Residents of Bata sub-county in Dokolo District have been urged to prioritize the correct enterprise selection if they want to fully benefit from the Parish Development Model (PDM) program.

This was stated by Mr. Owiny Alfred Thopacu, Special Presidential Assistant on Political Affairs, during a meeting held yesterday at Atabu Primary School, Bata sub-county in Dokolo, which brought together around 635 PDM program beneficiaries to assess progress.

Bata sub-county consists of six parishes: Atabu, Barlela, Ocero, Alapata, Bardege, and Apenyo, with 71 PDM SACCOs dispersed across them.

Mr. Owiny also invited citizens to participate in the PDM program, which offers interest rates as low as 10% and is only payable after two years.

“Nobody should come to you to ask for money when the two years have not elapsed because the President has given you a grace period of two years,” he went on to say.

Mr. Owiny further informed the citizens that the money paid back is for the Parish bank in the form of a SACCO and is not returned to the government, but rather remains in the Parish account for other individuals to borrow.

Ms. Barbara Akech, Dokolo Resident District Commissioner (RDC), stated that the initiative is being closely monitored to ensure that previous problems do not occur again.

“The experiences we have shared today are good because the beneficiaries were able to speak freely, how much money they got and how the money was spent, their enterprise selection and how much they invested,” she went on to say.

The RDC said that such experiences will aid future PDM beneficiaries in enterprise selection.

Commenting on the issues encountered during the initial execution of the PDM program, she stated that it was discovered that the Chairpersons of the PDM SACCOs did not follow the prescribed rules and were just allocating monies to family and friends.

She was relieved, however, to learn that all of the money that had been wrongfully distributed had been retrieved.

“We collected all of the money that was deducted, as well as the money that was provided to unqualified people, and returned it to the legitimate beneficiaries. We forced them pay the money and recovered approximately 15 million shillings,” she continued.

Ms. Akech, on the other hand, promised that the mistakes made in the previous phase of the PDM program resource disbursement would not be repeated.

She urged the people of Bata subcounty in particular, and the Dokolo district in general, to recognize the generous gesture made by the NRM government, led by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in accepting the PDM initiative, and to respond properly.

“The people of Bata sub- county and Dokolo district should reflect on what NRM government, especially President Museveni has done for their area and learn to appreciate as well as a reciprocate to the well-tailored programs meant for their wellbeing,” she went on to say.

At the same occasion, inhabitants of Bata sub-county expressed their heartfelt gratitude to President Museveni for launching the PDM program, which has had a good influence on their lives.

Mr. Okwara Geoffrey, Chairperson of Atabu Village LC1, expressed his gratitude while welcoming visitors to the community.

Senior security personnel and representatives from the Dokolo district local administration also attended the conference.