Ministry rolls out 2-month land audit

Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development has launched a two-month land ownership audit to update records following failure by irregular landholders to voluntarily provide information during a 14-day window. Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development Chimwemwe Chipungu said during the launch yesterday that the ministry had given individuals holding questionable land allocations an opportunity to voluntarily regularise their ownership, but no one came forward. “The ultimatum was ignored.

That left us with no option but to proceed with a comprehensive audit to establish lawful ownership and enforce compliance,” he said in Lilongwe. The audit now marks a shift from voluntary correction to formal verification and possible enforcement action, including cancellation of fraudulent titles, repossession of land and prosecution of offenders. The exercise follows mounting complaints over double allocations, land grabbing and delays in issuing lease title deeds.

Preliminary inspections in parts of the city uncovered cases where land legally allocated to individuals and institutions had been encroached upon or reassigned irregularly. Chipungu said the exercise was intended to restore credibility to public land management and end long-standing complaints from citizens. During the audit, officials will verify ownership of land parcels, reconcile physical files with the Land Information Management System (LIMS), assess development compliance and investigate duplicate or suspicious title deeds.

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Where irregularities are confirmed, the ministry says corrective action will follow. Meanwhile, Mzuzu University-based land governance expert Caroline Chingamtolo Banda said such audits can help resolve disputes by establishing which title documents are legally valid. However, she cautioned that the process must be insulated from political interference and accompanied by institutional reforms.

National Advocacy Platform chairperson Benedicto Kondowe said the audit’s credibility will hinge on visible corrective action. Three weeks ago, the ministry revealed that a land audit it conducted uncovered encroachment on Admarc Ltd and Malawi Broadcasting Corporation properties in Lilongwe, prompting the minister to issue a warning that repossessions and prosecutions will follow where wrongdoing is confirmed.

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