The Potential Use of Cellular Phone Technology in Maintaining an Up-to-Date Register of Land Transactions for the Urban Poor

This article investigates the concept of using cell-phone technology for obtaining information about unofficial (off-register) transfers in land as are commonly undertaken by the urban poor in South Africa. Since the introduction of social housing programmes in South Africa after the democratic elections in 1994, mass land distribution and housing projects have been undertaken. Formal transfer of these properties has been discouraged by policy (such as a moratorium on transfers for a period of years), and the inaccessibility of land professionals and formal processes to the poor. From the disuse of formal transfer mechanisms one can conclude that these fail, at least in part, to meet the needs of this segment of society. Cell- (mobile) phone technology penetrates urban poverty more than other interactive technologies such as the internet, largely due to the lack of access to computers and the 'digital divide'. The aim of this article is exploratory. It investigates the potential use of cell-phone technology as a means to inform authorities that a transfer of property has taken place informally or semi-formally. Such information could pave the way for a process of formal registration and hence aid the upkeep of the deeds registration system. Research into the potential use of the cell-phone as an information and communication technology (ICT) tool of land administration, particularly in the developing world, is undertaken. It is envisaged that a more detailed investigation will follow, which will include an analysis of organizational and legislative capacity. Further study in which the use of cell-phone technology in land administration is tested, taking into consideration structural/organizational factors as well as socio-economic and cultural factors and motivating factors for use, may be required.


Introduction
This article proposes the use of cell-phone technology as a step towards a pro-poor and scalable solution to the problem of formal land parcels being transferred informally and hence off the formal property register. This is an increasing problem in South Africa, especially with properties previously granted through social housing programmes since the demise of apartheid in 1994 (RDP houses).
The concept is premised on a multi-stage process which presumes formal registration as a starting point, followed by a cell-phone-based alert system to communicate that a transfer has taken place, to be followed up by a further process of formal registration in accordance with the legal processes of land transfer. This article reflects a preliminary investigation into the problem of informal transfers, the possibility of using technology to address the problem, and institutional and professional challenges.
The concepts proposed in this article are of interest to government officials dealing with land and housing, CBOs and NGOs involved in land tenure issues, and the cadastral and conveyancing professional and research communities.
The proposals are interesting since they are aligned with the grand narratives of good governance, sustainable development, and the need for pro-poor and scalable solutions to urban land access and land tenure. 1 The proposed concept is innovative in that most electronic governance (e-governance) solutions involving registration are internet based, while the use of cell-phone technology is emerging as a tool in government systems to established theoretical research frameworks. The strides made internationally in e-governance and using technology to advance public participation in land administration processes are then highlighted. Possible impediments to implementation are identified and the next steps in developing the concept are formulated.
This article relies mostly on secondary data sources such as published papers, research reports, reports in the popular press and web pages. A further stage of research will incorporate interviews with key informers such as the registrar of deeds, researchers from Urban Landmark and the African Centre for Cities, and the conveyancing profession. The conclusions of this article are restricted to the concept rather than practical implementation of using cell-phone technology in the property registration process. It is acknowledged that the general use of such a system would require an incentive for the user and may be influenced by a variety of non-technical factors.

Social housing and property sales
In South Africa, mass delivery of land for housing has been undertaken since the demise of apartheid in 1994. 2 These housing projects are linked to freehold land JF WHITTAL PER / PELJ 2011(14)3 166 / 194 weeks, 15 leading to very quick change in possession, while legal transfers can be concluded only after several months. The use of local police, local municipal offices, councillors or community structures to resolve disputes over property rights 16 also points away from the significance of registered title in land ownership disputes. The use of local offices is also far more convenient for the poor, whose housing is generally far from the central business district. Transport costs are minimised by using a local municipal or police office. 17 There is no state transfer duty for properties below R600 000. Deeds Office fees for properties up to R150 000 are R70 only.
However, conveyancing fees are roughly R3 500 for a property of value R40 000.
The lack of use of formal transfer processes is linked to the time from identification until occupancy, effort and cost.

Off-register transfers of registered properties
The number of informal transfers of formal properties is largely unquantified, but

Loss of value
Properties sold off-register generally sell below their value in the formal market, and even below cost. 23 This is of concern since the value of the state investment in the land, dwelling, services and formal grant is therefore 'lost' since the registered land owner and beneficiary of the state housing programme fails to realise the full value of the property. A further issue is the difference between sale prices and the property valuations upon which property rates are calculated. Sale prices for properties transferred off-register are not included in the deeds registries database and are therefore not taken into account in municipal property valuation processes.
Perceived property value, based on off-register sales prices in the area, can be much lower than municipal formal-market valuations 24 causing confusion and mistrust in the valuation system. The increasing numbers of formal properties now transferred 'off register' exacerbates these effects.

