LAMP II Extended to Provide More Land Titles

More Jamaicans are expected to become title holders, following a 10 year-extension of the Land Administration and Management Programme II (LAMP II).

As part of the expansion, Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation (KCSC), has injected an initial US$2 million in the programme, and has an option to invest up to US$26 million over the period.

Under the programme, five more parishes, namely St. James, St. Ann, Westmoreland, Hanover and Trelawny have been added to the existing contract parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon, making a total of eight parishes targeted for surveying and titling under LAMP II.

In his message, read by State Minister, Hon. Ian Hayles, at the signing of the addendum to LAMP II between the Government and the KCSC on Tuesday, February 26, Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, said the extension of LAMP II will facilitate further work under the project.

The Minister said the Government is committed to ensuring that landholders become title holders, especially in light of the fact that the majority of Jamaican landowners still do not have registered titles for their land.

“Having a title is one of the best ways to empower our people to improve themselves, build better communities and ultimately build a better nation. It is our firm belief that the more titles placed in the hands of our citizens, the better they will be,” Mr. Pickersgill emphasised.

Highlighting some of the benefits of having a title, the Minister said it can be seen as a legacy that can be passed from one generation to the next, adding that it can also be used as collateral to develop land, educate oneself and the children, and improve the home.

He commended KCSC and all the other agencies that continue to work on streamlining and improving the land surveying, registration and titling process in Jamaica.

In his remarks, President of the KCSC, Dr. Min-Suk Lee, said the company is committed to the project’s success.

He added that a collaborative approach by all the relevant partners will be critical in achieving the goals.

Beginning in 2010, the LAMP II project was designed to be a two-year project, aimed at conducting cadastral mapping and titling in the parishes of St. Elizabeth, Manchester and Clarendon.

At that time, Korea Cadastral Survey Corporation invested US$2.2 million in the project and with its Jamaican partner, GEOLAND Title Limited, embarked on surveying parcels to support the registration of title process.

The target was to produce approximately 12,000 titles over the two-year period. However, the project did not go as well as planned, and at the end of the two-year period, it had fallen short of the target due to a number of issues inherent in the land registration and titling processes.

The LAMP initiative is designed to help all landowners in Jamaica obtain certificates of title for their land and to update the information on existing land titles.