Record Management Technology and Information Service Delivery at the Land Registry in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Abstract

Kenya's devolved government established by the 2010 constitution places land management and administration under county government to take information services closer to the general public. Therefore, this function is a key duty of the Department of Lands, Housing, and Physical Planning in most Counties in Kenya. Previous studies reveal that most land registries cannot deliver efficient customer information services. This research aimed to determine the extent to which institutional factors enhance information service delivery at land registration in Nyandarua County. It mainly focused on improving information service delivery through record management technology. New Public Management Theory grounded this study and adopted the descriptive survey research design. The target group included all 53 staff working in the land registry: 19 land administration, four housing, 17 surveys and mapping, 12 physical planning personnel, and the county land registrar. Data was collected using questionnaires and

an interview guide. To address the validity and reliability of the research instruments, a pre- test was conducted. SPSS was used to analyze the quantitative data, where descriptive and

inferential statistics were employed to summarize information and test hypotheses, respectively. The thematic method was used to analyze the qualitative data. The study found that the operations at the Nyandarua land registry were still manual. This resulted in sluggishness in the delivery services, inaccuracies, poor record storage practices, poor efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery, client dissatisfaction, and lack of remote access to services. The Land Registrar in partnership with the County administration should buy and install relevant records management technology at the Nyandarua land registry to improve information service performance. The study underscored the essence of embracing records management technologies in enhancing information service delivery in land registries.