Researchers Say That Attitudes Towards Land Occupations Have To Change | RADIO 786 by Radio 786 - 100.4fm

Researchers say that attitudes towards land occupations have to change. Over the weekend, the Socio Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) held workshops on ways to upgrade the Marikana informal settlement in Phillipi. SERI has produced three site-based research reports, namely ‘The Promised Land: Ratanang Informal Settlement’, ‘Our Place to Belong: Marikana Informal Settlement’ and ‘Left Behind: Siyanda Informal Settlement.’ A fourth report titled ‘Here to Stay’ will compare the findings across the three sites. Senior researcher at SERI Lauren Royston says that it is possible for Marikana to be transformed to a safer place to live. She adds that Marika residents are currently battling with the City of Cape Town to have them buy the land they have occupied since 2013 and upgrade the area. However the City appealed a judgement that ordered the municipality to purchase the land. Here to expand on this, we are joined by senior researcher at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), Lauren Royston.