Residents Of Arnett Gardens Receive Titles

Residents of Arnett Gardens are the latest beneficiaries of the Government’s land titling project, with 85 of them receiving  their documents on February 27.

Speaking at the handing over ceremony, held in the South St. Andrew community, Member of Parliament for the area, Dr. the Hon. Omar Davies, who is also the Minister of Transport, Works and Housing, described the occasion as “transformational” for the residents.

Dr. Davies said all the new land owners have a responsibility to ensure that the community has organizational structures that can chart development, and to preserve the value of their property.

He encouraged the residents not to engage in anti-social activities, including taking electricity illegally.

“Your lives are going to be transformed, and you will no longer be termed informal settlers. You are people with houses, with legal documentation, and the extent to which you allow the area to run-down,  the value of your property will go down,” he said.

The area saw an overhaul in its housing development in 1972, and lasted up to the end of that decade, where over 1,200 housing units were constructed. It consisted of two and three bedroom semi-detached units, townhouses, and high-rise apartments. The new houses replaced wooden shacks and zinc fences.

Minister without Portfolio with responsibility for Housing, Hon. Dr. Morais Guy, said in respect of the formation of a citizen association in the community, “we have committed from our Ministry, to get our social workers here to help you to form the association.”

“I want you to commit and make a promise that you are going to make your community one that others look at and admire,” Dr. Guy urged.