The government will not charge landowners any fees once it embarks on massively rectifying land demarcation errors nationwide, The New Times has learned. This pledge follows the government's commitment to resolve land demarcation issues by 2027.
a nationwide land tenure regularisation programme was carried out from 2009 to 2013 and included land demarcation. However, the technology used during that period was not precise in land demarcation. Previously, any landowner who wanted to correct a demarcation error themselves had to pay at least Rwf25,000.
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Grace Nishimwe, the Director General and Chief Registrar of Land Titles at the National Land Authority (NLA), stated: "Land demarcation error rectification, which we do systematically, will not charge landowners any fee.”
Systematic land demarcation error correction by the government involves an organized process of identifying, addressing, and correcting errors or discrepancies in land boundary demarcation. The process ensures that land boundaries are accurate and legally valid, helping to prevent disputes and confusion over property lines.
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It involves a detailed, step-by-step approach to correcting mistakes that may arise due to outdated maps, incorrect surveys, human error, or changes in the landscape.
During the 2024/2025 fiscal year, 8,696 demarcation errors were corrected across 10 districts.
Gathering data on number of land demarcation errors
Nishimwe noted that districts are identifying boundary issues to ensure that planning is based on accurate data about the number of land demarcation errors remaining across the country.
"After determining the exact number of land demarcation errors, we will calculate the budget,” she said.
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The Ministry of Environment announced that additional GPS devices will be procured to enhance boundary data capture, while efforts to identify demarcation errors continue across various districts.
Some districts, including Nyagatare, Bugesera, and the City of Kigali, already begun procuring GPS devices.
Although the number of errors to address exceeds the capacity of available surveyors and land notaries, the government plans to augment the workforce by involving interns with surveying backgrounds and engaging private surveyors.
MPs order three-month period to develop plan
lawmakers have given the Ministry of Environment, which supervises the National Land Authority, a three-month period to outline plans for addressing this issue.
MP Christine Mukabunane raised concerns about landowners paying taxes on land that is not theirs due to errors in demarcation.
"There is a need to work with districts to assess the number of land demarcation errors that need correction so that landowners do not pay land taxes on parcels that are not theirs,” she said.
The government plans to leverage technology and other strategies to rectify land demarcation errors nationwide by 2027.
By utilizing 10 GPS stations distributed nationwide, land demarcation errors will be corrected with an impressive accuracy of one to five centimetres.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Environment, there are over 11,000,000 land parcels nationwide. However, 1.3 million parcels are registered to the state because their owners did not register them.
The National Land Authority has launched a campaign to mobilize the registration of these parcels.