ICT seeks 70b to implement the Parish Development Model

KAMPALA – The Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT)  has earmarked Shs. 70.6 billion as a prerequisite for the implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM).

Presenting the Sector Budget framework for the financial year 2022/23 before the Parliamentary Committee on ICT and chaired by Engineer Moses Magogo, the ICT Minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi told the Committee that the Ministry needs to build a well-planned monitoring and evaluation infrastructure, and an effective data management system that would take care of all government implementing agencies and those in the private sector effectively.

“As we start, we have to collect data and information, buy devices, particularly computers, to give parish chiefs after training them and other government leaders on how to collect data and information and feed it to the central database for monitoring,” Dr Baryomunsi said.

The Ministry of ICT is charged with the responsibility of putting together a sustainable online infrastructure for the Parish Development Model, where collective portals and online databases are created. The same ministry would also train data entrants for all participating individuals and groups to the finest detail for monitoring and evaluation.

The ICT ministry will also be responsible for setting up the Parish Development Model Management Information Systems (PDMIS) that would drive the validation processes of the project, evaluate the livelihood and standards of individuals, as well as tracking progress and performance of groups and recording collective data to enable proper implementation and management of the program.

Dr Baryomunsi told the committee that many government projects have not performed well due to weak monitoring and evaluation mechanisms which makes it difficult to measure the impact of the intervention and establish success stories.

“We are developing a digital dashboard which is going to be at the central level where at a glance, you can check on the many parishes; what has been done and where there are challenges,” Baryomunsi added.

He also remarked that the citizenry needs to be sensitized and educated especially in regards to mindset change, which is envisaged as a key gap in the project implementation stage.

“We need citizens to have a patriotic sense of responsibility, but also most importantly, to have that mindset that makes them aware that they must work hard,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kampala Central Legislator Muhammad Nsereko questioned the Minister on the funding gap in the ministry, saying it already speak volumes on the implementation of the project.

“How are you going to conduct data analytics when there is such a huge glaring funding gap on data collection and even procurement of laptops? Won’t this be lip service? The success of this programme must be backed by data,” Nsereko noted.

The government approved the Parish Development Model as a key strategy to transform communities and households out of the subsistence economy.

The model is going to be run on seven key pillars that include; production, storage, processing and marketing as pillar number one, preceded by infrastructure development and economic services that would facilitate financial inclusion as pillar three.

Social services and mindset change with cross cutting issues like gender, disability and environment are pillars number four and five respectively, preceded by parish-based management information system, where the ministry of ICT is key.

Governance and administration is the last pillar, with several government departments and ministries required to contribute to this but under supervision of the Local Government ministry.

Apparently, the program is set to start in April this year, but a financial gap of at least Shs. 231.3 billion is yet to be closed. Of this, the state broadcaster UBC requires Shs. 51.1bn to upgrade its television signal distributor Signet, while the Vision Group requested for at least Shs. 2.3bn to revamp its crippling vernacular newspapers, following a presidential directive.

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