Policy and practice
Land administrators need to recognise that there is a disjuncture between national policy and local practice. Informality exists alongside and in partnership with formal structures and processes. The individual strategies of survival of the urban poor lead to a messy and non-homogenous approach to access to land. Unitary, formal systems of delivery do not and cannot be forced to service the diverse needs of society. There is ample evidence of a duality of land access in our cities as a result of historical influences on such processes, such as the country's colonial past and apartheid, and their concomitant western approaches to land and housing. Such systems and processes do not adequately service the poor. This is a challenge for policy makers in land and housing, and there is a move away from a one-size-fits-all approach 25 towards rental housing and other forms of delivery, and towards more flexible approaches to land tenure and registration. Innovative approaches to land administration are essential for maintaining complete, correct, and current data about Principles of good governance in land administration

Security
The cadastre should be "tamper-proof" and free from corruptive adaptation; the correctness of data is essential for efficiency and effectiveness; backup systems should be in place to ensure data is not lost.

Clarity and simplicity
The general public should understand the system used; principles underlying the supporting legislation should be meaningful to the general public and simple, lean processes should be put in place; public relations should be actively pursued; simplicity is linked to reduced costs and fair access to information.

Timeliness
The information should be up-to-date and complete; information should be available in a timely manner on request.

Fairness/equity
Objectivity is important; equitable access should be possible by all, 'in development and in operation of the system should be both fair and perceived to be fair'. 35

Accessibility
Within the constraints of cultural sensitivities, legal and privacy issues, the system should be capable of providing efficient and effective access to all users.

Cost
Cost-effective and low-cost solutions are required; adequate budget allocations are essential; cost is linked to equity and accessibility.

Sustainability
Maintenance of the system is essential -organisation, management, procedures, technologies, education levels and professional competence need to be adequate.

Transparency
Principles, policies and processes should be available to all for information and interrogation; proactive communication is required.

Efficiency and effectiveness
Efficient and effective cadastres are key to investment, economic efficiency and production, export/trade and economic growth, poverty alleviation, and income generation through property taxation. 37

Completeness and inclusivity
Data completeness and currency is essential.

Empowerment
Knowledge and skills should be transferred to affected and interested persons;

Use of world-class technology
Electronic technology and modern tools/techniques should be employed effectively.

Adherence to international standards
The use of effective internal controls: internal and external audits are important and provide feedback which is essential for adaptation to an often changing and complex organisational and external environment.

Maintenance of capacity and capacity building
This includes effective staff training, the recruitment of competent staff and staff redeployment.

Legality
The legal framework should reflect good governance principles and underpin their delivery.

Local
There should be local input to and local benefits from the system.
These goals illustrate a diverse range of principles which span the material/technical, social and personal aspects of a socio-technical system. Although these are framed as ideals rather than achievable objectives, they should guide and inform the development of land administration initiatives such as those proposed in this article with reference to the use of cell-phone technology to improve the land administration

system. Theoretical framework for e-governance
A move to e-governance is the primary policy framework through which the exploitation of technology by governments is argued. E-governance is a subset of electronic commerce (e-commerce) and is influenced primarily by the new public management (NPM) ideals and objectives of streamlining government, customer focus and cost-effectiveness as well as by the more general goals of good

E-governance in South Africa
Growth in e-commerce is promoted internationally through policy (eg by the OECD, UN, WTO) and legislation and includes e-education, e-medicine, e-transport, epolice, e-court and many other areas of application. E-banking is now well accepted in South Africa and mobile/cell banking (called m-banking) is on the increase with a system such as WIZZIT, 53 which uses SMS to offer many banking services to those who have cell-phones but do not access banks. These private-sector initiatives demonstrate the usefulness of technology in extending services, but they are not government driven and so are not seen as e-governance initiatives. In India, egovernance using the internet and cell-phone/mobile phone technology (mgovernance, which is a subset of e-governance) is on the increase, 54 driven by technological innovation and by the principles of good governance. 55 E-governance in South Africa is limited mostly to desk-top computer access to the internet and web-page-based interfaces (eg the e-Filing online tax collection system and the e-NaTIS motor vehicle registration, driver licensing and vehicle fine system).
In South Africa, e-governance is highlighted by national legislation in the Electronic Microsoft Excel spreadsheet programme is downloaded to a PC. Completion of a form allows the user to request data in the form of noting sheets, survey diagrams, and surveyors' records by email. These data are then automatically sent to the user as email attachments. This system saves a visit to the SGO and associated travel and parking costs as well as time. Surveyors can now also submit their diagrams and records to the SGO by email in digital form. This is termed e-lodgement.
The e-DRS project has been approved by the deeds registry and will promote a Andhra Pradesh keeps the data of all residents and the land records. 75 In Karnataka, known as Kaveri, there is a project to speed up the registration of land. 76 In Bhoomi, another project maintains land records and provides a kiosk-based ICT system through which local residents can obtain land records along with ownership and crop details. 77 In Madhya Pradesh the Gyandoot project is also kiosk based and is run by local unemployed youth trained to assist the public in acquiring many land-related data such as copies of land records. 78 These projects have reduced corruption, reduced the time taken to obtain data, and most importantly, are servicing more citizens, especially in the rural areas.

