HOIMA CITY, June 14, 2025 – – Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations [SACCOs] operating under the Parish Development Model [PDM] in Bunyoro Subregion have been urged to cultivate a saving culture in order to strengthen their capital base as they await additional government funding.
The PDM, launched by the government in February 2022, aims to transition 3.5 million households from subsistence farming to a money-based economy. Under this initiative, each PDM SACCO receives Shs 100 million per financial year as a revolving fund. Each member is eligible for a soft loan of Shs 1 million to invest in selected enterprises such as piggery, poultry farming, fruit cultivation, and dairy farming.
The call to prioritise savings was made by Lawrance Colin Mwebesa, Regional Officer for Western Uganda at Enterprise Uganda, during a training session on mindset change and enterprise selection. The training, held on Thursday at Kitara Secondary School in Hoima City, was attended by parish chiefs, PDM SACCOs, and Parish Development Committee [PDC] leaders.
Organised by Enterprise Uganda and funded by the Ministry of Finance, the training aimed to empower local leaders with the knowledge and skills needed to sensitise beneficiaries and ensure effective utilisation of PDM funds.
“Being part of a SACCO means you must save, the very definition of SACCO is Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation,” Mwebesa stressed. “Even if the government provides funding, members must still save for their future.”
He encouraged PDC leaders to actively mobilise and educate SACCO members on the importance of saving within their groups, not just relying on external support.
Mwebesa further emphasised the importance of mindset change among programme beneficiaries. He raised concerns that some recipients perceive the PDM funds as political handouts from President Yoweri Museveni, rather than as loans meant to support income-generating ventures.
“Instead of investing the money in productive enterprises, some beneficiaries have wasted it on non-essential expenditures such as weddings, alcohol, mattresses, and meat,” he lamented.
He warned that such misuse undermines the programme’s objectives, which include fighting poverty and promoting community-based economic empowerment, as envisioned by initiatives like Emyooga and the PDM.
Mwebesa reminded leaders that PDM funds are revolving loans and must be repaid. He noted that beneficiaries from the first phase, disbursed two years ago, are now expected to begin repayment.
Man Swaleh, Chairman of Rusaka Middle Cell and a PDC member for Northern Ward, Hoima City, praised the Ministry of Finance and Enterprise Uganda for the training, noting it had equipped leaders with the tools to better engage beneficiaries.
However, he highlighted ongoing challenges, such as beneficiaries relocating without notice, making monitoring difficult.
He also noted that some recipients change business activities without informing SACCO leaders, complicating oversight. Others, he said, failed to invest the funds altogether, instead spending them on non-income-generating uses.
Isael Kabyanga, Chairperson of the PDC in Central Ward, reported that his SACCO has 257 active members involved in piggery, grain trading, and poultry farming.
However, he said livestock diseases, particularly affecting pigs and poultry, remain a major challenge for many members, threatening the sustainability of their enterprises.
https://thecooperator.news/pdm-official-urges-mindset-change-among-leaders-in-mbale-city/
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