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The Government of Sierra Leone is set to introduce an online portal that will allow individuals worldwide to verify land ownership records and trace the history of land transactions.
The new digital initiative was announced by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Country Planning, Dr. Turad Senesie, during the “Civic Day London Edition” event hosted at Westminster Chapel.
The gathering, which included Vice President Dr. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh and members of the Sierra Leonean diaspora, focused on national development and major reforms in the land sector.
To oversee the country’s transition to a modern title registration system, the government has established the National Land Commission. Advanced digital technologies are currently being deployed to improve the administration process, culminating in the new online portal.
“Someone in London will be able to verify ownership of a property in Sierra Leone through a digital platform and see the chain of ownership from the original owner to the present holder,” stated Dr. Senesie.
In addition to the online portal, the government is introducing modern geospatial technologies to resolve boundary disputes and overlapping surveys. These tools include drone mapping and Continuous Operating Reference Stations (CORS), which will significantly improve the accuracy of land surveys across the nation.
Dr. Senesie acknowledged that land administration has historically posed major challenges for the country, describing it as “one of the most chaotic sectors in Sierra Leone for many years”. He revealed that land disputes once accounted for over 70 percent of court cases, though ongoing reforms have successfully reduced that figure to around 35 percent.
The government attributes much of this past confusion to overlapping and contradictory laws governing state, unoccupied, and customary lands. To create a safer environment for investment, the government is actively reviewing policies to reclaim improperly acquired lands and is cracking down on fraudulent transactions, such as falsified ownership records and the illegal sale of land to unsuspecting diaspora investors.
Dr. Senesie also urged citizens to understand that a conveyance document is merely evidence of a transaction and not legal proof of ownership, highlighting the necessity of the new title registration system to provide true security for landowners.