E-governance and pro-poor approaches in South Africa
Not all of the e-governance initiatives in South Africa are pro-poor since there are many barriers to the use of the technology, including a lack of access, knowledge and trust, and the prevalence of unequal social/power relationships. Some strides have been made in providing access to desktop computing through local libraries.
The SmartCape team developed this facility, which now services 170 000 registered

How the SA poor use cell-phones
The use of cell-phones by the South African poor is largely socially driven. This is evidenced by the reluctance of the poor to make use of the formal processes of land transfer.
The proposal, at this stage, is in concept form. It will require a great deal of work and engagement with role-players prior to a pilot study and implementation. Design and implementation should be undertaken with the understanding that interventions of this nature are subject to many varied and unpredictable factors.

First stage
Included in the first stage is a public information campaign. This should focus on the benefits of transferring property using formal title deed registration, and should also provide information on the proposed cell-phone-based property transfer alert system.
However, should buyer and seller be unaware of this service, it is likely that current practices of visiting local municipal offices, councillors or police in order to effect property transfer will occur. This will present another opportunity to inform residents intending to transfer property of the value of formal transfer and the alert system.
This first stage should also include information to dispel myths relating to property tax on formally transferred properties. The majority of properties in poor areas will JF WHITTAL PER / PELJ 2011(14)3 184 / 194 not incur additional costs of property tax if they are formally transferred since the property values are below the threshold value (currently R200 000 in Cape Town).

Second stage
Having made contact with a government official (a councillor, a policeman etc.) and/or having received information from an information campaign, the buyer and seller are made aware of the need to transfer the property legally through a deed of transfer. An SMS alert is sent to notify the deeds registry that a sale is under way.

Third stage
There are some options hereafter:

Registrar's cost
An officer of the deeds registry uses the incoming cell-phone number to contact the buyer/seller using a voice call and requests the above information verbally.

Fourth stage
An officer of the deeds registry uses the incoming cell-phone number to make contact with the parties. Information is requested over the cell-phone, and an 185 / 194 appointment is made to visit the buyer and seller. The parties are instructed as to what information should be obtained for the meeting. At this visit all of the required documentation is collected, the identities of the parties are confirmed, and the transaction is verified.

Fifth stage
A government-employed or -appointed private conveyancer compiles a deed of transfer and processes the transaction in terms of the Deeds Registries Act 47 of 1937. 99

Sixth stage
The deed of transfer is sent to the local municipal office or police station for collection, or is sent directly to the purchaser.

Seventh stage
Performance evaluation is an essential part of implementing ICTs in developing countries. This process provides feedback to improve the processes or structures involved in this aspect of land administration.

Software
It is proposed that open-source software developed and used by Cell life in its waterquality project be investigated for the purpose of cell-phone alerts as to off-register property transfers off. Initial discussions with developers have been undertaken and there is every indication that the technical aspects of cell-phone alerts and prompted queries for information about the property and the buyer and seller could be easily accomplished. The cost of an SMS borne by the client could be an impediment to use. This is small in comparison to the security of tenure such a system would afford Social, socio-technical and economic aspects There is a need to undertake some investigation into the social aspects of offregister property transfer and the proposed use of cell-phone technology as a means to improve the currency of land registration. Socio-technical issues (including gender and technology), drivers of behaviour relating to informal transfers, and economic factors relating to this and to cell-phone use need to be understood prior to implementation of such a project.

Legislative and organisational aspects
Legislative impediments to the implementation of cell-phone assisted land registration need to be identified. In addition, government readiness to embrace such a proposal needs to be gauged, as well as the ability and willingness of the conveyancing profession to participate in the conveyancing aspects of the proposed system.

Conclusions
This article has presented a proposal to explore the use of cell-phone technology to alert national authorities to unofficial transfers of land in South Africa. This proposal is underpinned by the principles of good governance in land administration and is framed in the context of e-governance and e-cadastres and the enabling government policies which promote such initiatives. It advances a people-based data-collection process and has the potential to empower the poor and enhance e-democracy.
Furthermore, the proposal is aligned with the principles of the Global Land Tools Network of the UN Habitat in that, in proposing the use of cell-phone technology, it advocates a solution that permeates poverty, is largely without gender bias, is propoor and is scalable. It is recommended that the extent of the problem and whether or not it has a spatial aspect should be assessed, as well as the institutional, legal and professional impediments to implementation.