SOROTI, June 8, 2026 — The Parish Development Model [PDM] Secretariat has announced plans to establish practical learning centres aimed at equipping parish residents with hands-on business skills by linking them directly with successful local entrepreneurs.
The PDM Secretariat, based at the Ministry of Local Government in Kampala, describes the programme launched in February 2022, as the government’s flagship strategy for eradicating poverty and transitioning 3.5 million subsistence households into the money economy.
Robert Sedengeya, an official at the PDM Secretariat, made the remarks recently while conducting regional training for PDM focal persons from Teso, Karamoja and Bukedi at Soroti City Council Hall.
He noted that since beneficiaries are expected to operate enterprise-based businesses, they must be adequately prepared to ensure profitability.
“We are establishing practical training centres where we shall take people to successful enterprises so that they learn through experience rather than being taught in an abstract way,” Sedengeya said.
He added that efforts to strengthen loan recovery across the country have been intensified, noting that although repayments started slowly, they are steadily increasing month by month.
Sedengeya explained that the beneficiaries who received funds during the initial phases of the programme have now completed the two-year grace period and are expected to begin repayments at an annual interest rate of six per cent.
“Ever since PDM started four years ago, the beneficiaries have come of age. We had a two-year grace period, and now it is time to pay back,” he said.
He further noted that the training would provide a platform for participants to share experiences from parishes that have successfully repaid their loans and those that have struggled, enabling them to learn from one another and improve repayment rates.
Sedengeya emphasised that repayments are essential because they enable parish SACCOs to support new beneficiaries while also allowing successful beneficiaries to access a second cycle of funding.
Violet Akurut Adome, the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the PDM Secretariat, said that monitoring exercises had shown that most beneficiaries were using the funds productively, except for a few who had resorted to gambling, partly due to the lack of practical training opportunities.
She said the main objective of the PDM is to move households from subsistence production into the money economy through agriculture, mechanisation and viable income-generating enterprises.
“Going forward, no beneficiary will receive funding without first undergoing training at the practical learning centres,” Akurut said.
She added that efforts were underway to address governance challenges and allegations of extortion raised during President Yoweri Museveni’s PDM assessment tours.
According to Akurut, new leadership structures, including nine-member boards, will be established to enhance accountability and transparency.
Meanwhile, Florence Adupo, Regional Coordinator for the Eastern Region at Enterprise Uganda, challenged beneficiaries to change their mindset and embrace entrepreneurship.
“Access to funds alone will not transform communities. Beneficiaries must think like entrepreneurs, take calculated risks, and commit to learning from those who have already succeeded,” Adupo said.
Teddy Acam, the Presidential Mobiliser for the Teso Sub-region, urged PDM focal persons to uphold transparency and accountability in implementing the programme, saying this would safeguard public trust and maximise its impact.
“Technical people sometimes create their own minutes, and in the end the rightful beneficiaries are cheated,” Acam said.
The training forms part of ongoing government efforts to strengthen PDM implementation and ensure the sustainability of the revolving funds intended to transform livelihoods across Uganda.
The beneficiaries of the programme receive a soft Shs 1 million to invest in enterprises such as piggery, coffee, apiary, and fish farming among others.
https://thecooperator.news/boosting-pdm-saccos-naro-asks-for-shs-75bln-for-livestock-breeding/
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