Dear Editor,
Jamaica has spent decades discussing landlessness, squatting, housing shortages and inequality. At some point, the conversation has to move beyond theology, history and good intentions and into practical action.
An estimated 1.5 million Jamaicans are said to be without land of their own, yet some of the country’s oldest and most influential institutions control significant amounts of property, portions of which are underused, occupied informally or poorly documented.
The Roman Catholic and Anglican churches are widely regarded as substantial landowners in Jamaica, but there is no easily accessible public register showing precisely how much land they hold, where it is located, how it is being used, or how much remains idle. That absence of transparency makes informed national discussion difficult.
The Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is reported to hold more than 80 parcels, while the Catholic Church operates dozens of parishes, schools and other institutions across the island. Some church representatives have themselves acknowledged that not all church-owned lands are actively used for worship, education or ministry. In some cases, ownership and title arrangements may also date back generations.
This should not become an attack on the Church. It should become an invitation to leadership.
Churches have historically played an enormous role in Jamaican education, welfare and community development. Land could become another chapter in that service.
A national audit of major church landholdings would be a sensible starting point. It could establish what land exists, what is actively required for institutional purposes, what is environmentally or legally unsuitable for development, and what could potentially be placed into productive community use.
From there, Jamaica could explore carefully structured programmes allowing qualifying landless Jamaicans access to small plots through affordable sale, long-term lease, community land trusts or other legally protected arrangements.
The objective should not be simply to hand out land. Ownership must be accompanied by proper titles, infrastructure, planning controls, financing and education. Otherwise, yesterday’s solution can quickly become tomorrow’s informal settlement.
Done properly, however, small-scale land ownership can provide something deeper than shelter. It can create collateral, encourage household investment, support small businesses, strengthen intergenerational wealth and give families a tangible stake in the country.
For churches, this could also represent a powerful expression of stewardship. Land sitting dormant has limited social value. Land used to create secure homes, productive communities and opportunity can transform lives.
Jamaica does not need another decade of admiring the problem.
Government must play its part. Private landowners must play theirs. And institutions with substantial historic landholdings, including the churches, should be willing to examine what role they can reasonably play.
Faith without works, after all, is dead. Perhaps some of those works can begin with the land beneath our feet.
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