Mbarara City, August 2, 2024 – Mbarara City leaders are preparing to hold the Parish Development Model Expo [PDM Expo] from August, 29-31, 2024 at Mbarara Independence Park.
According to Dr. Moses Amanyire, Senior Production Officer, the Expo is intended to showcase the achievements of the PDM beneficiaries in Ankole Sub-region.
“We all know that the government has spent two years giving money to people so that they can fight poverty. We want to see what that money has done, and that is why we leaders in Mbarara City in conjunction with the PDM Secretariat are organising the Expo to celebrate PDM milestones,” he said.
Amanyire said Mbarara City has so far received over Shs 4 billion, so far benefiting about 3,500 people, although he said more are still receiving. Each programme beneficiary gets Shs 1 million to implement a chosen project.
He said the programme’s beneficiaries in the city have mainly invested in the agricultural value chain targeting enterprises such as coffee, fruit production, poultry, and piggery, among others to increase their household incomes.
He added: “There are people who joined dairy farming and their cattle have already produced, they are milking and selling milk to get money. There are others who joined poultry farming who have already got profits while others have sold their chicken and progressed to bigger projects like cattle grazing among others.”
He encouraged other PDM beneficiaries in Ankole Subregion to participate in the planned Expo, saying it is not only meant for those who live in Mbarara City. He said the Expo will act as a platform for networking, marketing, and sharing experiences.
On his part, Dr. Sunday Nickson, an economist at the PDM Secretariat said PDM Expos are planned across Uganda are linked to accountability, monitoring of the projects the beneficiaries are implementing.
“During the expo we expect people who received PDM money to give testimonies by exhibiting what they have done and also sharing experiences with other beneficiaries. We also want to know after receiving money what they have managed to do, and whether they have managed to employ others while implementing some of their projects,” Nickson said.
He said the PDM beneficiaries during the Expos will be able to meet agro input dealers, banks and SACCOs that will take them through financial literacy among others.
“This PDM expo is not for Mbarara City alone, it is a regional expo for Ankole Sub-region whereby we expect neighbouring districts that have PDM beneficiaries to come and showcase their products. We shall also have research institutions that have new innovations especially those connected with agriculture so that our people can learn more to improve production,” Nickson explained.
Furthermore, the expo will offer free healthcare services like cancer screening, HIV testing, and vaccination among others.
He added that, “we want to fulfil the purpose of PDM which is transformation of Ugandans from subsistence to the money economy. And we are hopeful that some beneficiaries will sell their products on that day to improve their household income.”
The Resident City Commissioner, Lt. Col. James Mwesigye challenged PDM officials to stop the habit of demanding bribes from the beneficiaries.
“I want to thank the government that brought the PDM programme to fight against poverty at household level. It has worked and we have registered some successes. It is not like Emyooga that passed through the hands of dirty government officials. At least for PDM it was directly centred on the rightful beneficiaries. Therefore, I wish to warn implementers that let our hands remain clean so that we are not mentioned in any corruption scandal,” noted Mwesigye.
Mbarara City has a total household population of 113,011 people that have so far registered 345 PDM SACCOs.
The PDM launched in February 2022, is the last government mile approach for improving incomes and welfare for Ugandans by bringing services closer to the people.
It is implemented along seven pillars which include; agricultural value-chain development, infrastructure and economic services, financial inclusion, social services, community mobilisation and mindset change, parish-based management information system, governance and administration.
The model positions the parish as the epicentre of multi-sectoral community development, implementation, supervision, monitoring, and accountability where government expects to move 3.5 million households stuck in subsistence economy to the money economy.
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