Nairobi — Arguably, laudable efforts have been made to reform the Lands Ministry that has always carried the dubious distinction of being a haven of corruption.

So far, the ministry has established a banking hall and streamlined cash collections, and these have seen a steady rise in fund inflows.

As we report elsewhere in this edition today, the greatest breakthrough is expected in two-months' time when the ministry's records will be fully automated in an undertaking billed to clamp down on illegal land deals.

In this day and age, the lands office strikes one as an oddity. It is a picture of a mediaeval archive. Retrieving any record is a herculean task. And this serves to perpetuate the corruption network.

The more difficult it is to access the files the more it offers lucrative business to crooked officers and wheeler dealers, who always mill around the ministry's corridors.

However, this is not the solution to dubious land deals. Technology, too, is vulnerable to manipulation. This means that Lands minister James Orengo and permanent secretary Dorothy Angote must move beyond technology in reforming the ministry.

Staff audit, attitudinal change, legal and policy reviews are some options that they ought to consider as they seek permanent solution to lands administration and management system.