Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Chimwemwe Chipungu is expected to update Malawians next week on the progress of the ongoing land ownership audit, following growing calls for greater transparency and accountability in the exercise.
The minister is expected to address the nation on Monday, August 10, 2026, in Lilongwe, where he will provide an update on the findings, progress and challenges encountered since the audit was launched earlier this year.
The briefing comes after activist Sylvester Namiwa called on the government to provide Malawians with clear information on the land audit and ensure that the exercise is conducted transparently.
The land audit is aimed at strengthening land administration, verifying ownership records and addressing longstanding problems that have contributed to land disputes across the country.
The initial phase of the exercise is focusing on Lilongwe’s Areas 3 and 10, where ministry officials are undertaking physical verification of properties and comparing information contained in physical land files with records stored in the Land Information Management System (LIMS).
Among other things, the exercise seeks to establish the total number of land parcels in the two areas, verify ownership, assess the level of development on individual plots and identify discrepancies between physical records and information contained in the digital land management system.
The audit is also expected to help government establish a reliable property database that could improve the collection of ground rent and strengthen the management and utilisation of public land.
When launching the exercise in February, Chipungu said the audit was intended to address some of the persistent challenges affecting land administration, including land grabbing, double allocation of plots, illegal sales and fraudulent land transactions.
Such practices have been blamed for contributing to land conflicts and disputes involving individuals, communities, property developers and other stakeholders.
Ministry officials have since been conducting field verification exercises as part of efforts to establish the authenticity of ownership records and reconcile information on the ground with data captured in LIMS.
The pilot exercise in Lilongwe is expected to provide lessons that will guide the next phases of the audit before it is expanded to other parts of the country.
Chipungu’s forthcoming briefing is therefore expected to provide Malawians with details on how far the exercise has progressed, the number and nature of discrepancies identified, challenges encountered during the verification process and measures being taken to address irregularities.
The minister is also expected to outline the government’s plans for strengthening land administration, improving record-keeping and resolving some of the long-standing land disputes arising from questionable allocations and ownership records.
The disclosure of the audit’s findings will be closely watched, particularly amid calls from civil society and activists for greater transparency in the management and allocation of public and private land.
Malawians are expected to look to the briefing for clarity on whether the audit has uncovered cases of double allocation, irregular ownership, undeveloped plots, fraudulent transactions or other breaches of land administration procedures.
The outcome of the audit could ultimately provide government with a clearer picture of the country’s land ownership records and help establish stronger systems for preventing future disputes and irregularities in the land sector.
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