LIRA, August 5, 2025 – As the period for political campaigns in Uganda opens up, officials from the Lira District Local Government have launched a sensitisation drive aimed at urging beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model [PDM] who received soft loans in the Financial Year [FY] 2022/2023 to begin repayment immediately.
The funds, drawn from the Parish Revolving Fund [PRF], are meant to be repaid to enable other eligible community members to access financing for their projects in the agricultural value chain.
According to PDM guidelines, beneficiaries are expected to repay the principal with an annual interest of 6 percent, following a two-year grace period. Most recipients, who received up to Shs 1 million, were required to invest in enterprises such as coffee growing, dairy farming, piggery, fish farming, and poultry keeping, among several others.
Michael Okello, the PDM Focal Point Person for Lira district, reported that active implementation of the programme began in FY 2022/23. In FY 2021/22, each PDM SACCO received Shs 11,784,032, while in FY 2022/23, each SACCO was allocated Shs 100 million, bringing the district’s total funding to Shs 18,071,689,824. Out of this, Shs 16.87 billion has so far been disbursed, a disbursement rate of 93 percent.
Okello, who also serves as the Lira District Fisheries Officer, noted that the programme is steadily improving the livelihoods of many residents who have implemented their business plans as expected.
“We are using PDM SACCO leaders to relay information to members, urging them to start repaying their loans,” Okello said. “PDM implementation in the district is progressing well. Most people are sticking to their business plans, and we are preparing them to begin repayments. The first disbursement was made during the launch on June 28, 2023, meaning that by June 28, 2025, the beneficiaries should have begun remitting their loans to the PRF.”
However, Okello expressed concern that some early beneficiaries had diverted the funds to purposes not outlined in their approved business plans.
“You will find someone planned to buy 30 kilogrammes of maize seed, but ended up buying only 10 kilogrammes. Others diverted funds meant for fertiliser or even changed enterprises altogether,” he said.
He added that a few beneficiaries spent their entire loan on consumption, highlighting the need for tighter monitoring moving forward.
“There are some who simply consumed the money. Although such cases are not many, we are working hard to streamline the system and reduce such misuse. The current batch of beneficiaries being funded are much better prepared to use the money productively,” Okello added.
One beneficiary, Alex Odongo from Ayet village in Opem Parish, Bar Sub-county, acknowledged that he received the loan knowing he would pay back since it was a loan.
“Paying back won’t be difficult for me because I knew what I was getting into. I needed startup capital and I was prepared for any challenges,” Odongo said. “But for some people I sit with during leisure time, it’s highly unlikely they will repay. For them, it might become a tug of war, and some may even end up in police custody. I always tell them; a loan is never a gift.”
Launched in February 2022, the Parish Development Model [PDM] is a Government of Uganda initiative designed to eradicate household poverty by transitioning 3.5 million households from the subsistence to the money economy.
https://thecooperator.news/kotido-pdm-beneficiaries-struggling-after-misusing-funds/
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