PDM success determines Museveni and NRM victory in 2026

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OPINION

By Haji Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi

President Yoweri Museveni is almost winding up his tour inspecting the Parish Development Model (PDM) programme, as his last leg has brought him to Greater Luwero, Greater Mpigi and Greater Mukono and is now in Kampala and Wakiso.

Greater Mpigi, which once included Kampala and Wakiso district, and was called West Mengo, now covers Mpigi, Butambala and Gomba districts with a population of 672,326, according to the 2024 national population and housing census.

Their economic activities are mainly agriculture, both crop and animal husbandry, transport, mainly bodaboda and trade. Main crops are coffee, banana and ginger.

For three days, Greater Mpigi hosted President Yoweri Museveni in his ongoing tour, inspecting the PDM programme and visiting success stories.

On June 16, the President visited a model farmer in Mpigi district and PDM success stories in Butambala and Gomba districts.

Rashida Namubiru of Kasaka cell in Gombe Town Council is so far the most successful PDM story in Butambala. She rears goats, uses manure for coffee and bananas and has bought a cow.

The President was warmly received in Mpigi, Kibibi and  Gombe town councils with cheering supporters put on yellow t-shirts and caps dancing on “Tubonga n’awe, tubonga n’awe; Sevo Sevo.”

On June 17, the President held a press conference with journalists covering the sub-region where animal and crop thefts featured and corruption by district service commissions in recruiting people.

The President directed police to stop the thefts. But the dogs are doing well, and thefts are reducing. He also directed Anti Anti-Corruption Unit under the State House, led by Brig. Robert Rusoke is to start investigating, starting with the Mpigi District Service Commission, which was mentioned.

Unfortunately, Butambala district has been without a service commission for three years, and the district council approved a new one on June 19 pending appointment by the Public Service Commission.

In the afternoon, the President addressed over 300 leaders from the three districts, political, religious, cultural, technocrats, and the working document was the sub-region’s memorandum, read by the Gomba District Chairperson, Rtd. Lt Godfrey Kiviiri, the only one in the sub-region who is an NRM flag bearer.

In the joint reports from districts preparation committees chaired by the Resident District Commissioners; Ssempala Kigozi (Mpigi, Ahmed Kateregga Musaazi (Butambala) and Ronald Katende (Gomba) and included political leaders like NRM district chairpersons; Mr Sulaiman  Kaweesi of Mpigi, Bwengye Mugalula of Butambala and Daniel Mwesigye Gomba, MPs and flag bearers including Amelia Kyambadde (Mawokota North), Suzan Nakawuki (Mawokota South), Bavekuno Mafumu (Butambala) Robina Rwakoojo (Gomba South and Syvia Nayebare Kyamuzigita (District Woman MP) and technocrats, people of Mpigi are grateful to President Yoweri Museveni and National Resistance Movement Government for supporting for their wellbeing through production, community and individual livelihood targeted programs like Parish Development Model, Emyoga,, Social Assistance Grant for Empowerment (SAGE), Youth Livelihood Program (YLP), Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Program {UWEP} among others.

On PDM, Mpigi District with 56 PDM SACCOS, over a billion shillings and the beneficiaries are over 14,000, Gomba with 49 SACCOS, over sh12b, beneficiaries over 11,000 and Butambala with 25 SACCOS, over sh6b, with over 6,000 beneficiaries. The total is 130 SACCOS, over sh36b, and the recipients are over 30,000.

Emyoga, Mpigi has 36 registered Emyoga SACCOS with 356 Emyoga associations, total seed capital is sh1.2b, savings are over sh192m, loans disbursed are sh1.3b, and amount recovered is sh473m. Gomba is with 36 Emyoga SACCOs, sh1.2b for total seed capital, savings are sh479m, loans disbursed are sh1.5b and loan amount recovered is sh231m.

Butambala has 18 registered Emyoga SACCOs, 463 Emyoga associations, sh760m seed capital, sh252m as savings, sh834m as disbursed loans and sh255m as loan amount recovered.

The total Emyoga SACCOs are 90, total seed capital is sh3.2b, savings are sh923m, loans disbursed are sh3.7b and loan amount recovered is sh960m.

Success stories are Mawokota South Local Leaders SACCO, who do values addition, i.e. extracting medicinal oil from herbs, Mawokota South Youth Leaders, who process coffee into powder and make wine, Mawokota North Welders SACCO, who do roller shutters, Mawokota North Restaurant operators, who do outside catering, and Mawokota South Saloon operators, who make shampoo and liquid soap.

On Presidential initiative, Greater Mpigi is part of the original Mmengo district, which covered both East Mengo, now Mukono, Kayunga, Buikwe and Buvuma districts and Luwero, Nakasongola and Nakaseke districts, and West Mengo, covering now Mpigi, Wakiso, Butambala, Gomba districts and Kampala city. So far, 230 youth have benefited from the presidential industrial hub at Kayunga, which the President opened last week.

However, like Greater Luwero and Wakiso, Greater Mpigi has requested its own hub, and Gomba has promised to provide land.

On YLP, sh894m have benefited 1,240 people, UWEP sh351m to 330 beneficiaries and National Special Grant (NSG) to people with disability, sh163m to 136 beneficiaries.

Special Enterprise Grant Order (SEGOP) sh48m to 69 beneficiaries under SAGE, sh3b to 1,000 people in Mpigi District.

On roads, between 2021/20222 and 2024/2025 financial years, Mpigi got over sh4b and maintained 747.1kms, but Butambala got sh7b and maintained 472.KMs and Gomba got sh3.6b and maintained 242.2 KMS, and the total is sh14b and 1,462.2km maintained

In education, St Luke Kibibi Seed school in Butambala district is under construction, so is are rehabilitation of Kitagobwa Secondary School in Ngando sub-county and Butawuka SSS in Bulo sub-county. Butambala has 10 government-aided secondary schools, all with A-level.

In Gomba, a seed school is under construction in Kyayi.

In health, while Gomba and Mpigi requested district hospitals, and a health centre 4s in constituencies where the district hospital will not be located, the three asked for Gombe General Hospital to be upgraded to Greater Mpigi Regional Referral Hospital instead of going to Masaka Regional Referral Hospital. But the President preferred prevention through health education, good hygiene and sanitation, diet and good moral behaviour, immunisation to cure.

At a public rally held at Kituntu in Mawokota South, over 150 youths crossed from NUP to NRM and the way people of all walks of life and different shades of opinion requested the President to stand for President in 2026 and he responded by promising to do more of what they had requested after winning next elections.

There is no doubt that the President, who is now on a tour to Kampala city and Wakiso district, completing the Buganda region, will stand on an NRM ticket as resolved by the Central Executive Committee that sat at Chobe some time back.

The President, who emphasised security, production, value addition, skilling, infrastructure development like Mpigi-Maddu-Ssembabule-Villa Maria roads among others, and electing NRM candidates who can lobby from the center,  donated pickups, tukutuku, bodabodas and cash to different beneficiaries and LC I chairpersons and directed State House Controller Ms Jane Barekye to buy three acres for Rashida Namubiru to have a complete four acre model and for the surrounding villages to benefit in a solar power irrigation programme.

The writer is a journalist and Resident District Commissioner Butambala District