SOROTI, October 5, 2026 — Livestock theft and disease are frustrating Parish Development Model [PDM] beneficiaries in Soroti City, with some losing animals bought with programme funds and struggling to repay the money.
The beneficiaries said insecurity and inadequate veterinary support were threatening the livestock enterprises they had established with PDM funds, leaving them with little income to support their households and repay the revolving funds.
The concerns were raised during a community baraza in Oderai Ward, Soroti City West, where beneficiaries asked government to extend the repayment period and strengthen security and veterinary services.
John Ebelu, a PDM beneficiary, said he used the Shs 1 million he received to buy five goats but had since lost three.
“I used the money well and bought five goats, but I have lost three. One died after falling sick and two were stolen at night. I am now left with only two goats and I don’t know how I will repay the money,” Ebelu said.
Another beneficiary, Agnes Angwaro, an elderly resident of the same ward, also recounted a painful loss, saying thieves broke into her kraal and stole all three sheep she had bought using PDM funds, as well as one heifer.
“They stole my three sheep and one heifer at night. I bought the sheep with PDM money and now I have nothing left. How will I pay back the money?” Angwaro asked, as she decried rampant livestock theft that has left many elderly beneficiaries helpless.
Denis Ejupu, the LCII chairperson of Oderai Ward, said livestock theft had become a growing threat to residents, particularly PDM beneficiaries.
He called for joint security efforts to combat the vice, saying local leaders had already recovered some stolen animals.
“In my new term of office, we have recovered about three PDM goats which were stolen and returned to their owners,” Ejupu said.
He said local leaders had discovered that some residents were allegedly working with outsiders to steal livestock, a situation he said was terrorising the community.
Ejupu cited the case of Angwaro, whom he said had lost three sheep and a heifer to thieves.
James Kyomya, the Deputy Resident City Commissioner [RCC] for Soroti City West, said insecurity was among the concerns raised by residents and promised to convene a wider security sensitisation meeting.
He urged residents to know the people living in their communities and report suspicious individuals to the authorities.
Kyomya also asked LC I chairpersons to maintain registers of residents and record new people entering their areas, saying the information could help security agencies trace suspected livestock thieves.
“We need residents to be conscious of the people they stay within the community and make use of the authorities by reporting suspicious people,” he said.
The Deputy RCC also commended PDM leaders in the area for what he described as a lack of complaints about the extortion of beneficiaries.
However, he raised concern over money meant for PDM structures, saying it had not been given to the committees.
He warned the town agent against withholding the funds and directed him to return the Shs 250,000 he was holding, saying the official was only a secretary to the committee and not the custodian of the money.
For beneficiaries such as Ebelu, the loss of livestock means rebuilding their enterprises while facing pressure to repay the money they received under the PDM.
They appealed for stronger security, timely veterinary services and more time to repay the funds.
The Parish Development Model is a government initiative launched in February 2022, to move 3.5 million households from subsistence farming to the money economy, with programme beneficiaries receiving a soft Shs 1 million each, from the parish revolving fund, to invest in enterprises such as coffee, dairy, fish farming, piggery, banana, and poultry keeping among others.
https://thecooperator.news/oyam-district-chases-shs-26-4bln-in-unpaid-pdm-funds/
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