APNU/AFC housing record was “weak and ineffective” – Croal flays Duncan’s criticisms of PPP/C’s projects

Housing Minister Collin Croal has fired back at Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Sherod Duncan following his criticism of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Government’s housing programmes, telling the former APNU+AFC coalition Administration of presiding over a weak and ineffective record while in office from 2015 to 2020.
During his contributions to the Budget 2026 debates on Wednesday, Duncan, who now represents the APNU in the National Assembly, fervently criticised the housing programmes being executed by the PPP/C.
However, Croal reminded Duncan, who was a member of the APNU+AFC Government from 2015 to 2020 and a member of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) Board, of their dismal record.
He highlighted that from May 2015 to July 2020, the APNU+AFC made only 7534 allocations, 2000 of which were made when they were on borrowed time after their Government fell to a no-confidence motion.
Apart from the allocations, Croal reminded them of their poor performance in housing construction for citizens.
“They constructed 200 houses on the coastland, and then, to add insult to injury, they introduced duplexes, 40 of them that were neither properly recognised by the banks or could be covered by the insurance companies; there was no legal framework. This PPP/C Government passed the Act. For hinterland, 21 houses alone were built… the then Minister within the Ministry of Communities, Honourable Dawn Hastings, only built houses in Kako, the village where she’s from, and the surrounding villages in Region Seven. Mr Speaker, that’s it; that’s all they did for five years,” Croal pointed out.
In contrast, under the PPP/C Government, Croal said over 600 hinterland houses were constructed across all regions.
The APNU/AFC, he reminded, only developed three housing schemes, which were already established under the previous PPP/C Administration. He contended that the APNU/AFC administration made no efforts to develop any new housing areas.
“The records will show, Mr Speaker, no efforts were made to acquire new lands for housing development, so how were you gonna do it? The 7000+ allocations, Mr Speaker, they did were all in areas the PPP/C established prior to 2015,” he noted.
Croal also responded to Duncan’s criticisms of the house sizes being built for low-income families.
“I must remind you of the houses that were built at Prospect under the APNU+AFC Government, 18×20 houses, and you are criticising the low-income-sized houses,” the housing Minister contended.
Further, he dismissed contentions from the APNU/AFC members that they did not have oil revenues to fund better programmes.
“All the oil revenue in the world will not derive development if a Government lacks vision, discipline, leadership and a commitment to delivering social solutions for people,” he posited.
Minister Croal pointed out that over the past five years, 53,000 house lots were allocated, over 100 housing areas were established, 4500 houses were constructed, 1912 informal settlers were regularised, and 25,000 land titles were processed.
Further, he noted that the Government launched the block-making initiative to support the booming construction industry and provide employment for scores of individuals.
He also pointed to the steel and cement subsidy programme that offset construction costs for vulnerable citizens.
Moreover, through Government interventions, the low-income mortgage ceiling will now be increased to $30 million and will also be extended to approved insurance companies that offer housing loans, making homeownership less burdensome for citizens.
In contrast, he asked what the APNU/AFC did to ensure improved access to homeownership for citizens.
“One cannot spend five years doing almost nothing and then return to this Parliament and pretend to be an expert. This is not leadership; this is theatre,” Croal emphasised.
He also highlighted the economic benefits of the Government’s housing drive, noting that over 200 small contractors have gained meaningful employment.
“You tell those small contractors, all local, small contractors; you tell them, tell them and criticise them. They’ve played their role; they have created employment for over 25,000 persons. Now think about the magnitude when we’ll embark on our 8000 first-phase programme,” Croal said, referring to the Government’s plan to construct 40,000 houses over the next five years.
Croal assured that the Government will continue to aggressively pursue its housing programmes to ensure that every citizen, regardless of their background, has the opportunity to access affordable homes.
Responding to the Opposition’s baseless narrative that only “friends, family, and favourites” benefit from the Government’s initiatives, Minister Croal asked, “Are we saying the 53,000 [who benefitted from house lots] is of only one type? Are we saying the 53,000 are only supporters of the PPP/C? Then I am proud to claim them, if they’re all my friends, if they’re all my family, if they’re all my favourite, I am proud to claim them.”