By: Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News
A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament and Shadow Minister for the Housing and Security Sectors, Sherod Duncan, has raised serious concerns over what he describes as glaring inconsistencies between government spending and actual housing delivery under the current administration’s ambitious housing program.
Speaking in response to the 2025 Mid-Year Report, presented by the Minister with Responsibility for Finance in the Office of the President, Duncan said the data exposes alarming gaps between expenditure and performance, calling for the restoration of what he termed “value-for-money discipline” in public projects.
“Public projects must return to value-for-money discipline. That is the process we want — value-for-money discipline,” Duncan asserted.
According to the newly sworn-in MP, the report reveals that over G$58 billion, representing more than half of the annual housing budget, had already been spent by June 2025. Yet, during that same period, only 265 homes were completed and 2,052 land titles were issued.
Duncan argued that the figures suggest an average cost per unit far above approved thresholds, undermining the government’s claims of cost efficiency and equitable access to housing.
“We are spending the money — oil money, taxpayers’ money — but we don’t have the backings to show,” he said.
The MP also highlighted concerns over poor contract supervision, delays in audit responses, and the impact on ordinary citizens who face extended waiting times for homes.
“It’s not just financial — it affects citizens who have to wait longer for homes,” Duncan explained.
One of Duncan’s primary criticisms centered on the government’s “Tiered Affordability Model,” which he described as unclear and misleading. The initiative promises that a two-bedroom home can be acquired for as little as G$100,000, yet the government reportedly spends around G$5 million to develop each lot.
“That makes little to no sense,” Duncan said. “We are also told that six of eighteen core home projects were under 40% complete by the end of 2024.”
The opposition MP argued that this “mismatch of rhetoric and reality” raises serious questions about the actual structure of subsidies, the identity of contractors benefiting from major projects, and the actual affordability for low-income families.
He concluded that until transparency, accountability, and efficiency are restored in the housing sector, Guyanese families will continue to bear the burden of inequitable and poorly managed housing initiatives.
