MINISTRY OF LANDS, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
HONOURABLE MINISTER’S SPEECH
FOR THE
PRESS BRIEFING ON THE LAND OWNERSHIP AUDIT
HELD AT
THE MINISTRY OF LANDS, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE ROOM
ZOWE HOUSE, LILONGWE
WEDNESDAY, 12th AUGUST, 2026
- All Commissioners and Directors here present
- All Deputy Commissioners and Deputy Directors here present
- All Staff Members present here
- Members of the Media
- Ladies and Gentlemen
Good morning,
It gives me great pleasure this morning to preside over the briefing of the Land Ownership Audit. As you may recall, the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development announced a nationwide Land Ownership Audit on 13th January 2026, and it was officially launched on 23rd February 2026. The audit began with a pilot phase in Lilongwe City, focusing on Areas 3 and 10.
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Land ownership in Malawi is governed through land administration under the Land Act of 2017, amended in 2022 (Cap. 57:01), the Registered Land Act (Cap. 58:01), Physical Planning Act and its regulations, Land Surveys Act and its regulations, Estates Management Act and the Land Policy. These legislations cover legal management, registration, and regulation of customary, private, and public land, including surveying, valuation, physical planning, and conversion of customary land to registered land. The Ministry is currently digitizing these processes via a Land Information Management System (LIMS).
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The audit was prompted by rising land disputes, particularly in urban areas. Key issues included:
● Widespread complaints of land grabbing/encroachment and illegal ownership of residential and commercial plots;
● Improper allocation of plots including double allocation; and
● Fraudulent land ownership using fake title documents, resulting in loss of public trust.
I am pleased today to provide a brief on the long-awaited land ownership audit.
The primary goal of the audit was to assess whether the Ministry has efficiently and effectively implemented land administration processes to improve transparency, reduce and resolve disputes, and strengthen land governance through accurate, digitized records.
The specific objectives of the audit included:
- To ascertain the total number of land parcels in these areas;
- To examine land records in order to ascertain land ownership and extent of development;
- To match land ownership records on physical files and those in LIMS;
- Ascertain land records, ownership and creation of database for ground rentals payments.
The audit focussed on six departments, namely Lands, Physical Planning, Surveys, Estates Management and Valuation, LIMS, and Housing.
Determination of the areas to be audited was based on whether the area is residential or commercial. A holistic approach was adopted for examination of land parcel files to allow for a 100% substantive test. Further, a purposive sampling approach was used for land parcels that were physically verified depending on the issues raised during a review of their documentation.
The audit also served to respond to calls for digitisation of the collection of ground rent which is being supported by the World Bank aimed at increasing the revenue base from this aspect.
Highlight of the Summary of the Audit Findings
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As envisaged, the audit has revealed areas that need improvement in the Ministry to ensure efficient, effective, transparent and accountable land administration processes aimed at reducing and resolving disputes and strengthening land governance through accurate and digitised records.
Specifically, the audit has concluded on the following:
- Consolidation of cadastral records
The Ministry is using consolidated cadastral layout maps that date back to 2016. As such, the infill plots, subdivisions, extensions and amalgamations created and allocated in subsequent years are not reflected. Their records remain fragmented in survey drawings and index documents. This posed a challenge to ascertain the total number of surveyed plots that were available for allocation.
Suffice to say that from the available records that were presented for audit, impliedly, Area 3 had 791 allocated plots and Area 10 had 604 allocated plots.
- Land records management
There is inefficient record management across all Departments in the Ministry evidenced by the inability to trace survey drawing documents, notices of decisions (grant permissions for development, subdivisions, infills, extensions and amalgamations), transfer of lease documents, deed plans and lease agreement documents, and general receipts for ground rent and development charges payments.
- Non-compliance to the laws of land administration
There is non-compliance to the Land Act (Cap 57:01), Registered Land Act (Cap. 58:2), The Deed Registration Act (Cap. 58:02), Physical Planning Act of 2016 and its 2022 regulations with regards to registration of all allocated land parcels for secure ownership and land tenure as follows:
- Most of the plots in Areas 3 and 10 are not registered;
- Plots remaining undeveloped 24 months after offer of lease;
- Transfer of lease for undeveloped plots;
- Change of land use without approval;
- Physical development without approval;
- Creation and allocation of plots and implementation of physical developments in reserve/conservation/flood-prone areas.
