Warning that “unplanned communities” are undermining productivity and straining public resources, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says the fight against squatting will not be won through enforcement alone and has urged private developers to provide more affordable housing options for Jamaicans.

“We need to build more houses at prices that people can afford to make it uneconomical for persons to go and squat and capture unplanned. Basically, that has to be the strategy,” Holness said.

He made the call on Friday during the official ground-breaking ceremony for the Wick Hall Estate housing development on Featherbed Lane in Spanish Town, St Catherine, where he argued that increasing the supply of affordable housing is critical to reducing the growth of informal settlements and unplanned communities.