PDM, EMYOOGA CASH UNDER WATCH! Presidential Team Descends on Lango, Teso to Probe Billions
By Evans Najuna
KAMPALA – Government’s wealth-creation programmes in Teso and Lango have come under the microscope, with a presidential monitoring team set to investigate how funds are being used and whether ordinary Ugandans are actually benefiting.
The Office of the President has launched a major inspection of the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga and Cattle Restocking Programme across eight districts and Soroti City.
The high-level operation was announced on Wednesday by Sandra Santa Alum, Minister of State in the Office of the President in charge of Economic Monitoring, who said her department will lead the exercise.
The team will comb through programme records, meet beneficiaries and local leaders and inspect enterprises and projects funded under the initiatives.
In Teso, the operation will cover Kapelebyong, Kalaki, Bukedea and Soroti City, while Apac, Otuke, Dokolo and Lira will be targeted in Lango.
The inspection is intended to establish whether Government money is achieving its purpose of raising household incomes, creating jobs, expanding access to affordable credit and shifting families from subsistence into the money economy.
But officials will also be looking for possible abuse.
According to Alum, the monitoring team will scrutinise beneficiary selection, SACCO governance, recordkeeping, access to funds, loan recovery and possible diversion of public resources.
The team will also engage beneficiaries directly to establish whether the money and other support they received have translated into functioning businesses and improved livelihoods.
Alum said the three programmes are key interventions under the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) and the Government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy.
PDM was introduced to take enterprise financing and economic opportunities closer to households through parish-level structures, while Emyooga focuses on organised groups, savings, affordable credit and enterprise development.
The Cattle Restocking Programme, meanwhile, is intended to rebuild productive assets and livelihoods in communities in Teso and Lango that suffered massive cattle losses in the past.
The presidential monitoring team will not only examine books and records but also physically inspect enterprises supported through the programmes.
District leaders, technical officers and beneficiaries will be questioned about implementation, while records will be scrutinised to establish whether funds reached the intended recipients and were put to proper use.
Alum warned that weaknesses uncovered during the exercise will require corrective action, while evidence of misuse of public funds will be referred to the relevant authorities.
She, however, dismissed fears that the exercise was designed to intimidate local leaders or beneficiaries.
“This exercise is not intended to intimidate anyone. It is an accountability and learning exercise,” Alum said.
She added: “We want to know what is working so we can replicate it, and we want to identify gaps so we can fix them.”
The inspection comes at a time when Government is placing greater emphasis on ensuring that its wealth-creation programmes produce visible results at household level.
Rather than relying solely on reports from implementing agencies and local governments, the monitoring team will seek first-hand information from beneficiaries and communities.
At the conclusion of the field exercise, the team will hold exit meetings with Local Governments and Ministries, Departments and Agencies to validate its findings and agree on corrective measures.
A consolidated report will subsequently be submitted to President Yoweri Museveni for further guidance.
Alum has called on leaders and beneficiaries in the targeted areas to cooperate with the team and provide accurate information during the exercise.
She also urged journalists to closely follow the exercise and accurately report findings while encouraging citizens to participate in holding public programmes accountable.
“Accountability does not frustrate implementation; it protects it,” Alum said.
She stressed that Government must ensure that every shilling invested in PDM, Emyooga and cattle restocking delivers meaningful results for Ugandans.
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