Luwero SACCOs stuck with Sh5.5B for PDM

Luwero, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations in Luwero District are stuck with 5.5 billion Shillings meant for the Parish Development Model-PDM program.

In February 2022, President Yoweri Museveni launched the program meant to eradicate poverty through the execution of development activities at the parishes.

Since then, the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development has released 10.8 billion Shillings to 101 parish SACCOs in Luwero district.

However, during the PDM mobilization tour by Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja ahead of the agricultural expo targeting beneficiaries and residents in Luwero, it emerged that the SACCOs have been able to lend only 5.3 billion Shillings and the other 5.5 billion Shillings is still lying on accounts.

Dr Andrew Kidda Makubuya the Luwero District PDM Coordinator said that unlike in the first releases, now they are supposed to capture data of each household on the computer before they receive the funds to avoid multiple borrowing.

Makubuya noted that the process had delayed the release of funds to the beneficiaries but he is hopeful this will done by the end of the next two weeks.

Ahmed Kasibante the District Councillor for Busiika town council said that some government workers are slow in capturing data because they lack computer skills.

Kasibante said that the delay is affecting the implementation of PDM because households are unable to borrow the funds and buy seedlings for the ongoing planting season.

Pascal Imarach the LCIII Chairperson of Zirobwe town council also said that there are some households that have received less than a million shillings as stipulated in the guidelines which may make the programme ineffective.

During a meeting held at Luwero Diocese Guest House, Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja ordered the arrest of SACCO chairpersons for giving applicants less than one million shillings and promised to send a team to help officials in the district to capture the household data in time so as to release funds in time.

Nabbanja also unveiled a three-day agriculture expo which will be held in Nakaseke, Luwero, and Nakasongola starting from 1st-3rd September to sensitize farmers and enable them to get quality inputs.

Rosemary Namayanja the Deputy Secretary General of the National Resistance Movement says that the agricultural expo is timely because farmers were crying foul over rampant fake inputs on the market.

Namayanja also noted that the agricultural expo will link farmers to extension workers.

In his report for the year 2021/22, Auditor General John FS Muwanga noted that a total of 79 billion Shillings revolving funds paid to 8,703 SACCOs in 169 Local governments remained idle on the SACCO bank accounts.

Muwanga said that failure to utilize disbursed funds delays the achievement of the PDM objectives of improving community livelihoods and will also compromise the recovery of the advanced funds.

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