THE water and housing ministry on Tuesday presented 322 certificates of possession for serviced lots and housing units to squatters in four Corporate Area communities in a long handing-over ceremony, which was tainted with political overtures.

The almost three-hour-long ceremony held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, saw 34 residents of Langston Court on Deanery Road receiving certificates of possession for housing units while 111 residents of Goldsmith Villa in the August Town area, 108 at Melbrook Heights in Rockfort and 69 in St Benedicts Heights in Harbour View, received similar certificates for serviced lots.

Tuesday’s presentations were a part of the National Housing Development Corporation’s (NHDC) Operation Pride project, and cost nearly $620 million, according to the agency’s chairman, Michael Vascianne.

The NHDC, a housing development and mortgage finance company, is wholly owned by the government and falls under the portfolio of the Ministry of Water and Housing. It was incorporated in June of 1998 from the merger of three public sector housing institutions — the National Housing Development Corporation Limited, Caribbean Housing Finance Corporation Limited and Operation Pride.

In aggregate, the serviced lots in the three developments comprise approximately 123.4 acres inclusive of lots not yet handed over. The 36 units at Langston Court, which comprise one and two-bedrooms, cost between $1.3 and $1.6 million. Two of these units are still vacant, the NHDC said.

Water and housing minister, Karl Blythe, said the new land owners represented only a small fraction of the 35,000 Jamaicans who will receive certificates of possession from Operation Pride. A similar presentation was made Thursday at the Portmore Villas in St Catherine while the presentation dubbed “land train” will move to Shaw Park and Mamee Bay this weekend.

Blythe said his ministry will also hand over 70 more sites to squatters by year-end.

But Tuesday’s handing-over ceremony was more of a campaign-style mood as Blythe, as well as government members of parliament for the different constituencies whose residents received certificates of possession, related to the gathering the “greatness” of party leader, P J Patterson, “whose noble idea” led to the presentations.

“It is a story that I feel particularly proud to be a part of, a historical task given to me by PJ Patterson to bring closure to this most noble of man’s purpose, to ensure that the greatest transfer of land to the people become a shining reality in his time, our time,” Blythe told the gathering.

“I say, will you, with all of us on the platform give honour and glory to the Right Honourable PJ Patterson, prime minister and of course, initiator of Operation Pride?” he said.

According to Blythe, the government had to grant concessions, particularly to the people of St Benedicts and Melbrook Heights to make the lands more affordable.

He said initial estimates had suggested that the serviced lots would cost approximately $950,000 but that cost was worked down to an average price of $350,000 for the provision of a level one service lot of 4,000 square feet.

This, he said, would result in some recipients paying less than $300,000 and others a little over $400,000 based on the lot sizes and that the NHDC has been instructed to provide the owners with a mortgage for up to 345 years at 10 per cent after a minimum deposit of $20,000.

He said those who received certificates on Tuesday became the full owners of the land and the certificate would remain in place until the Titles Office completes the certificates of titles. He added that the certificates had the full legal backing as his ministry had consulted both the attorney general and the solicitor general who endorsed the instruments.

“More importantly, in my capacity as corporation sole and owner of the lands you now occupy, I have signed the transfers over to you making the process irreversible,” Blythe told the new land owners.

The names of each beneficiary, he said, would be recorded at the Records Office in Spanish Town and will be placed on the land valuation tax roll that will require the new land owners to pay taxes over time.

“The government has taken the decision that possession must be given, access to land must be given even if we must give concessions,” Blythe told the gathering and urged them to pay their dues to protect their new possession and abide by the restrictive covenants of their sales agreement.

On Thursday he referred to similar developments in other areas including Riverton City, Callaloo Mews, Portmore Pines and Mandela Mews.

Said Blythe: “The zinc and board houses are coming down, glory to the prime minister. When I am coming into Kingston and I look to the left and see Callaloo Mews and look to the right and see Riverton Meadows, I say God bless that man, long may he live. You be the judge of whether or not we have served you well.”

Ronald Thwaites, member of parliament for Central Kingston Thursday said it is the will of the “responsible good government” to eradicate “landlessness” and transfer to squatters land which “had long been kept in private hands”.

“Hail up the prime minister. He was the one who thought the simple, decent and profound thought which is to hand over the land which has long been kept in private hands,” Thwaites said.

“He (Patterson) said if the government owns it, then the people who need it have a superior right to it not by thief, not by squatting, but by honest purchase,” Thwaites said.

He added that that project was put in the hands of Blythe, who moved like “rapid response like nobody else could do” to complete the project.

Said Thwaites: “The people of Jamaica are great and when we come together and we have good leadership, there’s nothing we can’t achieve.”