People could be able to monitor the progress of their land service requests, and responsible public staff will be held accountable for delaying response once a new Land Administration Tracking Information System (LATIS) is rolled out, according to government officials.
Grace Nishimwe, Director General of the National Land Authority (NLA) told The New Times on May 9 that the system will be launched by the end of next week (which will conclude on May 19). Currently, she said, training of staff on the new system is underway.
Commenting on why the new system matters, Nishimwe observed it will allow an applicant to keep track of their file, monitor progress at every step, be informed when it is rejected, and enable NLA to know where the file is delayed, by entering a specific number.
Also, she said, an applicant can know the days he/she should get a service as it will be shown in the system, indicating that the period varies depending on the service in question.
On May 7, officials from the National Land Authority (NLA) told the Parliament's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that LATIS is a system aimed at addressing the longstanding issue of delays in processing land documents, providing citizens with greater transparency, and accountability among responsible entities in the land administration process.
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It was during a public hearing in which the NLA officials were responding to concerns raised by the Auditor General of State Finances for the fiscal year 2022/2023.
The report highlighted a significant backlog of 6,612 documents, with some taking as long as 345 days to process. Many landowners were unaware of the reasons behind these delays, underscoring the need for a more transparent and efficient system, it added.
While Nishimwe acknowledged previous efforts to address the delays, including collaborations with private notaries and the utilisation of the Irembo digital platform for access to government services, the issue persisted, necessitating the introduction of LATIS.
"LATIS will provide citizens with a unique tracking number for their land files, allowing them to monitor the status of their applications in real time. This transparency will enable individuals to identify any blockage in the process and take appropriate action," Nishimwe said, pointing out that it will also show the time within which a request must be processed.
"When files are received and under review, the system will indicate their status as accepted, providing reassurance to applicants that their submissions are being processed," she said, adding that in case a request is rejected because the files are incomplete, the applicant will be notified to bring the required documents.
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NLA officials also said that LATIS will facilitate accountability by allowing citizens to identify the individuals responsible for delays in processing their documents. This feature empowers landowners to directly engage with relevant authorities, reminding them of their responsibilities and expediting the handling of any outstanding issues.
The acting head of the Land Administration Department at NLA, Sylvain Muyombano, said the system will significantly reduce the need for individuals to visit land offices in person, saving valuable time and resources.
With LATIS, he said, sector-level authorities will no longer have to physically present documents at the district level and wait for them to be processed there. Instead, he indicated, the system allows for the seamless transfer of documents electronically.
"This means that sector-level authorities can directly access and submit documents digitally, streamlining the process and reducing the time it takes for documents to be processed and returned to the sector level for citizens to acquire them," he said.
The authority also said that they are working hand in hand with the Ministry of Local Government in providing essential resources such as internet connectivity and laptops which will ensure the smooth implementation and operation of LATIS to address the challenge of lack of digital tools needed for system implementation.
