Disbursement of PDM funds in Alebtong district marred with fraud
ALEBTONG – The Alebtong resident district commissioner, Gillian Akullo has raised concerns over the disbursement of the Parish Development Model [PDM] money to the beneficiaries, alleging that the process is marred with fraud and must be investigated.
The disbursement of Shs 6.9 billion PDM funds in the district was launched on June 30, 2023, targeting 1,122 enterprise groups whose members are to engage in growing coffee, bananas, maize, soybeans, beans, macadamia, fruits, as well as engaging in dairy farming, fish farming, piggery, poultry keeping, and beekeeping among others.
But Akullo last Tuesday pointed fingers to the technical teams at the different sub counties in the district of deploying fraudulent tricks to share the money with some of the programme’s beneficiaries.
Akullo alleged that her intelligence reports showed that the community development officers, PDM SACCO chairpersons are conniving to pick money between Shs 200, 000 and Shs 400,000 from each beneficiary.
“According to the arrangement, each PDM beneficiary is supposed to receive Shs 1 million but I have interacted with many of them and are saying they received less,” Akullo said.
The Alebtong district LC5 chairperson, David Kennedy Odongo said they are investigating the matter urging the beneficiaries who have given money to any technical person to report to his office.
“We want them to give us evidence because as the district chairperson I cannot rush and draw a conclusion without evidence,” Odongo said.
Two weeks ago a similar frauds in the implementation of PDM was reported in Amolatar district where six people were arrested for creating ghosts groups in Aputi Sub-county and disbursed Shs 36mln.
According to the district LC5 chairperson, Geoffrey Ocen, the sub county community development officer connived with the PDM SACCO chairpersons to delete names genuine beneficiaries and replaced them ineligible people including a lunatic.
The PDM was launched in February 2022, with the aim to move 3.5mln households in Uganda still in the subsistence economy to the money economy where the beneficiaries are able to improve their household incomes and create wealth.
Under the programme, each of the 10,594 parishes is expected to receive the Shs 100mln revolving fund each year, beginning with the financial year 2022/ 2023. The programme runs for five years.
https://thecooperator.news/low-uptake-of-pdm-funds-worries-kwania-leaders/
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