Holness highlights land titling push as 124 Manchester families receive certificates

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Jamaica must move faster to regularise land ownership, as 124 people in Manchester received certificates of title at a land titling ceremony in Mandeville.

The event, held at the Garden Hotel, brought together officials from the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, the National Land Agency, Manchester Central MP Roda May Crawford, local government representatives and beneficiaries from communities including Greenville, Mike Town, Claremont and Victoria Town.

Holness said many Jamaicans occupy family land passed down over generations but still lack legal registration. He noted that living on land for many years does not carry the same protection as having ownership recorded through the state’s titling system.

He warned that unclear ownership fuels boundary disputes, family conflict and informal settlements that later become costly to service with roads, water, sewage and other infrastructure. Holness also raised concern about people abusing adverse possession rules, including cases where lands are cleared, marked out and sold without proper authority.

Minister without portfolio Robert Montague said the National Land Agency is marking 25 years of operation and has created and distributed more than 13,000 titles over the past five years. He said the Government’s target is to move towards producing 25,000 titles annually.

Montague explained that under the systematic registration process, the Government identifies an area, sends in surveyors and legal teams, and beneficiaries are not required to pay upfront. Once a title is ready, a caveat is lodged and the cost can be repaid over as many as 20 years without interest. He said persons outside declared areas may apply through the voluntary or ad hoc route, though they must cover survey costs while benefiting from government discounts on some charges.

Permanent Secretary Arlene Williams said secure land ownership can support mortgages, loans, investment and generational wealth. Crawford said the titles would give Manchester families legal proof of property they had often occupied, farmed or maintained for years.

Holness urged Jamaicans without titles to approach the National Land Agency, saying wider land registration must happen alongside formal housing development and orderly land settlement.