GOVERNMENT has launched a new land management system aimed at tackling land malpractices, Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Minister Wylbur Simuusa has said.

The Computerised Land Administration System valued K8 million would provide secure, transparent and traceable land transactions that would help identify fraudulent practices as it would restore and increase public confidence in the administration of land in the country.

Speaking at the launch of the Zambia Integrated Land Management and Information System (ZILMIS) Mr Simuusa said K3.58 million had so far been spent and K4.39 million would be spent to complete the project.

He said the computerised land administration system would run side by side with the old system until December this year in order to allow testing, debugging and fine-tuning of the system.

He said in January 2014 the old system would be shut down and all land processes and transactions would be conducted completely on the new system.

Government would ensure that land administration became effective, transparent and accountable as this would contribute to poverty reduction, wealth and job creation.

He said the ZILMIS would allow electronic monitoring of the progress of each transaction and allow automated processes that would improve efficiency.

The project would improve certainty of land location and ownership, improve revenue collection and improve land transaction procedures among other things.

"The new system will enhance the security of tenure for both customary and State land. It will promote greater productivity and better use of land as a result of enhanced data and information availability and it will curb the current problems of double land allocations," he said.

Finance Minister Alexander Chikwanda expressed government's determination to develop the land system as it would address the challenges in security, reliability, integrity and efficiency in the land administration system.

He said the enhanced features would increase revenues from the category that had remained minimal at about 1.3 percent of the Gross Domestic Product.

"The launch of the ZILMIS today is a demonstration of the resolve and commitment to remodel resource mobilisation systems to generate sufficient resources for development.

"The Ministry of Finance will ensure that there is adequate and timely funding to bring the programme we are launching to fruition," he said.

He reiterated government's commitment to channel resources to developmental projects and key priority programmes in a bid to reduce poverty and create employment.

According to the World Bank report of 2013 on 'securing Africa's land for shared prosperity,' the development of land information systems had been a slow process in Sub-Saharan Africa.