MPs shocked as Mityana district recovers just Shs 250,000 from Shs 8bln PDM funds

KAMPALA, March 30, 2026 – Members of Parliament [MPs] have expressed shock and concern over Mityana district’s dismal recovery of funds under the Parish Development Model [ PDM ], after it emerged that only Shs 250,000 has been recovered from Shs 8 billion disbursed to beneficiaries.

The concerns were raised as the House Committee on Local Government Public Accounts grilled the district officials over the poor performance in the recovery of the taxpayers’ money extended to the beneficiaries of the programmes meant to drive our household poverty.

A delegation from Mityana, led by Chief Administrative Officer [CAO] Edith Mutabazi, appeared before the Committee chaired by Gilbert Olanya to respond to queries raised in the Auditor General’s report for the financial 2024/2025 financial year.

The committee heard that, by the time of the audit, the entire Shs 8 billion disbursed to 75 beneficiary PDM SACCOs was already due for recovery, yet no repayments had been made.

Under the programme launched in February 2022 by President Yoweri Museveni, each of the beneficiaries receives a soft loan of Shs 1 million to invest in selected enterprises such as coffee, dairy, fish farming, piggery, and poultry keeping among others. The money is supposed to be paid back to the parish revolving fund [PRF]after two years, so that other beneficiaries can use it to develop themselves.

Busongora County North MP Sowedi Kitanywa expressed concern over the slow pace of recovery, warning that the government risks losing funds intended to lift households out of poverty.

“You may end up thinking you are supporting someone to come out of poverty, but you are planting poverty in his home. That is very critical,” he said.

Mityana PDM Focal Person, Dr Geoffrey Ssemalago, told the Committee that only small amounts had so far been collected, citing a few repayments from Namungo Subcounty.

“Basically, the evidence I have here shows monies recovered from Namungo Subcounty. One member paid Shs 110,000, another Shs 120,000, one paid Shs 10,000 and another Shs 20,000. This is what we have been able to collect so far,” Ssemalago said.

Lawmakers, however, dismissed the figures as negligible.

“You received Shs 8 billion and, according to the audit, none was recovered. Now you are telling us you have recovered about Shs 250,000. Do you think within the remaining six months you will recover all the Shs 8 billion?” Olanya asked.

The committee noted that the district is already halfway through the recovery period, with only six months remaining before the deadline.

In his defence, Ssemalago said mobilisation efforts had only recently intensified.

“In January, we began mobilising beneficiaries to repay, and the process has now started. What I have presented is just to demonstrate that recovery efforts are underway,” he said.

Earlier, the Committee also raised concerns over delays in disbursing Shs 7.5 billion under the Parish Revolving Fund, gaps in the PDM database, and cases of fund diversion.

Responding, CAO Edith Mutabazi attributed the delays to challenges in enrolling beneficiaries into the system but expressed optimism that recoveries would improve.

“With the ongoing mobilisation campaigns, supported by political leaders on the ground, we are confident that this money will be recovered,” she said.

The Auditor General confirmed that the entire Shs 8 billion was due for recovery at the time of the audit.

The committee directed the district to provide verifiable evidence of recoveries and report back with significant progress by September–October 2026.

Meanwhile, officials from Kira Municipality were also put to task over poor recovery of PDM funds. Out of approximately Shs 2 billion disbursed, only Shs 67.4 million has been recovered, raising concerns that the programme could suffer the fate of past failed revolving funds such as the Youth Livelihood Programme [YLP].

“We do not deal in guesswork. This money must be recovered,” Olanya said, directing officials to submit a detailed recovery report within seven days. The first tranche of funds under the programme was largely disbursed in the 2022/2023 financial year.

https://thecooperator.news/pdm-loan-repayment-phase-to-begin-in-march-mps-told/

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