SSEMBABULE – A total of 299 subsistence farmer households in Sembabule district yesterday received a sum of Shs 159 million under the Parish Development Model PDM] to engage in selected enterprises.
According to the district officials, the money received by the households is part of Shs 2.1 billion that Sembabule district received for its 65 PDM SACCOs.
The launch of the disbursement of the money was presided over by the Minister of State for Primary Health Care, Anifa Kawooya at a function held at Sembabule district playground.
According to officials, the beneficiary households are to receive between Shs 1-1.8 million to engage in enterprises like; dairy farming, piggery, poultry, coffee banana, and maize growing.
Minister Kawooya urged the beneficiaries to use the money for the intended purposes if they are to get out of poverty.
She said government is determined to use the PDM to move poor households to the money economy.
The Sembabule district chief administrative officer, Malik Amooti Mahaba said the money was deposited in individual accounts of the PDM beneficiaries.
”As a district, we have successfully reached Pillar Three of PDM [ Financial Inclusion] where poor households have accessed their money to help them fight poverty,” he said.
However, Mahaba decried the challenge of the poor mindset among some of the locals in the district who have not embraced the PDM.
He also noted that some of the eligible PDM beneficiaries are so illiterate to the extent that they cannot interpret information on the loan application forms.
He said many have fallen prey to some of the technical staff who extort money from them since they can’t read and write.
The district official said the PDM Information System in the district does not have IT people to enter the data in computers, urging the PDM Secretariat to address this challenge by providing the relevant human resource.
PDM is arranged in line with the five strategic objectives of the National Development Plan III to enhance value addition and enhance productivity and well-being of poor communities.
The PDM national coordinator, Patrick Mutoni said about 10,594 PDM SACCOs have been capitalised with funds to the tune of Shs 100 each, every financial year, starting with the current financial year. The programmes runs for five years.
”We want to improve the livelihoods of the 39 percent of the population in the country and the technical officers should ensure that the funds are distributed appropriately” he said.
On his part, Mawogola North County Member of Parliament, Shartis Musherure urged the PDM beneficiaries in Sembabule district to employ workplans so that they keep track of the project activities.
Sembabule is the first district in Greater Masaka to have the money disbursed to the PDM beneficiaries. 1,600 extremely poor households in the district are expected to receive the PDM money.
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