ST JAMES, Jamaica – Aggie Reynolds, a 73-year-old resident of Flagaman in St Elizabeth, is a happy and proud landowner today, having received a certificate of title for her property under the National Land Agency’s (NLA) Systematic Land Registration (SLR) titling programme.

She is among 35 residents who were recently presented with their titles during a ceremony at Newell High School in St. Elizabeth that was addressed by Prime Minister, Andrew Holness.

An emotional Reynolds said that she was elated to finally own a piece of Jamaica.

She said the parcel of land she occupies has been in her family for generations but she did not know the first step towards acquiring legal documentation for the property.

“I am… really elated… that I gained answers about things that were puzzling me; and I am so happy to receive my title and, as the Prime Minister said, ‘a part of Jamaica’. I can stand, declare and know that I am one of them,” she stated.

Reynolds was full of praise for the Systematic Land Registration Programme and encouraged Jamaicans to capitalise on benefits under the initiative.

“I would encourage other people to go about this and not fear and wonder about money. You just have to take a step and… be [the] owner of your own inheritance,” she shared.

“I just want to ‘big up’ [the NLA] for carrying out this task. It is one that is very important to all Jamaicans. I didn’t know [the process] would have been so fast. To the time when they visited me, I [was] really surprised to see how fast it came through,” she added.

Another beneficiary, Zenora Davis of Pedro Plains, said she was extremely delighted to finally receive a title for the land she has occupied for over 30 years. 

“It is a great and wonderful thing. I feel very proud because I have this land over 30 years and this is the first opportunity [I have had] to legally own it; so I am very thankful,” she expressed.

Davis also had high praises for the land registration process and expressed gratitude to the Government for embarking on the revolutionary project that stands to benefit thousands of Jamaicans.

“The process was very easy, and the people were very nice when they come to my house. Everything was just wonderful, and I appreciate it a lot. The best thing that ever happened to me is to have [my] title which shows ownership of [my] own land,” she said.

Davis added that “it is a good opportunity for me because I can use the title to get a money… and when [I] pass [this on to] my kids, [they] would know that they have a title to own what their mother had; so it is a good opportunity.”

Prime Minister Holness noted that the SLR programme seeks to scale up land registration to support the country’s aim of extending the benefits of recognised property rights to more Jamaicans.

“Your land title opens up a vista of opportunities for economic growth and development. Land gives you [an] immediate economic advantage to go to a bank [or any] other lending agency and say ‘I have an asset that the Government of Jamaica says I own, and nobody else can challenge it; it is, therefore, safe to do business with me’. That’s a powerful tool,” he stated.

For her part, Senior Director for the NLA’s Adjudication Services Division (ASD), Shalise Porteous, said the SLR process is helping to increase the socio-economic stability of residents in St Elizabeth.

With the parish’s low land registration rate, she notes that the process started in St Elizabeth where 4,000 parcels of land in 15 adjudication areas were investigated.

Those areas included Flagaman, Potsdam, Berlin, 500 Lane and Ghetto Lane in Burnt Savannah, Queensbury, New Hope, Newton, Essex Valley and Brighton.

“We were able to prepare adjudication certificates, which resulted in the issuance of 2,572 certificates of titles for parcels of land. We are continuing our land titling efforts in other communities in St. Elizabeth, including Bellevue, Bull Savannah, Carlisle and Red Bank, Rose Hall, Seaview, Southfield, Kildare, [and the] remaining parts of Flagaman and Queensbury,” she said.

Porteous indicated that an additional 1,100 certificates of titles will be issued for parcels of land in those areas.

She confirmed that the process works and will be expanded to other parishes across the island with low land registration rates.

The Systematic Land Registration Programme seeks to assist persons to obtain titles for property they have lived on under open, undisturbed, and undisputed circumstances for upwards of 12 years, through the process of adjudication.

It is being facilitated under the Registration of Titles, Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification (Special Provisions) (Amendment) Act, 2020, which was passed in Parliament in June 2020.