Social Impact of Squatter Settlement
What are the social impacts of Squatter Settlements?
Squatting is an issue that has been plaguing Jamaica for years and with the necessary law and procedures implemented, we have grown to seeing this issue steering back at us. Taylor (2012) claimed that squatter settlements encourage theft of public service and nonstandard behaviour, which is evident of the numerous thefts of electricity and water supply in these squatting areas. In addition to that it was also argued that these squatter settlements don’t have proper road structure and do not have a proper waste disposal system. Wastes are thrown indiscriminately into drainage channels thereby causing blockages which might eventually result in the flooding and erosion of the area.
According to Gordon (2012), he stated that the technique of acquiring lands by adverse ownership is causing more harm in our country. “There is no doubt that the conflict existing between the Trespass Act, where it is a crime to squat, and the Limitation of Actions Act and the Registration of Titles Act, on the other hand, is irreconcilable. Any law that rewards one who has committed a criminal act with a benefit is bound to create conflict”. Sheng and Mehta (2003) added that governments find it hard to stop rural-urban migration due to the fact that it is difficult to control the movement of people and doing so is also a violation of human rights. Tindigarukayo (2002) states ‘Government policy has mainly centered around regularization of land tenure, land redistribution, removal and relocation of squatters; the main objective being to prevent and to reduce the number of people occupying land illegally’.
Reference
Cummings, V. (2009). The Problem of Squatting in Jamaica. The Gleaner Retrieved October 04, 2013, from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090524/news/news1.html
Gordon, L. (2012, September 30). The Social and Economic Cost of Squatting (Part 2).
The Sunday Gleaner, p. F6
Sheng, Y. K., and Mehta, A. (2003).
Squatting is an issue that has been plaguing Jamaica for years and with the necessary law and procedures implemented, we have grown to seeing this issue steering back at us. Taylor (2012) claimed that squatter settlements encourage theft of public service and nonstandard behaviour, which is evident of the numerous thefts of electricity and water supply in these squatting areas. In addition to that it was also argued that these squatter settlements don’t have proper road structure and do not have a proper waste disposal system. Wastes are thrown indiscriminately into drainage channels thereby causing blockages which might eventually result in the flooding and erosion of the area.
According to Gordon (2012), he stated that the technique of acquiring lands by adverse ownership is causing more harm in our country. “There is no doubt that the conflict existing between the Trespass Act, where it is a crime to squat, and the Limitation of Actions Act and the Registration of Titles Act, on the other hand, is irreconcilable. Any law that rewards one who has committed a criminal act with a benefit is bound to create conflict”. Sheng and Mehta (2003) added that governments find it hard to stop rural-urban migration due to the fact that it is difficult to control the movement of people and doing so is also a violation of human rights. Tindigarukayo (2002) states ‘Government policy has mainly centered around regularization of land tenure, land redistribution, removal and relocation of squatters; the main objective being to prevent and to reduce the number of people occupying land illegally’.
Reference
Cummings, V. (2009). The Problem of Squatting in Jamaica. The Gleaner Retrieved October 04, 2013, from http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090524/news/news1.html
Gordon, L. (2012, September 30). The Social and Economic Cost of Squatting (Part 2).
The Sunday Gleaner, p. F6
Sheng, Y. K., and Mehta, A. (2003).