Mohamed questions Kwakwani $1.4 billion housing initiative amid fresh flooding

Jun 22, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed on Sunday criticized the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government over stalled relocation efforts for flood-prone residents in Region 10, revealing that a critical $1.4 billion housing initiative remains incomplete well past its deadline.

The criticism comes as the Civil Defence Commission (CDC) deployed teams to Kwakwani to assess and manage active flooding in the area.

Speaking on Sunday during a relief distribution exercise, Mohamed confirmed that his team distributed 400 food and supply hampers, targeting over 1,600 affected individuals across the Kwakwani Waterfront, Hururu, and Aroaima/Laddersville.

Mohamed questions Kwakwani $1.4 billion housing initiative amid fresh flooding

Some of the homes affected by the flooding in Kwakwani.

According to Mohamed, the current flood crisis highlights years of infrastructural neglect and unfulfilled government commitments.

“They got about 300 households… living in the Kwakwani Waterfront area,” Mohamed said in an invited comment. “When there is flood, they just always are affected. Back in 2021, [Vice President] Jagdeo and [President] Irfaan, the residents reached out to them and both of them promised to relocate them to higher grounds.”

Mohamed noted that while the government initially pledged to begin the relocation process in 2021, the infrastructure contract for the New Kwakwani Phase One housing scheme was only awarded in March 2025 for $1.4 billion.

“The deadline was to be November 2025 to relocate these same vulnerable people that live in this flood-prone area. Now, November 2025 passed. Nothing is finished. They did it in 2025, the PPP, hoping to trick the people again for the votes,” the Opposition Leader claimed, adding that visual assessments of the housing site show it is “nowhere near to be completed.”

Residents in the affected areas have also voiced frustrations according to Mohamed regarding local infrastructure, specifically noting that the Kwakwani Waterfront has not seen essential river dredging operations for over 15 years. Community members stated that a roughly two-mile stretch of the river urgently requires dredging to mitigate the annual overflow.

Official records from the Ministry of Housing and Water’s website show that the government initiated the allocation process last year during a “Dream Realised” event at the Kwakwani Basketball Court. Led by Housing Minister Collin Croal and Permanent Secretary Bishram Kuppen, the ministry distributed residential lots within the Phase One scheme specifically to families facing perennial flooding at the Waterfront.

Mohamed confirmed that lot allocations had begun though infrastructural delays prevent actual relocation. CDC Director General Colonel Nazrul Hussain, alongside an assessment team, is reportedly working on the situation in Region 10 addressing the immediate impact of the rising waters. The CDC leadership met with Regional Executive Officer (REO) Dr. Harris and Kwakwani Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) Chairperson Michelle Simeon to map out priority response needs and coordinate relief for the displaced and affected households.

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Azruddin Mohamed, flash flood, flooding, housing initiative, Kwakwani

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