‘This is how you empower people’ – Min Rodrigues defends PPP/C’s housing programme, rebukes opposition critics
-slams APNU/AFC record
Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Susan Rodrigues, delivered a forceful defence of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s housing programme in the National Assembly on Tuesday, taking direct aim at Opposition MP Sherod Duncan for what she described as uninformed and hypocritical criticism.
Confronting Duncan’s claims head‑on, Minister Rodrigues said the former APNU+AFC administration “systematically dismantled” Guyana’s housing sector between 2015 and 2020, overseeing the allocation of barely 7,000 house lots and building, in her words, “just a handful of homes.”
“That is their record,” she declared. “By contrast, this PPP/C Government has delivered over 53,000 house lots, and 46 per cent of those allottees are single women. That is what empowerment looks like.”
The minister emphasised that the housing programme is not a standalone initiative but part of a broader development framework that drives employment, expands infrastructure, and promotes economic stability across Guyana.
Turning the Opposition’s critique back on its messenger, Rodrigues questioned Duncan’s credibility, noting that his own tenure in government was marred by accountability issues.
“He was cited in the audit reports of the Guyana National Printers and the Guyana National Newspapers Limited for spending contrary to tender board rules, and his own government fired him,” she told the Assembly.
Rodrigues said Budget 2026 exemplifies a government that delivers on its commitments, pointing to the administration’s track record of transforming its 2020–2025 manifesto promises into reality.
“This is how you empower people. This is how you deliver housing,” she concluded, dismissing personal attacks as a distraction from the PPP/C’s record of results