There is a risk that the opportunity presented by Hurricane Melissa to address land tenure, fragile housing, and their wider social consequences will be missed.

Jamaica Institution of Engineers’ post-Hurricane Melissa assessments suggest that informal housing was approximately 18 times more likely to suffer severe damage than formal housing. Despite the obvious connection between weak land tenure and fragility, there is insufficient funding from government for sustained regularisation and titling programmes. Weak land tenure affects more than 600,000 Jamaicans and over 700 settlements islandwide.

Minister Robert Montague has argued that secure land titles and proper land mapping contribute to safer communities. If so, why are land titling and affordable housing not receiving greater priority?