District leaders poke holes in PDM drive
Community monitors from West Nile during a learning programme in Ntungamo on Tuesday. PHOTO | ELLY KATAHINGA
The chairperson of Ntungamo District, Mr Samuel Mucunguzi Rwakigoba, has expressed concern over gaps in the monitoring of Parish Development Model (PDM).
Mr Mucunguzi was addressing a delegation of civil society organisation (CSO) members and community monitors from West Nile districts of Zombo and Nebbi during a learning programme organised by Civil Society Budget and Advocacy Group (CSBAG) on Tuesday.
He said central government and the line ministries need to review the PDM in order for it to be successful.
“I challenged the permanent secretaries in the ministries of local government and finance that most of the parishes do not have offices so where will the parish chiefs sit to monitor the programme for its success, even we district leaders how can we go to monitor PDM in the home of LCII chairman or home of parish chief,” he said.
Mr Mucunguzi said sub-county community development officers and parish chiefs are tempted to mismanage funds because of the hardships they go through.
“NRM government provided motorcycles for LCIII chairpersons for the party and elected leaders, LCI chairperson but it is my humble request to also think about community development officers and parish chiefs who are at the forefront in the implementation of PDM across the country because when this fails, we shall all have failed,” he said.
The district vice chairperson, Mr Asuman Kigongo, asked leaders to engage the communities in the decision making process.
“We tend to neglect locals in many government programmes yet they are the beneficiaries and community monitors who can report to the RDC or office of the chairman about shoddy work or corruption in their areas,” he said.
The Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Geoffrey Mucunguzi, urged civil servants to perform as expected.
“We all know that some parishes have nowhere to sit but the government and NRM is planning, therefore, I urge them to be patient with the government as it is planning the next move,” the RDC said.
He applauded community monitors from West Nile for benchmarking in Ntungamo District and appealed to them to fight corruption.
The coordinator of South Western Institute for Policy and Advocacy (SOWIPA), Mr Edward Natamba, tasked leaders to appreciate and engage the citizens and local leaders while supervising government projects.
About the project
Government introduced the Parish Development Model (PDM) to bring all Ugandans into the money economy.
The latest figures from Uganda Bureau of Statistics indicate that 39 percent of Ugandans are still in subsistence farming. The model has seven pillars including (a) production, storage, processing and marketing; (b) Infrastructure and economic services; (c) financial inclusion; (d) social services; (e) mindset change; (f) parish based management information system (g) governance and administration.
