Digital system to thwart cartels, improve rates collection

City Hall is banking on a new digital system to raise land rates collection that reduces the human factor and excludes cartels.

The system is called the National Land Information Management System (NLIMS)

Hailing the system, Nairobi Deputy Governor Ann Kananu said the platform will allow the county to realise increased revenues from land rates, as well as improve urban planning.

Lands and Urban Planning department at City Hall has over the years been invaded by cartels and illegal land transactions thus resulting to loss of revenue and land grabbing.

“Nairobi has in the past suffered from a lot of land fraud and illegal land transactions. Taking this processes online will help eliminate this by reducing human interaction,” Kananu said.

The system which has been 26 years in the making was launched by President Uhuru Kenyatta last month.

It will offer a one-stop shop for all land-related matters.

The first phase saw the introduction of a wholly digital registry in Nairobi, and another 20 counties will follow by the end of the year.

Kananu noted that the system will complement the Geographical Information Systems(GIS) based mass valuation roll that the County Government has developed."

The new system is intended to digitally map all lands in Nairobi and when used together with the GIS, it means more lands will be ratable.

The GIS is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyse, manage, and present all types of geographical data. 

City Hall is banking on the system to enhance its revenue collection in rates and services offered to residents through the Geographic Information System.

Nairobi loses about Sh188 billion in uncollected land rates every financial year.

A report by the Commission on Revenue Allocation and the European Union shows that Sh75.6 billion is uncollected in Nairobi with another Sh112 billion not mapped out in the geographical information system.

In March, Lands executive Charles Kerich said the system had already been set and is expected to be integrated with key sectors and revenue systems before it goes live.

“At the moment, the GIS is still computer-based and needs to be linked with data from various sectors at the county government. Once it goes live, parking, business permits, rates among other revenue streams will take precedence,” he said.

With the GIS system, it will be easier for the county to access information when digitised rather than the physical data.

According to Kerich, the system has already been developed but was not integrated due to lack of funds.

“At the moment, the data exists on physical paper maps but that is not a good decision-making tool since you have to go through all the files,” he said.

However, according to the County Annual Development Plan (CADP) 2021-2022, Sh10 million has been set aside for the GIS system to be integrated and go live.

Once that is achieved, the public will also be able to access the system and get the information they require about Nairobi.