President Museveni has accused elected leaders, including Members of Parliament and local councilors (LCs), of failing to ensure proper management of Parish Development Model (PDM) monies.

He made these remarks at a press conference at Mbale State Lodge at the weekend.

The President was on a three-day tour that ended yesterday to assess PDM’s performance in Bukedi Sub-Region.

“Why are our money for PDM being stolen by civil servants when we have LC1 and 111s? “LC111s are paid, they have motorbikes and MPs are overpaid but I wonder why PDM funds were stolen,” he said.

Mr Museveni said the local council system was established to empower communities to elect representatives based on their needs and prioritize accountability after realizing that civil servants were corrupt and not loyal to the ruling government.

“The problem is that many Ugandans do not listen to my advice, abuse power and do not elect quality leaders. Also, after the election, they do not follow up and ask where their money is, why it was stolen,” Museveni said.

The government is struggling to combat irregularities in the implementation of PDM, a multibillion-dollar government project aimed at lifting 17.5 million Ugandans out of poverty. President Museveni launched the scheme at Kibuku District headquarters on February 26, 2022.

The irregularities, which included corruption, extortion, ghost members and bribery, forced Mr. Museveni two months ago to direct the State House Anti-Corruption Unit (SHAU), headed by Brigadier General Henry Isoke, to conduct nationwide investigations.

The reason for the low disbursement of PDM funds in Bugisu and other sub-regions is also due to irregularities and corruption.

An evaluation report shared with district leaders in Bulambuli District headquarters in September showed about 28.7 per cent progress in the implementation of the program in Bugisu sub-region.

According to the report, Mbale District, which recorded 90 PDM Saccos, has a payment performance of 32 percent, Budu with 159 PDM Saccos, has a payment performance of 20 percent, and Mbale City, with 58 PDM Saccos, has a payment performance of 5 percent.

Namisindwa with 163 Saccos performed 2 percent, Sironko with 224 PDM Saccos performed 0 percent, Manafwa with 155 PDM Saccos performed 60 percent and Bulambuli with 122 PDM Saccos performed 42 percent.

State Assembly Anti-Corruption Unit spokesperson Ms. Mariam Natasha told Daily Monitor earlier that about 35 five-year-old suspects have been arrested across the country so far and have been charged for misappropriation of PDM funds.

For example, in Ngora District, he said, the chief administrative officer, chief financial officer, district trade officer, regional planner, community development officer and production officer were arrested.

“They were arrested for embezzling Shs242 million PDM cash allocated to Ngora Saccos,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mr Museveni praised exemplary farmers in the sub-region and urged Ugandans to become entrepreneurs to alleviate poverty.

He visited the farms of Mrs. Florence Nabutono and Mr. Patrick Keddi, who are piggers and poultry traders in Kibuku District; Mr. Nimrod Mulonde, a poultry farmer in Katakwi Village and engaged in fish, livestock and crops in Budaka District.

Eastern Uganda PDM Advisor and Emyooga National Coordinator, Ritah Namuwenge, has said in the past that corruption is the main reason for the low distribution of PDM and Emyooga funds in the country. “We will fight corruption by encouraging people to join PDM and Emyooga because these are magic bullets that will alleviate poverty,” he said.