Land is more than dirt. For many Jamaicans, it represents security, dignity, inheritance and the possibility of building something that can be passed from one generation to the next.

The question surrounding the Home Township land settlement is therefore bigger than the allocation of lots. It is about the fate of ordinary Jamaicans who do not have the privilege of inheriting generational property.

For generations, many working-class families have struggled to own a piece of Jamaica. While some inherit houses, land and other assets from parents and grandparents, others begin every generation from zero. They rent, they save, they borrow and they sacrifice, often without ever being able to accumulate enough wealth to pass on to their children.

When does generational poverty end?

That is the question we must confront.

A society cannot seriously speak about reducing poverty while ignoring the importance of asset ownership. A family that owns land has an opportunity to build wealth, secure housing and create an inheritance. A family that owns nothing remains vulnerable to rising rents, economic shocks and displacement.

Homeownership and land ownership must therefore be treated as part of our national social and economic policy, not simply as political favours or election-time promises.

The Home Township settlement should be approached with transparency, fairness and accountability. Jamaicans deserve to know the criteria for selection, who qualifies, how the process is administered and whether those most in need are actually benefiting.

This is not about party colours. It is about whether we are prepared to create a Jamaica where poverty is not inherited simply because property was never inherited.

Our children should not have to start where their parents started, and our grandchildren should not be condemned to the same economic struggles.

If land is one of the foundations of generational wealth, then access to land must become part of the conversation about breaking the cycle of generational poverty.

The real measure of any land settlement should therefore not be how many lots are distributed, but how many families are given a genuine opportunity to change the economic trajectory of generations to come.

The question remains: when will generational poverty end?