A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan is demanding answers from the Ministry of Housing and Water over the Mahdia housing development, questioning whether a project promoted as a major investment in Region Eight has delivered anything beyond cleared land.
Duncan recently visited the site and took a photograph standing in front of the development. The image shows an expansive, cleared area with no visible indication of the housing infrastructure that residents were told would be constructed.
His observations have prompted fresh questions about the government’s claims regarding the progress of the project and the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds.
In June 2025, the Ministry of Housing announced that 95 acres at Tracts A and B, Four Miles, Mahdia, had been cleared for a housing development offering more than 300 residential lots. The ministry described it as the first housing development of its kind in Region Eight and said the project was “rapidly taking shape.”
The ministry said approximately G$493 million was being invested in the first phase, covering road and drainage networks, with six contractors undertaking infrastructure works. It announced that the works were scheduled for completion in October 2025, after which allottees would be able to begin construction of their homes.
Duncan says what he found at the site does not appear to match those assurances.
“However, during my recent visit, and during an earlier inspection in March, I observed only cleared land. There were no visible roads, drains, water-distribution systems, electricity, or other infrastructure that would allow allottees to access their lots and begin building.”
The MP is also questioning why there has apparently been no substantive public update from the Housing Ministry on the development since its 2025 announcement.
The project had been announced even earlier. In October 2024, Housing Minister Collin Croal said approximately G$1 billion had been designated for the first phase of infrastructure at the 309-lot Mahdia development and promised that allottees would have access to their house lots by mid-2025.
That timeline was subsequently revised. By June 2025, the Housing Ministry was reporting a G$493 million first-phase investment and an October completion target.
Duncan is now calling on the ministry to account publicly for the money allocated to the project.
“The Ministry should therefore disclose how the allocated funds were spent, identify the works completed, and provide residents with a credible timetable for making the development accessible and ready for construction.”
He said the condition of the site has led residents to question whether the housing development was promoted primarily as an election-season initiative ahead of the 2025 general election.
The issue is also set against wider government infrastructure announcements in Mahdia. In July 2025, the government announced G$1.5 billion in contracts for roads and bridges in and around Mahdia, including five kilometres of concrete roads and upgrades to 25 bridges.
But Duncan’s criticism is specifically focused on the housing development and whether the infrastructure promised to prospective homeowners has actually materialised.
The photograph taken by Duncan at the site now provides a stark visual backdrop to his questions: cleared land where residents were promised a functioning housing development.
The central issue, he argues, is accountability—what was contracted, what was completed, what was paid for and when residents can realistically expect to receive serviced lots on which they can build.
