BULAMBULI- Members of Parliament in Bulambuli district have asked government to urgently disburse parish development model [PDM] funds to the beneficiaries who are eager to implement their activities.
The legislators said giving the PDM funds to beneficiaries in March would enable them to buy seeds on time in readiness for the first planting season.
The Bulambuli district Woman MP, Eng. Irene Muloni, said most of the PDM beneficiaries in the district are farmers.
Priority commodities for the PDM include; coffee, cotton, cocoa, cassava, tea, vegetable oils, maize, rice, sugarcane, fish, dairy, beef, bananas, beans, avocado, shea nut, cashew nuts, macadamia.
“We appeal to government to release the PDM funds early. If you give my people money when they are late for the planting season, they might just eat it,” Muloni said.
The MPs made the remarks during the PDM meeting at the district headquarters to assess the effectiveness of utilisation of disbursed funds in the district.
The meeting was also attended by officials from the PDM secretariat, MP for Elgon County, Gerald Nangoli, district commercial officer, community development officers, and SACCO leaders among others.
The meeting follows Speaker of Parliament Anita Among’s grant of two weeks’ recess to the MPs to assess the implementation of PDM activities in their respective constituencies.
Muloni further commended government for disbursing PDM funds directly to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries, saying it will do away with middlemen.
She appealed to beneficiaries to use PDM money well, saying government initiated the programme to improve people’s lives, businesses, and increase household income.
MP Nangoli warned the beneficiaries not to misuse the PDM funds. “If you are not ready, leave the money because this is a loan. You will eat it and end up selling your property to pay back,” he said.
Dr. Patrick Okori, the PDM master trainer in Bugisu Sub-region, said government is targeting to move 39 percent of the households in Uganda out of the subsistence economy to the money economy using the parish as the epi-centre of development.
Dr. Okori who doubles as the Sironko district production officer said the beneficiaries would start accessing PDM funds from March 1, 2023.
The commercial officer for Bulambuli district, Lydia Cherop said all the PDM SACCOs in the 122 parishes are ready to receive the money to implement their planned activities.
Cherop said the PDM secretariat keeps on changing the guidelines.
“There is lack of resources for monitoring the PDM activities and poor road network which does not favour our movements, mostly during the rainy season,” she said.
She added the maximum amount of One Million Shillings the beneficiaries would receive is not enough for bigger households.
Rose Nabafu, community development officer of Sisiyi Sub-county said they have sensitised PDM beneficiaries.
Starting with the financial year 2022/2023, government intends to fund the PDM for five years, spending over One Trillion Shillings each financial year.
https://thecooperator.news/pdm-govt-releases-over-shs-260-bln-for-agricultural-production/
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