APNU+AFC housing plan “blueprint for failure” – Susan Rodrigues

– flays party’s housing track record

Minister within the Ministry of Housing and Water, Susan Rodrigues has delivered a scathing critique of the former A Partnership for National Unity and the Alliance for Change (APNU+AFC) Government’s housing agenda, describing their past approach as a complete betrayal of the Guyanese people, and labelled their new proposals unserious, impractical and ultimately doomed to fail.

In a recent appearance on the Starting Point podcast, Rodrigues made clear that the opposition’s newly touted housing plans, including a rent-to-own model, are nothing more than political gimmicks. She said the coalition’s track record in Government, particularly between 2015 and 2020, speaks volumes about their lack of vision and commitment to the sector.
“The plans of the opposition is laughable,” Rodrigues said bluntly. “They had an opportunity not so long ago in Government and they broke all their promises. They did nothing to improve the housing sector and they betrayed the trust of the Guyanese people, especially young people, especially women”.
Rodrigues reminded listeners that under the APNU+AFC Administration, the Ministry of Housing and Water was effectively downgraded.
“The housing sector was not a priority for the APNU-AFC Coalition Government. There was no Ministry of Housing and Water. It came under the Ministry of Communities,” she pointed out. “You had a series of housing Ministers that came and went. Some only spent a few months,” she recounted.
In sharp contrast, she stated, the current People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration has demonstrated consistent and measurable progress. According to Rodrigues, the PPP/C has not only fulfilled but surpassed its housing manifesto commitment by distributing more than 50,000 house lots in under five years.
“In their five years in office, they delivered 7,000 house lots. We delivered more than seven times what they delivered in their five years. We’ve surpassed our 50,000-house lot distribution target,” she emphasised.
Flip-flop policies
Rodrigues also accused the opposition of constantly shifting their housing proposals to test public reception, citing their flip-flop between subsidised rent and rent-to-own schemes.
“Their plans keep changing, which shows you that it is not a serious plan… They are throwing it out there and seeing the kind of reception it will get from the public,” she said, dismissing the rent-to-own model as fiscally irresponsible. “It would be a tremendous burden on the treasury… The plan is unsustainable. It’s not a serious plan. It’s easy to say, but it’s not practical to do and they will fail once again,” she charged.
Speaking of the PPP/C’s housing policy, Rodrigues said their approach centres on real ownership and generational empowerment.
“Our plan is to give people a title, give people home ownership, make them landowners… We don’t want to keep people in poverty. We want to free people, give them financial freedom, give them empowerment, give them control over their own lives,” she said.
Rodrigues also dismissed other financial promises from the opposition—such as increased public servant salaries and household payouts using oil funds—as unsustainable populism.
“Telling the public or public servants, you’ll pay them more, that’s not a plan. That’s an expectation of the public. That’s not a long-term strategy,” she said. “They raised tuition fees at the University of Guyana (UG) by 35 per cent, but they want everybody to be educated? We’ve made the University of Guyana education free. We’ve introduced the GOAL (Guyana Online Academy of Learning) scholarship. 39,000 Guyanese are able to access and benefit from higher education.”
Measurable outcomes not empty promises
As for the future, Rodrigues said the PPP/C is focused on delivering measurable outcomes, not empty promises. She explained that in the next phase of the housing drive, the aim is not just numbers but eliminating backlogs and responding to real-time housing demands, especially in the regions.
“The focus was what is your current demand in these regions and how do we address it in its entirety?” she explained. “We’re looking at zeroing the applications… ensuring that our Amerindian communities’ benefit. The Hinterland Housing Programme is a free home… All of the materials are free of cost from the Government.”
Region Four (Demerara- Mahaica), which has the highest population, continues to present the greatest housing demand, but Rodrigues says the Government is working aggressively across all regions. She noted that nearly half of all land titles distributed went to women, and 54 per cent went to young people aged 21 to 35.
“The benefits of the housing programme I believe, will not be seen today. It will be seen for many, many years to come… I will see family living in wholesome communities, raising children in safe neighbourhoods,” Rodrigues projected confidently. Concluding, the Minister said that while the opposition offers sound bites and wishful thinking, the PPP/C delivers.
“We don’t want people to ever point to anything and say, ‘Well, you said you would do this, and you didn’t.’ We want people to trust us. And they do trust us. And we don’t want to break that trust,” she affirmed.
With this, Rodrigues reinforced the PPP/C’s vision of sustainable housing growth, national equity, and citizen empowerment, leaving no doubt where she stands on who has the better plan. Minister Rodrigues’ comments come on the heels of the APNU unveiling of its 2025 housing proposals, most prominently a renttoown model, attempting to seize political traction ahead of Guyana’s general elections slated for September 1.