The pilot phase to make land titles paperless is set to be concluded by December this year before the exercise can be rolled out across the country.

Espérance Mukamana, the Director-General of Rwanda Land Management and Use Authority (RLMUA) told The New Times that after the pilot phase, the full digitisation of the system could be complete within three years.

Digitising land titles is expected to save the government the cost of printing title deeds and land transfer fees for those seeking to change ownership of the land.

Although she didn’t disclose the estimated cost of the entire project to digitize the system, she said that financial resources are being mobilized to be able to extend it in all districts of the country.

"The project is being piloted in Gasabo district. We are assessing challenges met in the pilot phase so that we have them addressed. This will then give us the picture of how we will do it in the rest of the country,” she said.

Some challenges met during the pilot phase, she said, include insufficient ICT tools in different sectors.

"To go paperless, it requires enough equipment such as computers, reliable internet connection among other infrastructure, training of staff involved among others,” she said.

What residents say

Elisée Munyemana, a resident of Mayange sector in Bugesera welcomed the initiative, expressing optimism that hopefully, once the system goes digital, processes will take less time.

According to him, it is currently very difficult to process a land title mainly because land notary officers only work Tuesdays and Thursdays.

"Our wish is that once they are all digitised we are able to conduct land registration transactions on all days of the week so that we save time and cost,” he said.

Currently, one is required to pay Rwf5,000 to get a new copy of a title deed. In case of land transfer, they are required to pay Rwf30,000.

However, Munyemana said that once the process is digitised there should be a deliberate effort to educate people on how it works to ensure majority are not locked out.

Reacting to this, Mukamana said that once the system becomes digital, it will be integrated with Irembo platform which is already being used to access other government services.

Vincent Mwiseneza, a resident of Remera Sector in Gasabo District said that digitising land titles, if successful, will be a positive development since some people lose their deeds under different circumstances.

"When you lose land title, it is a very tedious process to replace it. I believe this will be addressed once they become digital. Besides, paper-based land titles are easily forged. I believe digitising the process will be more secure,” he said.

So far, the land office has issued over 10 million land titles in papers and all these have to be digitised.

How land transfer will work

According to officials, once the system goes digital, both buyer and seller will use Irembo services to pay a transaction fee and given forms to fill out. After signing, the file will be electronically sent to the land registry for record-keeping.

After the transfer, the buyer will get a notification and get the land title in electronic format.