KAMPALA – Members of Parliament [MPs]have advised that the Parish Development Modal [PDM] funds be channeled to the beneficiaries through cooperatives and unions, which have proven consistence, and resilience through the times.
This financial year, government is set to disburse much more money to every parish in the country, with the view that every family will get access to the funds to engage in income-generating activities.
The funds are to be disbursed through 10,594 PDM SACCOs to different individuals and groups engaged in particular business ventures as government aims to pull 39 percent of households in Uganda out of the subsistence to the money economy.
Through the Office of the Vice President, government has been distributing bicycles and motorcycles that will be used by the local leadership in monitoring activities of the PDM at local councils I, II and III.
While adjourning the Parliamentary sessions after the Budget reading last month, Speaker of Parliament Anita Among advised MPs to use the recess period to monitor and assess the level of preparation among the electorate for the PDM before its take-off.
Now a section of the MPs that the Cooperator Magazine talked to after they resumed work, summed up the preparation levels among the population as lacking while some MPs suggested that the PDM funds be channeled through the already existing and proven groupings like the cooperative bodies and unions.
Mawogola South MP Namugga Gorette said “the approach of giving money directly to the people has never worked in any country to change livelihoods sustainably, especially that the communities have not been well prepared to receive the money”.
Citing an example in her Constituency, Namugga says SACCOs have not been formed, while people do not know how the programme is to be run. She also wonders if the problem of Ugandans is capital alone. She noted that while people have been borrowing money but their businesses keep collapsing.
“Is the problem of Ugandans Capital alone? Why have people been borrowing money but they have been losing out on business? The problem of Uganda is not capital alone. We have issues of market, infrastructure, poor seedlings, fake fertilizers… How do we address all these?” She wondered.
Hoima East Legislator Pias Wakabi said the people still lack the basic information about the project which seems to have the intention to uplift the poor from poverty.
Headded that leaders have not sensitized the population enough, and many people think that PDM money is free. “We needed to use the existing structures like cooperatives to get to these people. Because cooperatives reach every family, at least those involved in agriculture,” he said.
Wakabi also challenged the implementers of the project to be truthful during the operation, avoid deceit and trickery while disbursing the funds.
Nakawa West Member of Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi said the whole program will be messed up by the mode of operation, especially after political infiltration. Ssenyonyi says parish committees have been directed to have the Chairperson of National Resistance Movement [NRM] party in the parish as a member of the PDM SACCO committee. “Is this a political programme? Get the politicians out of it, because society has every other people,” he said.
Ssenyonyi added that previous government programmes failed to impact communities and that as such, government should use the groups that have been running to disburse the funds. He singled out cooperatives that have been financially strong and financed their members to do agriculture.
“The running cooperatives and other groupings that have stood the test of time should be trusted with these PDM funds. They would reach to the least family in a parish,” he stated.
Kawempe South Legislator, Bashir Kazibwe blamed government for not giving out accurate information about the program, including ministers who reportedly go out to launch it, are instead sensitising people to support the National Resistance Movement Party, and talk little about the actual elements in the programme.
“To this, we all know our People in Kampala are bound not to benefit from this program because even the money that is going to be disbursed per parish, is not commensurate to the population in the parish,” he added.
Asked about the option of using the structures of cooperatives and unions during the implementation of the PDM as a vehicle to boost rural development, Kashari North Legislator, Bazil Batalingaya said the project would ride on the success of the cooperatives and produce immense results.
“It would be an addition to the communities to access money through the cooperatives. These are bodies that have stood the times. They are resilient even during Covid 19 many of them kept running, helping their members, and never collapsed,” he added.
Batalingaya said while the programme nears take off, even ministers are still sensitising the electorate to appreciate the program which they have not understood its operation.
Lucy Akello, the Woman Representative for Amuru District averred that while there is utter excitement among the population, some other people think the PDM is only meant for only the NRM supporters. This she said is a result of less sensitisation.
“People are poor, anything to do with money excites them, but the reality is the programme is politicised and it is believed that it’s for NRM members only. If these funds would be disbursed through non-partisan channels, it would go a long way to improve our people,” she reckoned.
Meanwhile, West Budama MP Dr. Emmanuel Otala said the electorate is ready to access and benefit the funds through the PDM, adding that leaders need to sensitize the people about the proper way of using the funds.
“We need to go to the next step, if you are doing zero-grazing before you access the funds, you must have planted enough grass for your animals,” stated.
Mawokota South MP, Yusuf Nsibambi said the sensitization has been lacking, while many local leaders are alienated. He says community needs were collected but it is reportedly done with NRM supporters only.
Nsibambi opined that the PDM funds should have targeted the agricultural sector which employs many people in the rural areas, saying it would make the sector stronger and robust with the active agricultural cooperatives running.
“These funds would go to people through the agricultural sector, which employs many people. They would all access the funds and so the project would have an impact”.
The PDM is expected to fully take off this financial year with a first financial disbursement of at least Shs 17 million for every parish in the country, which would be subsequently followed by another bunch to make Shs 100 million per year for five years.
According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives [MTIC], by the year 2022, the country has at least 10,813 agricultural marketing cooperatives, 354 diary processing and marketing cooperatives, and 189 fishing cooperatives.
These are said to have impactful reach among the agricultural communities in the country, which drive the national economy to at least 67 percent.
Research conducted by the Uhuru Institute for Social Development [TUI] revealed that cooperatives have built strong financial resilience even during the Covid 19 pandemic, to extent that several of their members derived lots of support from their respective cooperatives.
With limited government facilitation, cooperatives have entirely depended on their membership fees and the small profits that accrue to them after business which has helped them build resilience and sustainability.
https://thecooperator.news/onek-warns-politicians-against-politicising-pdm/
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