LIRA – The government has been advised not to hurry the implementation of the Parish Development Model [PDM] but prioritise working on the mindsets of the beneficiaries of the programme aimed at fighting household poverty.
Dr Ben Otto Adol of Southern and Eastern Trade Information Negotiations institute (SEATINI) said government is making a mistake by hurrying to disburse money to the beneficiaries of the PDM without preparing them first.
He was addressing participants at the post-budget conference organised by the Uganda Revenue Authority [URA] at Lira Hotel on Thursday.
Adol said government has been struggling to fast-track financial inclusion with the hope that it is the best way of delivering the PDM.
“Let people get the idea first, form all structures, understand the purpose of the PDM and then their mind change,” Adol said, adding that practically, government didn’t have enough money to implement the PDM.
He said some of the parishes have so far received Shs 50 million out of Shs 100mln pledged by government yet the 2022/ 2023 financial year is coming to an end.
Speaking during the dialogue, Paul Mwanze, the commissioner of finance and planning in the Finance ministry said government would fulfil its obligation of delivering the expected Shs 100mln to each parish in the next financial year though it is facing financial challenges.
Under PDM, each of the 10, 594 parishes in the country is expected to receive Shs 100 million every financial year to operationalise the Parish Revolving Fund [PRF] as one way of empowering communities to engage in commercial enterprises such as coffee growing, piggery, and poultry keeping among several others.
Government was set to release about Shs 1 trillion every financial year towards the implementation of the programme launched by President Yoweri Museveni in February 2022.
It has seven pillars, agriculture, infrastructure and economic services, financial inclusion, mindset change, parish based information management system, social services and governance and administration.
Bonney Omara, of Ayago business community SACCO, based in Lira City East Division, said some of the parishes are yet to receive the PDM money.
The PDM, which runs for five years, aims to move 3.5mln households still in subsistence economy to the money economy.
https://thecooperator.news/hoima-officials-directed-to-reconsider-lists-of-pdm-beneficiaries/
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