KIKUUBE

Security in Kikuube district will on Wednesday start investigating parish chiefs accused of mismanaging the Parish Development Model programme funds and extorting money from the beneficiaries.

Kikuube Resident District Commissioner Amlan Tumusiime made the revelations on Monday.

PDM is a multi-sectoral strategy to create socio-economic transformation by moving 39% of households out of the subsistence economy into the money economy using the parish as the epicentre for development.

However, Tumusiime says he received complaints from the beneficiaries who got less money yet President Yoweri Museveni directed that they should be given shillings one million each.

He adds that some parish chiefs have reached the extent of deleting the names of beneficiaries even after being approved by his office and that of the chief administrative officer.

Amlan says such scandals are tarnishing the Government’s image, which according to him is unacceptable.

"I'm told that some parish chiefs send lists of beneficiaries for approval and later delete names so that they pocket the money, we are not going to accept people who want to fail the programme" Amlan Tumusiime said.

The program which was launched by president Museveni on 26 February 2022 in Kibuku district, is designed under seven pillars: Production, storage, processing and marketing, infrastructure and economic services, financial inclusion, social services, mindset change, parish- based management information system, governance and administration.

However, the programme has been bedevilled by reports of fraud since it was launched and as a result, several officials have been arrested in different districts over it.