Ms Angote holds tattered records at the ministry in 2009. Automation has boosted the Lands ministry’s earnings to record levels. File
Lands ministry has posted a 690 per cent rise in revenue in the last four years as the gains of reforms and automation of operations systems took shape.
The ministry has, however, raised the red flag over a fresh onslaught by cartels hurt by the reforms that sealed loopholes through which the government lost revenue.
Permanent Secretary Dorothy Angote said the ministry collected Sh7.9 billion in the 2010/11 fiscal year, compared to Sh1 billion over the 2007/08 period.
“Before we kicked-off reforms in 2008, the ministry’s revenues were below Sh1billion, but this has changed with the reforms and we are arguably the highest revenue posting state agency after the Kenya Revenue Authority,” she told a media briefing in Nairobi yesterday. Revenue from stamp duty accounts for about 80 per cent of the ministry’s total earnings even though it also relies on land rates.
Resistance
But even in the face of the astronomical jump in revenue, the ministry has raised the red flag over growing resistance by cartels that once benefited from deep rooted graft in the institution.
“We are witnessing a lot of resistance whenever we try carrying out key reforms such as automation to minimise client-officer contact. Some are even trying to jeopardise our newly introduced waiting services at the Lands registry,” Ms Angote claimed.
“Previously, most cartels thrived by dealing with individuals but we now insist on institutional service not individual service.” Corrupt networks in the ministry over the years fanned fictitious land transactions that often saw genuine land owners mysteriously lose their title deeds and other key documents.
For instance, early last year nearly 12,000 files containing land documents earlier classified as lost were discovered tucked in offices of senior civil servants at the ministry. The discovery followed investigations started by Ms Angote.
Cases of missing files are a common occurrence at Ardhi House, the ministry’s headquarters. Land owners and prospective buyers must carry out searches on the parcels at the ministry, but in most cases files containing information on the land are hidden until bribes are paid. As a way of curbing the vice, the Information ministry started converting the documents into soft-copies so as to reduce corruption.
Ms Angote said the automation of documents and other reforms would continue despite resistance.
Restricted access
“Because of the restricted access to our registry we are now witnessing a gradual build up of uncollected documents. This is a clear indication that some cartels are seeking to exploit their clients by lying to them that documents can’t move at the Lands ministry unless certain things are done.”
Ms Angote claimed that automation had led to discovery of many falsified documents such as title deeds.
“In June alone we netted 65 fake title deeds and handed the cases to the CID for action. A lawyer was also arrested recently for faking the ministry’s official stamp,” the PS said.
To tame the increased cases of fake documents, the official said they would expedite the creation of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and a National Spatial Plan (NSP).
“The NSDI will enable users to log into our records and instantaneously know the status of the land title they intended to transact in. The NSP will help users know the specific location of the parcels to avoid cases of people building on land reserved for other purposes such as road or schools,” she said.
