Digitisation of land records: a means or an end to fraud in Uganda’s land sector?

Abstract

In 2013, Uganda embarked on the adoption of a digital system to register and record land related information, with a primary aim, among others, to eradicate fraud in the Lands sector.9 This was done with support from a French mapping company called IGN-France International. which developed a digital system through the incorporation of manual data records into the digitised Land Information System, to increase transparency and minimise the occurrence of fraud in land transactions.10 This digitalisation is being done through an automated Land Information System. Such systems are made of land records; human and technical resources; and appropriate procedures and techniques to collect, analyse, maintain, disseminate, and use this information of land records entails the conversion of hard copy information of status of land into digital formats. 11 It is aimed at the improvement of land administration, to increase the degree of certainty of land ownership and its security against fraudulent activity. Land constitutes an asset of utmost importance, especially in Uganda which is a predominantly agricultural country, but is frequently marred by lack of security through subjection to fraudulent activity. Digitalisation comes into play as an effective tool in remedying such challenges. Even as digitalisation offers a platform for greater land administration with regards to registration of land records, it is not a system free from flaw in entirety. Developing countries such as Uganda suffer specific challenges that relate to their limited scope in regards to emerging technologies, data privacy and security, financial constraints and limited community empowerment strategies. This poses a threat on the effectiveness of digital channels and in turn, can be seen to instigate fraudulent activity, rather than mitigate it.