Parliament has started scrutinizing sub-regional oversight reports on the implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM), weeks after President Yoweri Museveni’s address to the House.
The PDM programme targets 39 per cent of households which are still in subsistence farming, with the objective of enabling them to increase agricultural productivity and value addition through access to a revolving fund at affordable rates.
Last month, the Speaker of Parliament Anita Among sent Members of Parliament on a two-week recess to carry out oversight of the PDM programme implementation activities in their respective constituencies and submit to Parliament a sub-regional report of their findings.
On Wednesday, Parliament received the oversight report from the Lango sub-region presented by Kole North MP, Samuel Opio Acuti on behalf of MPs from the region.
The report highlighted discrepancies in the funds disbursed to various Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs) in the previous financial year 2021/2022.
Opio said that only 29 per cent of the 175 parish SACCOS in the Lango sub-region received the full amount of 17 million Shillings in the financial year 2021/2022 while 25 per cent of 145 SACCOs did not receive any money. He said that these arrears have not been paid to date.
Lango sub-region registered 597 parish SACCOs of which 277 SACCOs received less than the expected amount.
By the end of the current financial year 2022/2023, the Ministry of Finance is expected to disburse 100 million Shillings to each registered SACCO with 25 million Shillings expected to be released in every quarter of the financial year.
However, 582 SACCOs in the Lango sub-region have so far received 25 million, while 15 did not receive any money.
This has been attributed to errors in their account names and numbers while some were not recognized by the Ministry of Finance as parishes.
Opio said that the failure of the Ministry to release all the funds in line with the Cabinet’s decision has created mistrust in the population about the intended purpose of the programme. He also noted that none of the parish SACCOs has disbursed funds to the beneficiaries.
