PDM CASH TRAP! How Lira Beneficiaries Were Forced to Take Agricultural Inputs Instead of Shs1m, RDCs Arrested
Lira RDC Lillian Eya in the fore front and the Lira PDM focal Point Person Michael Okello seated behind Eyal during the meeting
The Resident District Commissioner (RDC) of Lira District, Lillian Eyal, has been arrested for allegedly conniving with parish chiefs and other district officials to defraud beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model (PDM).
Eyal, Assistant RDC Richard Okello Ogweng and the district PDM Focal Point Person, Michael Okello, were arrested on Thursday following preliminary investigations by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, working alongside the economic monitoring team from the Office of the President.
The arrests followed complaints from PDM beneficiaries who told the monitoring team that the RDC and her team had forced them to receive agricultural inputs instead of accessing the one million Shillings allocated to each beneficiary under the programme.
Jimmy Odyek, a beneficiary from Ajia Parish, said the parish chief and Assistant RDC told beneficiaries that the PDM guidelines had changed and that they would instead receive maize seeds, spraying pumps, fertiliser, pesticides and tarpaulins.
Other beneficiaries alleged that they were invited to PDM launches presided over by the Assistant RDC and the PDM focal point person, where an agricultural input dealer was also present.
The beneficiaries further alleged that their mobile phones, SIM cards and account details, including PINs, had earlier been taken by Moro Dickens, the PDM SACCO secretary.
They claimed that their one million Shillings PDM payments were subsequently withdrawn, with between 400,000 and 540,000 Shillings deducted from each beneficiary to pay for agricultural inputs, while the balance was handed to them in cash.
Agnes Apio, a beneficiary from Olilo Parish, said her mobile phone, SIM card and National Identification card were taken on the pretext of helping her open a Wendi account. She said she eventually received 540,000 Shillings and was allegedly forced to accept agricultural inputs.
Apio also alleged that she was charged 25,000 Shillings to have her name entered into the system and another 8,000 Shillings before her phone was returned. She said beneficiaries were also told that they would be required to repay the PDM loan regardless of whether their maize harvest was successful.
Another beneficiary, Agnes Aciro from Ogur Parish, said her group had selected poultry farming as its enterprise but was instead forced to receive agricultural inputs. Aciro said the inputs were initially distributed at the sub-county headquarters in the presence of security officers, the Assistant RDC, Deputy RDC, parish chief, PDM focal point person and other technical staff.
She said four beneficiaries who protested and refused to take the inputs were later summoned to Lira City, where they were allegedly forced to receive fertiliser worth Shillings 260,000, a carton of maize seed worth 250,000 Shillings and a spraying pump and tarpaulins valued at 90,000 Shillings.
Aciro said she eventually received only 330,000 Shillings in cash from her PDM allocation.
Joan Ayebare, the Principal Economist for Economic Monitoring at the Office of the President, who led the monitoring team, questioned why beneficiaries were being given items they had not selected.
Ayebare directed the Chief Administrative Officer and the district chairperson to submit a comprehensive report to the minister within one week. She said the monitoring team would pursue the matter to establish what happened to the beneficiaries’ money.
Following preliminary investigations and information gathering, Eyal, Ogweng and Okello were implicated in the allegations and arrested by the State House Anti-Corruption Unit to facilitate further investigations.
Earlier, Eyal had told the monitoring team that PDM beneficiaries in Lira had prioritised maize production, poultry and piggery as their enterprises and had been trained before receiving the funds.
Speaking on the sidelines of the meeting, Linda Agnes Auma, the Lira District Woman Member of Parliament, said the arrests should serve as a warning to public officials who abuse their offices.
North Kyoga Regional Police Spokesperson Patrick Jimmy Okema confirmed Eyal’s arrest, saying she was being detained at Lira Central Police Station. The other suspects are also being investigated as authorities seek to establish the circumstances surrounding the alleged diversion and deductions from PDM beneficiaries’ funds.
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