BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY FOR PRESERVING DIGITAL LAND RECORDS Case of Addis Ababa City Administration

Abstract

Preservation of records in a secure way is the most important issue in any city circumstance especially when it comes to land record it becomes a more significant one. A secured land records will make the institution strong with an effective and accountable working environment. The main objective of this thesis is to explore and show how to ensure the security of the Land Records using Blockchain Technology. This study used a mixed method research approach. The security problem in the existing system which is mainly security of records is identified using interview, observation and document analysis. Based on the problems identified a System is proposed and a prototype is developed that integrates newly emerging technology Ethereum Blockchain and Interplanetary File System (IPFS) with a DApp that is developed for users to interact. The functionality is managed by the smart contract. The prototype is capable of registering a record; attach the necessary image files and also viewing the registered records. The hash of registered record and the attached image is placed as transaction on the blockchain. The records are immutable and times stamped and are only accessible by the authorized users. Generally, this thesis explored and demonstrated the potential of the blockchain in addressing the security problems and preservation of records.