GULU, February 18, 2025 – Alfred Ocen, the Gulu District Commercial Officer, has noted that tablets recently provided to technical officers to facilitate the implementation of the Parish Development Model [PDM] have greatly improved efficiency.
The Uganda Bureau of Statistics [UBOS] transferred 60,247 out of 120,000 census tablets to the Ministry of ICT for use in various government operations.
The ministry then distributed the tablets to districts to aid in the implementation and monitoring of the PDM , a government initiative launched in February 2022 aimed at lifting the active poor out of poverty.
Gulu district received 107 tablets, which were distributed to parish chiefs, community development officers, chairpersons of Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations [SACCOs], and other officials in January.
Ocen said, “We ensured that all key stakeholders received the tablets. The parish chiefs and community development officers are at the forefront of implementing PDM at the parish and sub-county levels.” Ocen, who is also the Focal Person for PDM in Gulu District, added, “This is speeding up the disbursement of funds.”
“The parish chiefs and community development officers are now able to prepare households more quickly, ensuring that beneficiaries receive their money on time,” he continued.
Sarah Adongo, the Community Development Officer for Omel Subcounty, stated that the tablets are equipped with an app used for registering and profiling groups eligible to benefit from the PDM.
“I use the tablets to access the PDM Information System [PDMIS]. It’s an online app that I use for everything I do on PDM, whether it’s registering groups, new enterprise groups, new people, or profiling groups, all of it is done on the app,” she explained.
Adongo shared that before receiving the tablet, she had to borrow laptops to complete PDM tasks, which often slowed her progress.
“Before I received this tablet, I had to hire and borrow laptops from others and work at night. Sometimes, when the owner needed to use it, I would have to wait until they were done. Working at night was challenging,” she said.
Meanwhile, PDM SACCOs in Gulu started receiving funds for the 2025/2026 financial year a week ago.
“As we speak, the money for the 2025/2026 financial year has started arriving in the Wendi wallets. Each PDM SACCO has received Shs 50,250,000. Of this, Shs 250,000 is allocated for administrative costs, while Shs 50 million is for onward lending to members,” Ocen explained.
So far, Shs 9.4 billion has been disbursed to 9,469 households in Gulu District since the start of the 2021/2022 financial year under the PDM, according to Ocen. This funding has enabled beneficiaries to engage in farming activities such as piggery, poultry keeping, dairy farming, crop farming, and more.
https://thecooperator.news/performance-of-pdm-and-emyooga-kigezi-explained/
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