Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa emphasized the urgent need for greater awareness efforts on the Parish Development Model (PDM) in a riveting speech to the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.
The representative for Ruhinda North County began by recognizing the ongoing problem of poverty in various parts of the nation. He emphasized that the PDM can serve its original purpose provided it is managed well. He did, however, add that immediate PDM sensitization efforts are required, according to a recent study done in his constituency.
Tayebwa emphasized that in order to effectively tackle poverty, the government must make sure that recipients of programs like the PDM receive them. It will take effective public awareness initiatives to reach this goal.
“I was accompanied by my colleague, Woman MP Juliet Bashisha, and I visited 27 parishes in my district. We visited every parish in order to inform our constituents about the Parish Development Model and to monitor its use. We found considerable differences in the distribution of cash throughout our trips, among other problems. According to him, some parishes had received 100% of the available monies, while others had received nothing.
Tayebwa informed the House that numerous complaints they got during their trips came in both person and through social media. These complaints included claims that people were forced to pay fees for follow-up services, for filling out paperwork, and for registering their identities on computers.
“I’ve seen instances when husbands had to sign on behalf of their spouses before they could get the money. In one instance, a lady said her husband insisted on splitting the cash because it was only with his signature that she was allowed to get the money. Another woman was turned down for funding due to a disagreement with her spouse, he recalled.
Also noticed by Tayebwa is the fact that a large number of PDM beneficiaries think SACOs—or Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations—are owned by the government. This view prompts worries that if government support is cut off, the PDM would disintegrate, defeating the goal of the program to promote community financial self-sufficiency.
Therefore, increased sensitization is urgently needed, members! Despite the fact that there were very explicit rules stating that these people shouldn’t be involved in such operations, I found out that the district’s commercial officer was supervising the distribution of cash,” he continued.
The Deputy Speaker directed all members to work with local committees, collect thorough reports, and submit them to the Parliamentary committee in charge of PDM in order to address the issues and find gaps in the efficient execution of the PDM. In order to facilitate a more informed discussion on the subject, this committee will thereafter provide a final report for discussion within the House.
However, his comments sparked an important debate in the House regarding the necessity of informing the populace about PDM programs, which are intended to reduce poverty and improve the wellbeing of the nation’s most defenseless inhabitants.
A government strategy or method for organizing and delivering public and private sector interventions for wealth development and employment production at the parish level as the lowest economic planning unit is the Parish Development Model, which was introduced on February 26, 2022.
With an emphasis on the complete transformation of society (both on- and off-farm, rural and urban contexts), PDM seeks to raise household food security, incomes, and quality of life for Ugandans.
