Kirinyaga County has taken a bold step toward transforming land administration by launching a Geographic Information System (GIS) laboratory at its headquarters in Kutus.

The facility, established in partnership with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), is expected to enhance land governance, improve service delivery, and tackle long-standing issues such as land fraud and double allocations.

Governor Anne Waiguru highlighted the GIS lab as a crucial milestone in the county’s digitisation journey, saying it would bring efficiency, accuracy, and transparency to the management of land records.

“This will help to streamline operations and improve service delivery in our lands department,” she said.

The GIS lab is equipped with modern technology, including specialised software, workstations, and a high-precision plotter, all designed to facilitate the digitisation of land records.

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County Executive Committee Member (CECM) for Lands, Samuel Kanjobe, stated that the system would support better planning and decision-making while ensuring land transactions are more secure and verifiable.

“The process will include picking geographic coordinates of our lands and create a database which includes ownership details, sizes and land use,” he explained.

According to Kanjobe, the GIS platform would help eliminate disputes, prevent land grabbing, and improve revenue collection.

Meanwhile, the County Director of Physical Planning, Murage Muraguri, noted that efforts were already underway to convert existing analogue records into a digital format that would seamlessly integrate with the GIS system.

He emphasised that once the database is fully operational, landowners will be able to access some services remotely through digital devices.

GIS technology, which combines hardware, software, and geospatial data, is widely used in urban planning, environmental conservation, disaster management, and commercial activities.

The County Government Act 2012 requires counties to develop GIS-based spatial plans, and Kirinyaga’s latest move aligns with this directive.

With land being a key economic asset in Kirinyaga’s largely agricultural economy, officials believe the GIS lab will not only streamline land administration but also promote sustainable development by ensuring proper land use and governance.