Mityana struggles to recover sh30.5b PDM funds

 ________________ 

Mityana authorities are struggling to recover billions of shillings released to households in Mityana under government livelihood programmes.

The scenario, common in many districts, has raised concern over the sustainability of the interventions under the revolving fund.

The poor recovery has prompted Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba to order local leaders to intensify efforts to recover the money and ensure it benefits more households.

Nabakooba, who is also the Mityana District Woman MP, said funds disbursed under the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) were intended to revolve among beneficiaries and should not be treated as grants.

At a meeting with local council leaders and their committees in Bulera, Kalangaalo and Kikandwa sub-counties in Mityana North Constituency, Nabakooba tasked local leaders tot ake responsibility for identifying beneficiaries who had failed to repay or properly utilise the funds.

Nabakooba is currently conducting monitoring visits across Mityana following President Yoweri Museveni's directive to ministers to assess the implementation of government programmes and establish whether public funds are reaching their intended beneficiaries.

During her inspection earlier this week, the minister said that the recovery challenge is particularly pronounced under Emyooga.

Nabakooba reported that about sh540m had been disbursed to 17 Emyooga SACCOs in Mityana North, with each receiving about sh30m.

However, only three SACCOs — comprising restaurant operators, salon operators and market vendors — had performed well enough to receive an additional sh20m, she said.

“Out of the 17 Emyooga SACCOs, only three have managed to recover the money. The others have gone silent. Nobody knows where they are and they do not want to talk about the money,” she said.

The wider PDM recovery picture is also worrying.

Mityana District commercial officer Ivan Kisakye said the district had received sh30.5b under PDM since the programme was introduced in the 2020/21 financial year, benefiting 23,004 households.

However, he added. recovery remained poor in some areas.

In Kalangaalo Sub-county, the parish with the highest recovery had repaid only sh3m, while some others had recovered as little as sh40,000.

Kisakye attributed part of the poor recovery under Emyooga to misconceptions among beneficiaries who received the money around the 2021 general election and allegedly regarded it as government assistance rather than a revolving fund.

Nabakooba said beneficiaries had been given flexible repayment arrangements and should take advantage of them.

“We thought that if you were given the money, you would work for two years and start repaying in the third year. You do not have to bring back the whole sh1m at once. You could bring sh80,000 a month until you finish,” she said.

She also directed local leaders to ensure government agricultural inputs reach the intended beneficiaries and are put to proper use.

District production officer Daniel Sseremba said farmers had received 50,000 coffee seedlings, 4,000 bags of organic manure and hoes under government programmes.

Nabakooba urged leaders to work with technical officers to monitor the distribution and utilisation of the inputs.

Mityana District Chief Administrative Officer Nsubuga Zirimenya said LC1 chairpersons had a responsibility to sensitise residents about government programmes, monitor implementation and ensure accountability.

He urged the leaders to maintain updated village registers and work with security agencies to address challenges affecting government interventions.