KAMPALA – The Minister for Presidency Milly Babalanda has directed all the resident district commissioners [RDCs] in the country to arrest all public servants sabotaging the implementation of the Parish Development Model [PDM].
Talking to theCooperator Magazine in Kampala this week, Minister Babalanda said the directive to the RDCs to arrest and prosecute public officers found sabotaging the novel government programme follows reports that several people have experienced challenges in trying to access the funds among other several impediments.
She asserted that the programme launched in February 2022, is meant to change the livelihoods of the targeted Ugandans irrespective of their social, political, and religious affiliations.
“All civil servants and politicians should know that PDM was designed for our people to get out of poverty. A lot of taxpayers’ money has been put into the project for our people to benefit and change their lives. Therefore, it doesn’t make sense for any sober Ugandan to block our people from benefiting from the project,” she said.
“I have always lamented about civil servants who indirectly fight government projects, and Ugandans who politicise government projects. It is very important to distance politics from development. We face the same challenges as Ugandans and therefore we are obliged to make sure that government projects like PDM are well implemented,” she said.
Babalanda noted that several Members of Parliament, and political activists have been castigating the PDM, which she says could affect the success of the programme that is meant to uplift poor households [numbering 3.5 million] into the money economy.
She added that PDM was one of the key strategies in the NRM Party manifesto to knock poverty out of Uganda, although several challenges are still boggling its implementation.
She also warned political actors and civil servants who give out false information about the program, singling out reports from Teso Sub-region.
Reports emerged that several people in Teso Sub-region were scared of the programme after information emerged that once one fails to remit back the money, their properties including land and houses would be confiscated by the Parish Development Committees [PDCs].
Beginning with the financial year 2022/2023, each of the 10,594 is supposed to receive Shs 100mln revolving fund for commercial production in enterprises like coffee, dairy farming, piggery, beekeeping, beans, maize, soybeans, and poultry keeping among others.
During a recent leadership retreat at National Leadership Institute Kyankwanzi, President Yoweri Museveni reportedly told the implementers of the programme, to give the people a grace period of two years before they start remitting back the money to PDM SACCOs.
https://thecooperator.news/pdm-oyam-district-official-urges-beneficiaries-on-mindset-change/
Buy your copy of thecooperator magazine from one of our country-wide vending points or an e-copy on emag.thecooperator.news
