validate any payment for instance stamp duty,” he stressed.
Unlike the old system where a user would be required to carry a receipt upon payment of taxes in URA, it is designed in a sense that electronic payments can be done. “There would be no way to validate such payments. We have been able to integrate government agencies like URA, closing all leakages in regards to revenue.”
The portal also enables you to conduct land valuation and as of launch date, the technical teams in the Ministry were on the final stages of automating all the land valuation processes. The system went through rigorous security checks and information provided by users is encrypted, as it uses safe logins for the users.
“It has only read-only data and no one will be able to manipulate this data,” Mr Oonyu said.
The computerized Uganda National Information System was first introduced in March 2013 and since its inception, the Ministry has registered success including tripling of revenues from land transactions, curbing document alteration, and elimination of unauthorized allocations.
The digital registry’s accuracy and reliability ensures a high degree of integrity compared to the manual system previously used.
The launch of this portal has marked a milestone in Uganda’s journey to modernize land governance, making land-related services accessible to citizens, professionals, and businesses.
At the launch, the funders- World Bank was represented by among others, Mr Alwaleed Alatabani, Practice Manager, Finance, Competitiveness and Innovation (FCI), East Africa, and he used the same opportunity to express the World Bank’s commitment to supporting land administration agenda in Uganda.
“We believe that this will add significant value to land holders, but also in terms of using land as an asset for productive purposes in the future.”
Key enhancements to the system
The system supports large-scale land titling, issuing freehold and customary land titles in streamlined processes. The development is critical in supporting titling projects, such as the Systematic Land Adjudication and Certification (SLAAC), overcoming previous bottlenecks in the registration process.
There is enhanced integration of customary land tenure that allows secure title issuance, with all documentation safely stored in the UgNLIS database. The system includes new functionalities for managing protected zones, such as designated green areas, infrastructure routes, and electricity corridors.
This helps prevent encroachment into restricted areas, supporting Uganda’s efforts in environmental conservation and infrastructure planning. Rapid Physical Plans have been introduced for regions with large scale titling projects to ensure proper urban planning and protect against land encroachment.
System security enhancements The enhancement includes the implementation of two-factor authentication to safeguard user data and transactions. This additional layer of protection ensures that only authorized users can access sensitive land information, reducing the risk of fraud or unauthorized access. This secure and transparent environment fosters greater trust among users of the system
