Speaking before Members of Parliament, Dr. Arakwiye acknowledged rising public complaints over delays in accessing land-related services, attributing the backlog to a sharp increase in applications and the limited capacity of the existing digital infrastructure.
When LAIS was first introduced, it processed about 15,000 files annually. Today, the system handles more than 800,000 files each year. Official figures indicate that 376,686 land files were recorded in 2023, rising to over 750,000 in 2024 and surpassing 864,000 in 2025, more than doubling within a short period.
The minister explained that expanded access to land services has significantly contributed to the surge. Previously offered mainly at the provincial level, services are now delivered at sector offices, through land committees at cell level, and via the government’s online services platform, Irembo. Twelve of the most requested land services have been digitised, while private notaries and survey assistants have been authorised to facilitate certain processes.
“Previously, services were provided at provincial level, but now they have been decentralised to sector level, with land committees established at cell level,” she said.
LAIS has also been integrated with other government systems, including tax platforms and the national auction system, enabling institutions to directly obtain land documentation where required, without citizens having to make separate applications.
Staffing within LAIS has grown from 80 employees at its launch to 150 currently, with more than 1,000 additional users extracting information from the system. However, government projections show that the platform will need to accommodate up to 3,000 personnel to manage current and future demand effectively.
Authorities say planned upgrades to system capacity, workforce expansion, and deeper institutional integration are expected to ease bottlenecks and improve the efficiency of land service delivery nationwide.
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