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LUWERO - President Yoweri Museveni has embarked on the monitoring process of the Parish Development Model (PDM) funds in order to eliminate irregularities in the system.

The revelation was made on Monday by the President's senior advisor on political mobilisation, Moses Byaruhanga.

He was launching the monitoring process at Bunnya Foundation Primary School, PWD village, Luwero town council in Luwero district.

Moses Byaruhanga, the Senior Presidential Advisor addresses some of the PDM beneficiaries in Luwero district during a meeting in Luwero town on Monday. (PPU Photos)

Byaruhanga said the NRM government has initiated several programmes to benefit Ugandans, but that some have faced certain hindrances which the government has managed to solve or is looking forward to working on. 

In 1997, the government introduced the Universal Primary Education (UPE) programme and the Universal Secondary Education (USE) the following year.

"Here, the beneficiaries began to complain about the fees charged by the school heads," said Byaruhanga. 

"When we interrogated the school heads, they replied that they don’t have enough teachers, so they outsourced some teachers who are paid using the money which is received from parents.  

Mariam Namayanja a Special Presidential Assistant addresses PDM beneficiaries in Luwero district during a meeting in Luwero town on Monday.

"However, the government is still investigating the matter."

Byaruhanga said further: “The National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) was created in 2001 to address constraints of lack of access to agricultural information, knowledge and improved technology among rural poor farmers in the country. 

"However, the programme reached a few people. And on February 26, 2022, PDM was initiated by the President as a strategy to improve service delivery and alleviate poverty at the grassroots level. However, there are some challenges which need to be ironed out."

President Museveni appointed Hajjat Mariam Namayanja Kiwanuka as a special presidential assistant to monitor PDM funds. 

Byaruhanga also clarified that the maximum amount of PDM money to a beneficiary is sh1 million, which is payable within two years. 

For clarity, the money does not go back to the government. It remains in the parish SACCO.

From (L-R) Moses Byaruhanga, the senior presidential advisor, Luwero district RDC Bwabye Richard and the DPC during a meeting with PDM beneficiaries in Luwero town on Monday.

On people who squander government resources, Byaruhanga assured that the culprits will be arrested and dealt with according to the laws that govern the country. 

The warning came after a concern by the Luwero resident district commissioner, Richard Bwabye, about the misconduct of some government officials reportedly involved in soliciting PDM money from beneficiaries. 

Bwabye also revealed that he had recovered a total of sh61 million and that he was still hunting for more culprits to be arrested and charged accordingly.

Meanwhile, on the issue of money lenders collecting national identity cards from borrowers as collateral, Byaruhanga instructed the Luwero RDC to ensure that the money lenders return the IDs to the owners because that is a government property. 

He added that the President instructed the Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, to institute a law deterring money lenders from using National IDs as collateral security.

On land matters, Byaruhanga urged Luwero politicians to cooperate with the residents in order to deal with the rampant land wrangles in the area.

Some of the PDM beneficiaries in Luwero district crosscheck for their names during a meeting with various political leaders in Luwero town on Monday.

During the event, Josephus Walulya Mukasa, the PDM coordinator for Luwero sub-county revealed that they have a total of 1,156 beneficiaries; 551 males and 605 females. 

He said the beneficiaries have prioritized the agricultural sector such as growing maize, beans, vegetables, coffee, matooke and rearing cattle, chicken, pigs, and goats.

Walubya also noted that 70% of PDM money has been well utilised in the sub-county whereas the remaining 30% of the money has issues where the beneficiaries directed it to other things such as paying school fees. 

On here part, Hajjat Namayanja Kiwanuka explained that her role is to register names of all PDM beneficiaries, the amount of money they received, how they are using the money, and the challenges they face, and thereafter, the President will intervene accordingly.

She also said the monitoring process has begun in Luwero district and will be extended to other parts of the country. 

Richard Ssimbwa, the LC3 chairperson for Luwero sub-county, complained about parish chiefs who extort money from the beneficiaries. 

He spoke of some who reportedly replace the names of the genuine beneficiaries in the system with those who bribed them.

Ssimbwa commended the President for initiating the PDM and for also appointing Hajjat Namayanja to monitor the programme.