DEVELOPMENT OF WEB-BASED CADASTRAL INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR SECURE LAND ADMINISTRATION IN GVH MATOLA, TA MATOLA, BALAKA DISTRICT.

Rural land administration in Malawi remains paper-based, causing missing records, boundary disputes, fraud, delays, and non-compliance with land use plans. This study developed a web-based cadastral system, named Matola LandInfo, for secure land administration in GVH Matola, TA Matola, Balaka District. The specific objectives were to: (i) create a comprehensive digital cadastral database; (ii) integrate land use planning data with parcel information through spatial overlay analysis; and (iii) develop a secure parcel management system that links each parcel to verified owners and tracks payments and rent status
The methodology followed a hybrid systems development life cycle combining Waterfall and Agile elements. Using 1,557 GPS collected parcel records, spatial data was topologically cleaned and validated in QGIS. Riparian buffers (15 m) were generated to assess land use compliance The database was built on PostgreSQL and migrated to Supabase cloud platform. A Python backend on Render, and an HTML5/CSS3/JavaScript frontend with Leaflet.js on Netlify. System validation encompassed data integrity, API functionality, performance, and user acceptance testing.
Results showed zero geometric overlaps after cleaning. Payment records indicated 70.1% of parcels fully paid. The land use overlay flagged 35% of parcels violating buffer zones. The client portal enabled public verification, reducing fraud. All queries returned results in under three seconds.
Matola LandInfo demonstrates that low-cost, fit-for-purpose web GIS can transform customary land administration, offering a replicable model for tenure security, transparency, and compliance monitoring in Malawi without requiring costly physical inspections.