The government has allocated Shs12 billion in FY2023/24 to support parish chiefs as they supervise the Parish Development Model (PDM) activities in their respective areas of work country-wide.
This was revealed by the State Minister of Finance in charge of General Duties, Henry Musasizi, as he launched the disbursement of the PDM funds in the Rubanda District.
“Under this arrangement, every parish chief will get Shs100,000 per month for accommodation in the parish where he/she is working from. President Museveni has also promised to give a bicycle to every parish chief so that they can properly supervise PDM activities in their areas,” Musasizi said.
According to him, the government has also allocated Shs500,000 to each PDM Saaco committee to facilitate activities related to the government program aimed at fighting poverty.
“In the Kigezi region, 414 out of 428 PDM Saacos have so far each received Shs50m and the remaining 14 PDM saacos will receive their share within two weeks from May 19. The delay was due to the inconsistencies in the information submitted to the ministry of finance by the local governments in the area which have now been sorted out,” Musasizi said adding that he was happy that all the 69 parishes in Rubanda District have already received Shs50m each.
He warned the beneficiaries of the funds against taking the loan as a gift from the government but rather to use it required with an obligation to pay an interest of 6 percent per year on the money received.
“The government has agreed with all the participating commercial banks on terms to ensure that the funds on the PDM Saaco accounts are not depleted through bank charges and fees,” Musasizi explained.
The Rubanda District LCV chairman Stephen Ampeire Kasyaba and the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Alex Kwizera decried challenges in PDM implementation.
“Poor culture that reduces the ability and supports recovery efforts, limited facilitation to the implementation team, in business development services, record keeping mind sent to change and financial literacy, lack of software to support reporting and monitoring are some of the immediate challenges that need urgent solutions,” the leaders submitted.
Rubanda RDC Longino Bahebwa promised to organize community meetings for capacity building in regard to PDM.
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