Prime Minister Holness Announces Major Development Plan to Transform Naseberry Villa Community
Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has announced plans for a sweeping transformation of the Naseberry Villa area in St. Catherine into a modern, master-planned community.
The initiative will deliver legal ownership, upgraded infrastructure, and long-term security to hundreds of families who have lived in uncertainty for over 20 years.
Speaking last week (August 5) at the land title handing over ceremony for the Housing Agency of Jamaica (HAJ), Prime Minister Holness described the moment as transformative and one that holds national significance.
“Today we gather to mark an important step towards the life of this community, a moment that symbolizes not only the transfer of land, but the transfer of dignity, opportunity, and security to the people of Naseberry Villa,” Dr. Holness said.
The Naseberry Villa community, established more than 20 years ago under the failed Operation PRIDE programme, has faced decades of infrastructural and titling delays, leaving many residents in legal and emotional limbo.
Prime Minister Holness acknowledged the shortcomings of past approaches under previous administrations and emphasized his administration’s deliberate shift to a systematic, equitable, and lawful process of land settlement and titling.
“My administration has taken a different approach to land settlement. We are going to continue the regularization and formalization of existing informal settlements… We have also changed the law to allow for systematic titling. And that process means that the government will declare certain communities as systematic land titling areas… and mobilize all the requirements needed to get lands titled,” the Prime Minister explained.
Dr. Holness explained that many of the delays in issuing titles were due to legacy issues, including conflicting records, unpaid balances, absentee owners, and unresolved boundary disputes.
In response, the HAJ has implemented a titling amnesty for residents who have an outstanding balance of $150,000 or less.
The Prime Minister instructed the HAJ to actively locate absentee landowners, including through local and international media campaigns, so that lots are not left unutilized or vulnerable to fraudulent transactions.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Holness also outlined a visionary plan for Naseberry Villa and surrounding areas, now designated as part of the Greater Innswood Development Area.
This initiative follows the model of the Bernard Lodge development and will include:
• Comprehensive drainage and water infrastructure
• Improved road networks and transportation corridors
• Legal electricity connections, with support for wiring and certification
• Designated space for parks, health facilities, and commercial zones
Prime Minister Holness also emphasized that future housing developments will require a master plan before occupation to avoid the pitfalls of incremental settlement that leave residents without basic services.
“You want to have the land with all the amenities and the facilities so that it can actually deliver for you the better life that you want and not become trapped in a situation where you cannot find the dignity in the place you occupy.”
Dr. Holness also underscored that fairness must remain central to the Government’s policies, including titling arrangements and infrastructure development.
As Naseberry Villa enters a new chapter, Prime Minister Holness said the Government’s plan reflects not just a handing over of land titles, but the delivery of long-overdue justice, dignity, and hope.
“Land is an important endowment that breaks the generations of poverty that follow us.”
The Government will continue to empower communities through land ownership, robust infrastructure, and long-term development planning, ensuring that every Jamaican has a rightful place in the nation’s progress.