Govt urged to expedite release of PDM funds to beneficiaries
BUSHENYI-Bushenyi district woman Member of Parliament, Annet Katusiime Mugisha is bitter with the government for delaying to release of the Parish Development Model [ PDM ] funds to the beneficiaries.
While speaking at Bushenyi district council hall on Friday, Katusiime said parliament appropriated funds for the PDM but have not been utilised by the beneficiaries.
The MP made the remarks during a consultative meeting meant to assess the implementation of PDM activities in her constituency. This is after the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among granted the members of parliament a-two weeks recess to carry out the exercise.
During the meeting, Bushenyi district LCV chairman, Jafari Basajabalaba said the PDM money is still stuck in the bank accounts of various PDM SACCOs.
Katusiime who sits on the budget committee in parliament was worried that the financial year is almost closing yet PDM beneficiaries have not used the money allocated by parliament.
“It is very unfortunate and by the way regrettable that we are just left with about four months to close this financial year but then the money that we allocated to this programme [PDM] hasn’t been absorbed by the beneficiaries,” she said.
She added that implementers of the programme, mostly the district production officers and parish chiefs don’t have the guidelines to run the programme at the parish level.
“Whenever we go on ground, people tell us that the money is on the accounts and has not been utilised. And if the money is already on accounts but there are no guidelines, who is answerable? And this one is not only in Bushenyi. it cuts across other districts,” Katusiime explained.
She said MPs would present their constituencies’ reports on PDM for debate in parliament where the Prime Minister and responsible ministers will respond to the queries raised.
“As I talk now it is already on the order paper. Come 28th February and 01st March we are going to discuss this parish development model. We expect the prime minister and minister for local government Raphael Magyezi to be present and answer a number of questions.”
Despite the delay in the implementation of the PDM, Katusiime observes that PDM will help people get out of poverty.
“This is a very good programme and if it’s to begin, let us walk the talk. We will not keep singing about the Parish Development Model when there is nothing being done on ground,” she said.
Joram Tibasiimwa, the MP representing elders from western Uganda in parliament said legislators will not allocate more funds for PDM until they get a comprehensive report from the concerned ministries.
“Before parliament approves any other monies for the programme, we need to know why they released money but it has not been received by the beneficiaries. There are so many questions that haven’t been answered,” Tibasiimwa said.
However, the minister for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, Francis Mwebesa said the government is set to release the last batch of funds of the PDM funds budgeted during this financial year to all parish SACCOs.
He said about 75 percent of the PDM beneficiaries in the country have received the money. “The 25 percent is also in the pipeline and by the end of this financial year, all the money will have been paid,” Mwebesa noted.
The meeting was also attended by Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu, the senior presidential advisor on economic affairs, commercial officers, community development officers, and SACCO leaders among others.
According to Gordon Tumuhimbise, Bushenyi district production coordinator, a total of 921 mln were received, of which 543 mln was allocated to Bushenyi district and 378 mln to Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality.
Tumuhimbise says a total of 1, 460 enterprise groups were registered out of which 424 groups are involved in adding value to banana production constituting about 29 percent.
The PDM was launched in early 2022. It is targeted to lift 39 percent of the households in Uganda out of subsistence farming to the money economy using the parish as the epi-centre of development.
And in May 2022, parliament appropriated Shs 1.49 trillion for the PDM to cover 10,594 parishes in the country.
So far a total of Shs 134.83 billion has been released in the first quarter of the financial year 2022/2023 for PDM activities, representing 11.81 percent.
https://thecooperator.news/pdm-kibuku-parish-chiefs-to-be-probed-over-extortion/
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