Land records to be computerised in Kenya

All land records of Kenya will be computerised soon. "Kenyans can rest assured that the question of missing files is now a thing of the past," said Land and Housing minister Amos Kimunya yesterday as all rent cards will be available online." To begin with, information from three million land rent payment cards will be captured in a computer by December 2005. He said Nairobi title deeds; maps and letters will be available in digital form by next year at an initial cost of Sh18 million. The time taken to transact business will be reduced by half once all the data gets digitised." The ministry, after being fully computerised expects to collect Sh5.8 billion in land rates, up from Sh1.8 billion collected last year. Mr Kimunya said records already captured indicated that only 10 per cent of property owners paid their rent regularly.