- Non-adherence to land allocation processes
There are lapses in adhering to land allocation processes in obtaining land ownership with regards to:
- Non-functional plot allocation committee;
- Allocated plots not supported with approved memo from Minister;
- Overlapping plot allocation roles;
- Doubtful survey documents;
- Doubtful acquisition of leases; and
- Concentration of land on few individuals.
Although the law provides for setting of land allocation ceilings, no Minister has ever enforced the law to set limits on the number of land parcels to be allocated to individuals. As such, this has encouraged land speculation where individuals obtain offers of leases and transfer them to others on a higher consideration.
- Development charges and ground rent revenue management
- Non-maintenance of a centralised database for ground rent payments leading to challenges in tracking outstanding payments of ground rentals, development charges and other fees, and non-billing of ground rents to plot lessees. This has affected revenue generation from these sources.
- There are outstanding payments for development charges and ground rentals that need to be settled.
Action to be Taken on the Results of the Audit
- The Ministry will consolidate the cadastral layout maps based on the updated survey drawings and indexes to reflect the current picture of the allocated plots.
- The Ministry will establish a robust record-management and retrieval system to safeguard layout plans and lease documents and facilitate their prompt access.
- The Ministry will strengthen the scrutiny process of land administration-related documents for all allocated plots, subdivisions, extensions and amalgamations in order to curb improper land allocations and reduce land disputes.
- The Ministry will continue to sensitize and encourage the public to register their allocated land for security and tenure.
- Lessees whose plots have remained undeveloped 24 months after the offer of lease will be required to begin their development. Failing which, they will be notified in accordance with Section 34 of the Land Act (Cap.57:01) of the termination of the lease agreement and withdrawal of the plots. The law requires the lessee to remedy the breach within a period of 60 days.
- For illegal physical developments, the Ministry will enforce the demolition of structures in accordance with Sections 57 and 58 of the Physical Planning Act (2016).
- The Ministry will sanction staff and officials who created plots in reserve/conservation/flood-prone areas following due process of the relevant laws and regulations. Further, lessees for the plots in question should be subjected to penalties. Physical developments on conservation and flood-prone areas will be demolished in accordance with Sections 57 and 58 of the Physical Planning Act.
- The Ministry will bring back the plot allocation committee in order to bring sanity (transparency, accountability and fairness) to the land allocation processes and ensure that it adheres to all plot allocation procedures including approvals from the Minister.
- All lessees with outstanding payments on development fees and ground rent will be required to settle their bills. Failing which, the law will be enforced.
- My Ministry is working on having a centralised database for ground rent payments to boost revenue collection for the Treasury.
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Prior to the commencement of the audit, I had issued a 14-day ultimatum for individuals illegally occupying or grabbing public and institutional land to voluntarily vacate or surrender the properties. I would like to indicate that, to a greater extent, this call was not adhered to.
Further, during the audit, land owners were reluctant to cooperate with the auditors upon request for documents that prove their land ownership.
This time around, as we work to improve the land administration processes in the Ministry, I would like to reiterate the call to the public to ensure that they come forward with their legitimate land ownership documents and adhere to the conditions of their lease agreements.
Update on Plot No. 19/46
Members of the Media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Plot No. 19/46 was allocated to the High Court Commercial Division on 4th October 2011.
Following the allocation, the High Court paid development charges amounting to K4.8 million, which was the total amount payable to Government. General Receipt No. 827494 serves as proof of payment.
Subsequently, the Ministry issued a Certificate of Payment to the High Court Commercial Division on 29th January 2020. The Ministry can therefore confirm that the ownership of Plot No. 19/46 remains intact.
However, the Ministry has received information that some individuals have produced a fake title deed for this plot. The Ministry has reason to believe that the document may have been produced through a parallel structure operating against the Ministry’s established procedures.
The Ministry has taken a strong position against the production and use of fraudulent land documents and will not regularise or recognize any such documents.
The Ministry wishes to assure the public that it remains committed to protecting legitimate land ownership and upholding the integrity of land administration processes.
In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, let me assure all of you that my Ministry will not tolerate malpractice in land administration and will work with all responsible Departments and Agencies to make sure that land laws are enforced and adhered to at all times.
May God Bless Malawi and Bless Us All.
Thank You!
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