Prime Minister presents land titles to more than 40 Ackee Walk and Jackson Town residents

Prime Minister Andrew Holness presided over a land titling ceremony at Meadowbrook Church of Christ in St. Andrew Northwestern, where more than 40 residents of Ackee Walk and Jackson Town collected registered titles marking formal ownership of properties they have long occupied.

The event fulfilled a commitment Holness made when he visited the constituency in October 2024 to launch regularisation under the Registration of Titles, Cadastral Mapping and Tenure Clarification Special Provisions Act. Minister without portfolio Robert Montague, who holds responsibility for land titling and settlements, Permanent Secretary Arlene Williams, National Land Agency CEO Sherise Walcott, and Member of Parliament Dwayne Smith joined the Prime Minister on the platform.

Permanent Secretary Williams told the gathering that ministry and agency teams spent years verifying possession, collecting documentation, and resolving disputes so eligible beneficiaries could secure registered ownership. She said more than 40 people would benefit at the ceremony and urged others with outstanding applications to supply required information to complete their files.

MP Smith traced the effort across three parliamentary terms, crediting former MP Derrick Smith, who secured 12 Ackee Walk titles in 2015, Dr. Nigel Clarke, who left funding in place before leaving office, and his own follow-through. He assured residents still awaiting titles that the process would continue.

Holness said Ackee Walk grew from a 1978 special improvement area declaration covering Upper Molynes Road, later subdivided into 79 lots, while Jackson Town properties at 311–315 Molynes Road were declared in 1980. Decades of informal transfers, estate disputes, and incomplete sales complicated adjudication, he said, which is why the government is pursuing systematic registration by declaring communities and engaging residents directly.

Minister Montague urged new title holders to protect their documents, pay property taxes, and avoid squatting on state lands reserved for public development. Holness linked titling to broader economic development, noting Jamaica’s titling rate of about 60 per cent lags high-income countries where nearly all land is registered.

Beneficiary Rosemary Pink, delivering the vote of thanks, said the titles brought security families could build on for generations. Recipients from both communities collected certificates from Holness and Montague before a group photograph closed the programme.