85 Persons in St. Catherine Receive Land Titles

Certificates of title were presented to 85 persons, by Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Daryl Vaz, at the Shiloh Apostolic Church, in West Prospect, St. Catherine, on November 12.
The titles were processed under the Land Administration and Management Programme (LAMP), and is part of the Government’s thrust to assist persons to have security of tenure on their holdings.
Handing out the titles, Mr. Vaz cautioned the recipients to be prudent in how they use their new titles to conduct financial transactions.
The State Minister said he understood clearly the change in status and the opportunities the titles would offer them, particularly in negotiating loans for ventures to lift their standard of living.
“I want to caution those who are getting their titles, after waiting so long, not to be in a haste to pledge it to the bank or any other institution. You are to make sure that your children, grandchildren and other family members do not coerce you into doing so, unless you are sure that the venture that they are entering into, will be a success,” he said.
Mr. Vaz said that wherever a title is being put for safe keeping, whether in a vault, in the bank, in a safety deposit box or in a safe, the title holders should not be in a rush to use it, unless the action is given careful thought.
The State Minister pointed out that some 29,000 parcels of land of the intended 30,000 parcels have been surveyed under LAMP, yet only 8,100 persons from districts in St. Catherine have come forward so far to accept the benefit. He stressed that the exercise was not about politics, but about empowering Jamaicans, and the Government would be doing everything to ensure that people get their land titles.
Mr. Vaz stressed that it was not sufficient for persons to be satisfied with only having a survey diagram of the property they own or of land bequeathed to them in a will. He said every beneficiary should ensure that they get their piece of land registered to show ownership.
“We cannot force landowners to get their property registered. Our role is to facilitate the process, to let you know just how crucial it is to have this piece of paper called a title, and what it can do to turn around people’s economic fortunes,” he said.
The 85 beneficiaries hailed from West Prospect, Hyde, Cashew Walk, Crawle, Riversdale and Sligoville.