ICT State Minister cautions Ugandans against criticizing the Parish Development Model program

SOROTI – The Minister of State for Information Communications Technology (ICT) and National Guidance, Hon. Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, has strongly warned Ugandans against criticizing the new Parish Development Model Program (PDM) and instead urged them to embrace it to improve their livelihoods.

She made the statement recently while appearing on Etop radio on Atek Wok talk show program.

The minister was on a mission to assess how government’s one-hour airtime is being used in various radio stations in the region and the on-air content of Covid-19 being aired out.

Hon. Nabbosa Ssebugwawo was quoted by theCooperator saying “some political leaders especially those in opposition are busy criticizing the government for introducing the Parish Development Model program instead of sensitizing people to embrace it.”

“As leaders we should be seen encouraging our people to embrace the Parish Development Model program and other government programs being implemented in various parts of the country,”said Ssebugwawo.

The minister who commended the mainstream media for allocating one-hour airtime for the government to sensitize people about various programs said, the government is set to roll out the implementation of the Parish Development Model as the main tool to alleviate poverty.

According to her, the Parish Development Model will be implemented and executed in parishes with the aim of steering more than 39% of the households from subsistence economy to commercial production.

She said that for the government to lift 68% of Uganda’s households from subsistence into the money-oriented market, media partners are key.

“68% of our Ugandans are still stuck in subsistence farming meaning that they are more vulnerable to poverty. It is therefore in the interest of the government to partner with the media to enhance the dissemination of information, educate the masses especially on savings and cooperatives as a vehicle for development,” she said.

Ssebugwawo described the Parish Development Model as a vehicle through which household incomes and the quality of life of Ugandans will be improved, where the parish will play a key role in coordinating, monitoring, supervising and reporting oversight roles.

Richard Oculi, a resident of Soroti City confessed that the government has very nice programs but they normally fail to deliver it to the public due to poor leadership at lower levels.

https://thecooperator.news/minister-magezi-vouches-for-the-parish-development-model-program/

“The challenge we have in service delivery is leadership. The government has very good programs but the people that are delegated to take lead are always unbecoming,” Oculi said.

Meanwhile, Abraham Ekwaru, the Soroti district Communications Officer urged the locals never to listen to government critics and instead embrace government programs tailored at kicking poverty out of their lives.

He explained that it is time for them to benefit from the government, having spent years contributing taxes.

Just like the minister, Patrick Okumu, the Soroti Resident District Commissioner (RDC) also cautioned the people to avoid politicizing the Parish Model Program because it is for everybody regardless of one’s political party.

He is optimistic that this model offers us all opportunities to simplify and understand the process of economic development by making it tangible at the parish level, adding that this is where the rubber meets the road. This is the basis to prove development and growth theories.

The RDC challenged the members of the public to take advantage of the program instead of waiting for donors and the government to do it for them.

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