128 St. Catherine Residents Get Land Titles
By: , June 2, 2022
Photo: Adrian Walker
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (front row, sixth right), shares a moment with new landowners in St. Catherine who have received certificates of title under the National Land Agency (NLA) Systematic Land Registration (SLR) Programme. The handover ceremony was held on Wednesday (June 1) at the Old Harbour New Testament Church of God in Rhoden's Pen. Also sharing in the occasion are Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Everald Warmington (front row, fifth right); and Custos of St. Catherine, Icylin Golding (front row, seventh right).
Photo: Adrian Walker
Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, addressing a ceremony for the handover of 128 certificates of titles to residents of St. Catherine, under the National Land Agency (NLA) Systematic Land Registration (SLR) Programme. The ceremony was held on Wednesday (June 1) at the Old Harbour New Testament Church of God in Rhoden's Pen.The Full Story
One hundred and twenty-eight residents of St. Catherine are now proud landowners, having received certificates of title for property that they have occupied for several years.
The residents are from the communities of Old Harbour, Church Pen, Sharper’s Lane, Thompson Pen, Bushy Park and Old Harbour Bay.
The titles, provided under the National Land Agency’s (NLA) Systematic Land Registration (SLR) programme, were handed over by a team led by Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during a ceremony on Wednesday (June 1), at the Old Harbour New Testament Church of God in Rhoden’s Pen.
Through the SLR programme, persons who have been in open, undisturbed, and undisputed possession of land for 12 years or more are afforded the opportunity to obtain titles for these lands.
The initiative is playing a key role in increase socio-economic security and stability, by affording persons the opportunity to acquire property.
Prime Minister Holness said the Government is actively pursuing programmes to provide more land and shelter solutions for Jamaicans.
He said that these programmes will allow more persons to be a part of a “formal regulated settlement”, thereby improving the standard of living of themselves and their families.
“The Government is not unaware or unsympathetic to the cause, to the genuine concern of people trying to find a housing solution for themselves, but it is not a solution to the problem to go and illegally settle…; it just exacerbates and compounds the problem,” he pointed out.
Prime Minister Holness said the SLR programme seeks to scale up land registration to support the country’s aim of extending the benefits of recognised property rights to more Jamaicans.
“I am confident that we now have a system in place that is going to ensure that every square inch of land in Jamaica falls under a public register that secures the property rights and interests of the persons who own it, and that is a major achievement for Jamaica 60,” he said.
Others participating in the handover of titles were Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Everald Warmington; Custos of St. Catherine, Icylin Golding; and Chief Executive Officer/Commissioner of Lands, NLA, Cheriese Walcott.