Come Tuesday (March 29), the National Land Agency (NLA) will distribute more than 350 Certificates of title to residents of Flagaman, Berlin, Potsdam, and Exton in the southeastern parish of St Elizabeth.

The titles will be issued under the agency’s Systematic Land Registration (SLR) programme, which was launched in 2019 to assist persons who have been in open, undisturbed, and undisputed possession of land for 12 years or more.

This distribution activity follows the inaugural Systematic Land Registration land titling ceremony held on February 23, which saw 35 residents receiving their certificates of title under the programme.

Residents living in the remaining communities of Burnt Savannah and Essex Valley in St Elizabeth should expect to receive their titles in the upcoming 2022/2023 fiscal year.

Cheriese Walcott, CEO and Commissioner of Lands at the NLA, noted that the SLR programme will contribute to the fulfilment of the agency’s mandate to issue 20,000 titles in three years.

“The Systematic Land Registration programme was implemented to increase land registration levels across the island. Since its implementation, it has afforded many citizens the opportunity to acquire legal ownership of their land, and by extension, improve their standard of living. Furthermore, the land titling process is being carried out expeditiously, and as such, more citizens will stand to benefit,” Walcott said.

Walcott further highlighted that Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared several communities as systematic adjudication areas (SAAs), and as a result, residents should expect representatives from the agency to visit their communities to adjudicate their rights and interests in land.

“In addition to St Elizabeth, systematic adjudication areas have been declared in parts of St Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, Westmoreland, Hanover, St James, Trelawny, and Portland. In St Catherine, 26 additional communities have been declared, which include Above Rocks, Glengoffe and Sligoville,” added Walcott.