Govt to spend Shs 7 trillion on PDM, says Museveni
LIRA, February 7, 2025 — President Yoweri Museveni recently indicated during a recent meeting with Lango leaders in Kwania district that the government injects Shs 1.2 trillion every financial year and is set to spend Shs 7 trillion over the next five years for the implementation of the Parish Development Model [PDM].
“7 trillion will be invested in all the roads across Uganda. All those roads you are talking about, we will finish in five years. However, when we do that, we are also tackling poverty,” Museveni said in response to a request by the leaders to consider tarmacking major roads in the sub-region.
He added: “You should stop confusing the driver because I am the driver of the bus. I know where to stop and where to slow down.”
President Museveni concluded his four-day zonal tour of wealth creation and PDM assessments in the sub-region.
He explained that he understood the need to slow down, but people should not pressure him to speed up, as doing so could lead to accidents.
“The government had to slow down the construction of roads and other programmes because we are currently focused on PDM. People should be guided with flexibility to achieve what has been planned,” he said.
“Is PDM bad? Be guided by flexibility. Sometimes you slow down, sometimes you speed up. This is how we can succeed,” he added.
Government Chief Whip, Denis Hamson Obua, stated that the National Resistance Movement [NRM], under the leadership of President Yoweri Museveni, is the only government in Uganda’s post-independence history to introduce wealth creation initiatives.
Obua, a member of the National Organising Committee composed of seven people, headed by Vice President, Jessica Alupo, said the President is monitoring the Shs 2.4 trillion already injected into PDM.
In the region, Museveni visited three farmers: two of whom were primarily Parish Development beneficiaries, and one a well-established mixed farmer.
“The testimonies from the beneficiaries were humbling, inspiring, and motivating. It shows that it is possible to eliminate poverty in Uganda if we embrace all six wealth creation initiatives,” Obua said.
These initiatives include PDM, Emyooga, the Youth Livelihood Programme, the Women’s Fund, the Special Grant for Persons with Disabilities, and the Special Grant for Older Persons.
The wealth creation initiative was introduced to help the 39 percent of people engaged in subsistence farming transition to a more profitable economy.
Overwhelming demand for PDM funds
On behalf of the government, Obua said there seems to be an overwhelming demand from the people for additional resources for PDM. The President has already presented this request to the Cabinet for consideration.
He added that in the next year or two, funding for PDM will be increased, and the number of people benefiting per parish will certainly grow.
“For now, the stories we’ve heard from all the sub-regions we’ve visited—Acholi, West Nile, Masaka, Bukedi, Bugisu, Karamoja, Sebei, and Busoga—are incredibly motivating and inspiring,” he said.
Evelyn Anite, State Minister for Finance and Investment, and also a member of the National Organising Committee, said spreading wealth creation messages to lift people out of poverty has been President Museveni’s gospel since 1986.
“We started with Etandikwa, Bonna Bagaggwale, and now PDM, where the government has dedicated Shs 100 million to each parish. The President is monitoring how people are using the funds,” she explained.
She added: “In this second financial year of PDM implementation, you cannot find fewer than 20 people per parish who have benefited and have an interesting success story to share with others.”
“Not everyone who received this money used it well, but we are focusing on those who have utilised it properly. The target for President Yoweri Museveni is that everyone must escape poverty,” she said.
She continued: “Every financial year, we want to invest Shs 1.2 trillion and roll it out to ensure that every single person in the village has benefitted from the programme and that their life has been transformed.”
When asked about the progress of the programme, Anite said, “So far, so good, but at the start, we were concerned because corrupt individuals tried to take the money. However, once they started being arrested through presidential directives, they abandoned their mission to defraud people in the villages.”
https://thecooperator.news/museveni-impressed-by-pdm-impact-of-pdm-in-lira/
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