ROWMIS – Roght of Way Information System
Project Name: ROWMIS – Right of Way Information System
Client: Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA)
Country:Uganda
The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) was established by Act of Parliament in 2006 and officially commenced operations on 1st July 2008. UNRA was formulated for the purpose of managing the provision and maintenance of the national roads network in an efficient and effective manner; to render advisory services to Government; and for related matters. It is mandated to operate and maintain the national roads network in a safe and efficient manner including protecting road reserves.
Historically, the Government of Uganda relied on restricting the use of the road reserve through provisions in the Roads Act and regulations issued by government. However, over time the boundaries of the road reserve became indistinguishable from the adjacent land and, due to population increases, especially in urban areas, encroachment has occurred. UNRA therefore decided to legally acquire the land within the road reserves, starting with current and pipeline projects and expanding to cover the entire national road network over time. This is a massive undertaking, totaling approximately 20,000 km of road.
The current Land acquisition process is manual with limited automation. The process is managed using different tools like MS-Excel, CAD, paper and digital files and drawings. It is difficult to get quick feedback on the status of land to be acquired, location of related documents, planning and monitoring Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) etc. The existing system is also vulnerable to poor record management, data retrieval, storage, data loss, analysis and reporting.
Therefore, UNRA hired Sivan Design D.S. Ltd. To provide the following:
a. Right of Way Information system for managing project affected persons land expropriations and compensations.
b. Web Grievance Portal for the public to submit their grievances regarding the project.
c. Mobile devices for valuers & surveyors automatic data collection.
Client Needs
UNRA’s objectives were to enhance planning, preparation, implementation and monitoring of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) processes (for all project activities including social, engineering and financial concerns). To support land acquisition, registration and land administration. To query, complaints management, monitoring and evaluation. To create a computerized database of the ROW information to increase efficiency and effectiveness in information management and service delivery at UNRA (identify implementation bottlenecks). To have readily available up to date and authentic land information for decision making both at design and RAP implementation stages.
Project’s Process
The project process was to review existing documentation, manuals, Laws, reports and systems (in respect to RAP, GIS and Land information). Cary out high level workflow analysis and system design. Prepare system requirement specification report (define logical spatial framework, structure and conceptual design of the system based on RAP and management development cycles). Appraise the existing procedures for data capturing, processing and storage for land acquisitions, expropriation and highlight the gaps. Design and implement the approved conceptual system design and framework through a pilot testing phase.