NORTH BUGANDA: Mubende, Mityana Leaders Advocate for More Sensitization on PDM as Locals Disregard Other Pillars for Financial Inclusion

Leaders of Mubende and Masindi Districts in North Buganda have asked the government to consider sustained sensitization about Parish Development Model (PDM) if the program is to serve its expectations.

As the PDM Baseline Data Collection exercise by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) and other field officers nears completion to enhance generation of reliable statistics required for the effective implementation and monitoring the PDM, majority residents are focusing on the financial inclusion despite the program having other 6 pillars which has raised suspicion to leaders about the effectiveness of the program.

According to Prisca Nakawuki , the Mubende District Local Government Planner who doubles as the Data collection focal person , majority of Mubende District believe that money sent is for their welfare and many have ignored other pillars in the program.

‘’We are using Media and other platforms to sensize residents about the opportunities in the other pillars .Most of them and their groups are only interested in the money yet other pillars like Processing and Marketing; Infrastructure and Economic Services have more opportunities to change lives of our people’’, said Nakawuki.

She highlighted that the District has 13 sub-counties, three town councils, 3 divisions, 79 parishes and 18 wards.

However, challenges which include among others; Poor networks for data collectors, lack of adequate transport and understaffing have delayed the exercise.

‘’We have over 100,000 households in the district but we have captured only 4515 due to challenges of limited facilitations , unreliable phones used by our data collectors and the poor mindset of the people who believe that the data collected will have no impact on improving their livelihoods ‘’, added Nakawuki.

She noted that they have only 303 data collectors handling the whole District. Mubende has 600 villages and 215 groups where registered, each so far has received only Shs 7m out of the 17 earlier announced.

‘’We received limited funds but we are expecting more money from the government. If the program is to survive challenges that affected the previous government interventions like embezzlers of funds meant to benefit citizens among others, vigorous training of both locals and impmentors’’, Nakawuki noted.

Data collectors say that money given to them is little given the task they handle daily and the same complaint was raised by the guides (LCI) who preferred anonymity.

Some residents who didn’t want to disclose their particulars claim that they do not know what to do with the money but as long as it comes they will use it.

The Mubende District Chairperson Muhereza Micheal Ntambi says that the formulation of the enterprise groups kicked off early in June and these groups were carefully vetted by the community members to avoid nepotism.

According Muhereza, there are higher chances of the PDM succeeding unlike other government programs, which were centralized and decisions made without consultations at the grassroots.

Birungi Abubaker, the deputy Resident District Commissioner for Mubende cautioned parish chiefs against soliciting bribes from the beneficiaries, saying this will fail the highly anticipated programme.

Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba who was in the area earlier says continued land fragmentation and evictions in areas of greater Mubende and Mityana is likely to affect the implementation of the Parish Development Model.

Nabakooba made the observation on her campaign drive to popularize the Parish Development Model in the greater Mubende region.

Mark Kajubi, area Ubos regional supervisor says enterprise groups have been formed, registered and bank accounts have been opened in different banks. He said groups have been formed and money already deposited on their accounts.

Kajubi adds that PDM will transform subsistence households into the money economy.

This exercise kicked off in all the 15 Statistical sub-regions which included Kigezi, Teso , Rwenzori, Ankole, Bunyoro, West Nile, Buganda North, Buganda South, Kampala, Busoga, Acholi, Lango, Bukedi, Elgon and Karamoja.

Although the PDM has seven Pillars including ;Production, Storage, Processing and Marketing; Infrastructure and Economic Services; Financial Inclusion; Social Services; Mindset change; Parish Based Management Information System and Governance and Administration, many groups in Bubende and Mityana are focused on the 3^rd pillar which is financial inclusion .

In the sh48.1 trillion national budget for the financial year 2022/2023, sh1.05 trillion was allocated for the PDM, which targets mostly 3.5 million households living under survival lifestyles.