Butaleja leaders get bikes to kick start parish development model

Butaleja, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Chairpersons LCI, LC2 and LC3 in Butaleja district have been given bicycles and motorcycles to facilitate the implementation of the parish development model.

The program was launched in Kibuku district in Bukedi sub region by President Museveni on Saturday last week, and 29 SACCOs including some from Butaleja district were given money.

The bicycles and motorcycles donated by government were handed over to the local leaders by the Butaleja Resident District Commissioner Apollo Bwebale.

Over 500 bicycles were given to all LCI and II chairpersons who make up Butaleja and 15 motorcycles have been given to the LC3 chairpersons.

While handing over the bicycles and motorcycles, the RDC Apollo Bwebale cautioned the local leaders against misusing the facilities given to them noting that they should use them to mobilise the communities towards embracing the parish development model program.

Bwebale said that government has given motorcycles and bicycles to the leaders in order to enhance mobilization and reach out to the people to ensure they embrace government programs noting that since government has enhanced on their facilitation, their output should be much higher than before.

The LCI chairpersons who received the bicycles welcomed the move by government to give them facilities but said that these are not enough, arguing that government needs to do more to facilitate them since they are the ones who interact with the communities more than any other leader.

Wiso Abel Alali, the LCI chairperson of Lubangwe village in Busaba sub county and Mubazo Elibabeli, the Chairperson LCI of Nasaalo village in Kachonga sub county said the 10,000 shillings that government gives them is very little and cannot even feed someone for a single meal.

They said that when any government program is rolled out to the villages, it is LCI chairpersons who are contacted but when it comes to facilitation, they are given the least amount of money.

Local leaders are at the fore front in ensuring that the parish development model succeeds.

The PDM is approach to development as envisaged under the National Development Plan III, with the parish as the lowest administrative and operational hub for delivering services closer to the people and hence fostering local economic development. There are 10,594 parishes in the country.

Under the initiative, each parish is supposed to get 17 million Shillings in the current financial year to start the implementation of the programme and according to the plan, the parishes will each receive 100 million Shillings with effect from the next financial year.

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URN