Over the weekend, Frank Mwesigye, a concerned resident, visited Lyakajjula a sub-county in Lyantonde District and was taken aback by the lively, inebriated crowd filling the local bars in the trading center after receiving Parish Development Model (PDM) funds.
“There were people dancing and drinking like it was a holiday. When I asked why, I was told it was because they’d received the PDM money. But these were not the people that the program was meant to support,” he said.
The PDM, an initiative designed to provide financial support to vulnerable households, has instead ended up in the hands of wealthier individuals who already possess assets like 300 acres of land and profitable dairy operations. The funds that could have transformed struggling lives in the community went to those who were least in need.
Mwesigye’s inquiry into the matter revealed an unsettling layer of corruption. “Apparently, getting access to these funds requires ‘connections’ with the area’s PDM coordinator,” he explains.
He adds, “For every million shillings, the coordinator reportedly retains 100,000 as a ‘soda’ to smoothly release the money.”
Mwesigye revealed that the cost of influence has kept the funds from those truly eligible, as evidenced by the fact that only about 1% of intended beneficiaries received their share in Lyakajjula.
Mwesigye’s frustration is palpable as he describes the impact this system has had on his community. He says that residents who were struggling to earn even 100,000 per month were left with nothing.
He adds that the situation in Lyakajjula sub-county, Lyantonde-district is deeply concerning.
“I urge the government to intervene promptly to ensure that the PDM funds truly reach those who need them most. The government should also provide thorough education on how to use the PDM funds and clarify who is supposed to receive them,” he says.
Mwesigye notes that this money is not intended for alcohol but rather for wealth creation and increasing household incomes.
His worry reflects on the way the Anti-corruption has arraigned to the Chief Magistrates’ courts many defaulters of the PDM funds.
The defaulters conspire and defaulters millions of shillings from the beneficiaries of different PDM SACCOS by falsely pretending that the money they were collecting was for PDM activities such as; renting space, buying furniture, printing vouchers, PDM files, appraisals, and photographs among others.
