Hoima district receives additional Shs 2.5bln for PDM beneficiaries

HOIMA, August 16 2026 – Another cohort of community members in Hoima district who applied to benefit from the Parish Development Model [PDM] has a reason to smile after the Government released Shs 2.5 billion to be disbursed to them.

The PDM is a Government of Uganda initiative launched in February 2022 to move 3.5 million households from subsistence to the money economy. Under the programme, beneficiaries receive Shs 1 million each as a soft loan to invest in selected enterprises such as piggery, poultry, fruit growing and dairy farming, among others.

Dr Charles Kajura, the Hoima District Senior Production Officer and PDM focal person, said the district received the Shs 2.5bln in June.

He said the money is intended to support farmers in managing their gardens during the second season of 2026.

According to Dr Kajura, the funds were transferred to PDM SACCO accounts and are intended to benefit new beneficiaries from 55 parishes in 14 sub-counties.

He said each PDM SACCO will receive Shs 50 million, with each beneficiary entitled to Shs 1 million. He added that the funds constitute the final batch received in the 2025/26 financial year.

“All this funding is being released to help our people engage in production and transition to the money economy,” he said.

However, Dr Kajura said that although the money had been transferred to the PDM SACCO accounts, beneficiaries had not yet accessed it because the SACCOs lacked approved signatories.

He explained that following the recent election of PDM SACCO committee leaders, members selected three signatories for each SACCO. The new SACCO resolutions are, however, awaiting approval from the Registrar of Cooperatives.

“Without the approved resolutions, the members cannot access this money. As the district, we submitted the names of the signatories to the Registrar of Cooperatives for approval early this month, and we hope that once the names are approved, the beneficiaries will immediately access the funds,” he said.

Dr Kajura said the district had also trained and equipped PDM beneficiaries with practical, hands-on skills in their respective areas of enterprise.

He said the training was introduced after the district realised that several beneficiaries lacked knowledge about enterprise selection and financial management during the first phase of the programme’s implementation.

Hoima District LCV Chairman Uthuman Mubarac Mugisha urged programme implementers to strengthen supervision to ensure beneficiaries use the funds for their intended purposes.

He said Hoima District has cumulatively received more than Shs 19.83bln under the PDM for its 55 parishes. Of this amount, about Shs 16.81bln has been disbursed to more than 16,700 beneficiary households.

“All this funding is being released to help our people engage in production and transition from poverty to the money economy. The NRM Government has invested in and implemented such projects. If you do not prepare our communities to earn money from such projects, these projects will have no impact,” he said.

https://thecooperator.news/hoima-pdm-saccos-to-repeat-elections-over-transparency-biodata-concerns/

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