Prime Minister Launches National Land Titling Programme

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller on Wednesday, August 12, handed over land titles to 63 persons from the Tower Hill, Seaview Gardens and Seaward Pen communities of Kingston at the launch of the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing’s National Land Titling Programme and Certificates of Title Handing-over Ceremony at the Christ the Redeemer Church, Seaview Gardens in Kingston. The National Land Titling Programme is designed to reduce the delays involved in land titling thereby bringing the goal of land ownership within easier reach for Jamaicans.

Delivering the keynote address at the launch and hand-over ceremony, the Prime Minister said that the National Land Titling Programme “gives a clear indication that this Government means business when we say are building an ownership society in Jamaica.” Mrs. Simpson Miller explained that “this programme will bring together all the Government agencies and stakeholders who are involved in the process of producing titles for deserving land and home owners across Jamaica,” to make the process easier. The National Land Titling Programme will deliver the approximately 45,000 titles, which are at various stages of completion in the vaults of various Ministries and Agencies.

Prime Minister Simpson Miller told the new landowners that “this special day has arrived because you have a Government that is committed to enabling our people to have ownership of the country of their birth and the land of their fore-parents.” She added that, “This day has come because my Administration is on a mission to improve the lives of all the people of our country no matter their class, colour or political affiliation.”

The Prime Minister also told the new title holders that land ownership provides many opportunities for social and economic development. “I encourage you to allow your registered title to work for you. Utilise it to advance your child’s education, to become an entrepreneur and to improve your homes and your lives.  We have placed the power in your hands to build your lives, build your communities and by extension, to build our country,” she said.

The launch of the National Land Titling Programme follows other ongoing land ownership initiatives being implemented by the Government including the LAMP programme which is providing titles to land owners through a $90 million grant from the Development Bank of Jamaica. Additionally, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is making titles available to sugar workers under the Barracks Relocation Programme.