A prototype digital cadastral information system for the survey of Kenya

Abstract

Survey of Kenya (SoK) is the mapping agency for the country. The director of surveys under provisions of Survey Act (Chapter 299) and Registered Lands Act (Chapter 300) has the responsibility of providing safe custody of, maintaining, updating, retrieving, dissemination and managing cadastral information in the country. The Cadastral Branch is responsible for processing survey records for purposes of land registration and ensuring quality control. These survey records form fundamental component of cadastre. Cadastral survey started way back in 1903. Over the years, volumes of records have increased. Demand for land due to population growth has greatly increased and need for land information for other purposes has grown. The current system in analogue form has resulted in the system’s inability to face the existing challenges and cope with these needs. This research analyses the existing cadastral system in SoK, analyzing the problems from the perspectives of the staff and users. A sample conceptual model for a new digital system is proposed in which logical relations are defined and it’s implementation as a prototype GIS is discussed. The proposed system is capable of storing parcel information, e.g. owner, area, locality, date of authentication etc., allows for fast retrieval of these information, including retrieval of survey plans as scanned images, retrieval of boundary definition, and tracking of survey jobs. The system addresses the problems of storage and tracking the progress of survey jobs within the Cadastral Branch as well.