Prime
Minister orders fresh registration for PDM
Ms Hellen Adoa the State minister for Fisheries who also doubles as the Woman MP for Serere District
What you need to know:
Whistleblowers told the minister that more than 30 members from same homesteads had been listed for PDM.
The State minister for Fisheries has ordered fresh selection of Parish Development Model (PDM) beneficiaries for two parishes in Serere District after locals cited double registration of people.
“On the day of the [PDM] launch in June 2023 at the Serere District headquarters, I promised that we shall be the role model in the implementation and we are committed to it,” Ms Hellen Adoa said, adding that a review process for beneficiaries must be made in the two parishes.
Ms Adoa, who also doubles as the Woman MP for Serere, made the orders during a community Baraza at Kocokodoro Primary School in Kateta Sub-county last Thursday.
Whistleblowers had revealed to the minister that more than 30 members from same homesteads had been listed for PDM
The two affected parishes are Okodo and Kanyangan in Kateta Sub-county.
During the meeting all parish chiefs from Kateta Sub-county were asked to read out the names of selected people.
Ms Adoa said she was dismayed to find that some households had more than three selected beneficiaries while more vulnerable persons were left out.
The PDM is a government intervention aimed at fighting poverty among 39 percent of households across the country, with each parish destined to receive Shs100 million every financial year. The minister asked the district police commander to investigate the parish development committees for Okodo and Kanyangan.
Mr Stephen Oumo, one of the complainant, claimed that some of the seven beneficiaries from Kateta Parish who were handed money on the day of the launch in June 2023 did not reside in Kateta Parish.
“The parish chiefs and the select committee should be honest,” Mr Oumo said.
Ms Joyce Mary Ongalo, the parish chief for Kateta Parish, said by the time the persons were selected, she had not been appointed a parish chief.
“I am just three weeks here, kindly don’t sacrifice me for the wrongs that I didn’t commit,” she said.
Mr James Ebwaku, the commercial officer for Serere, said besides the irregularities cited in the two parishes, there is a slow payment of the selected persons, partly because of the system, and the banks accredited to offer the service.
He added that currently, the district has more than Shs7 billion for PDM, which money ideally should be in beneficiaries’ accounts by end of September.
“We are going to look into matters raised by the people, and also address the issues, the minister has put before us,” Mr Ebwaku said.
Mr Stephen Ochola, the chairperson for Serere, said, they will continue to monitor those who have received the money, and ensure it is put to proper use.
