Gomba — President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has reiterated the central goal of the Parish Development Model (PDM): ensuring that every Ugandan household engages in a productive economic activity to rise out of poverty.
Speaking during a community meeting in Lusenke village, Kanoni Town Council, Gomba East Constituency, the President emphasised that wealth creation is personal, while development — such as roads and schools — benefits all.
“Every household must have a wealth creation activity,” President Museveni said. “Once you have wealth in your home, other things will be added unto you.”
The President was visiting Ms. Namutebi Deborah and her husband, Godfrey Lubega, beneficiaries of the PDM, engaged in poultry and livestock farming. He praised the couple for making good use of their PDM funds, likening Ms. Namutebi to a biblical seed that fell on fertile ground.
“I want to thank Namutebi for becoming a good seed that bore fruit,” he said. “She has become an example for others.”
To support their growing enterprise, the President pledged to buy the family three acres of land and gave them UGX 15 million — UGX 12 million for a tuk-tuk to ease transportation, and UGX 3.5 million to extend electricity to their home. Each of the ten PDM beneficiaries present received UGX 1 million.
Ms. Namutebi, a member of the Koome Kanoni PDM SACCO under the poultry enterprise group, currently keeps 300 broiler chickens and 15 goats. She narrated how she had initially planned to take a loan to build her poultry business, but the PDM support changed her course.
“When I received the UGX 1 million, I abandoned the loan idea,” she said. “I started with four goats; I now have 15. Those who think UGX 1 million is little do not know how to use it.”
She now dreams of expanding her poultry operation to 2,000 birds and acquiring a milling machine for poultry feed production.
President Museveni used the occasion to reflect on Uganda’s development journey, stating that roads and electricity alone cannot lift people out of poverty. He cited his own experience of settling in Kisozi in 1990 before infrastructure reached the area.
“There was no road or electricity, but I went there because I saw wealth. Development came later — I was already a rich man,” he said.
The President’s remarks come as he embarks on a tour of Greater Mpigi — comprising Mpigi, Gomba, and Butambala districts — to assess PDM implementation.
Since the launch of the PDM in 2022, the government has injected UGX 100 million into each of Uganda’s parishes annually, distributed via SACCOs to support productive household ventures. So far, UGX 33.429 billion has been allocated to 130 PDM SACCOs in Greater Mpigi: UGX 14.4 billion to Mpigi, UGX 12.6 billion to Gomba, and UGX 6.428 billion to Butambala.
Welcoming the President, NRM Deputy Secretary General Hon. Rose Namayanja Nsereko thanked him for adding UGX 1 trillion to the national budget to scale up the PDM.
During the event, President Museveni also pledged UGX 50 million to support Gomba Football Club’s participation in the upcoming Masaza Cup.
In a political development, two LC1 chairpersons — Mr. Katamba Moses of Lusenke and Mr. Ssempijja Joseph of Bukalagi — announced their defection from the National Unity Platform (NUP) to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Earlier, the President visited other PDM beneficiaries, including Ms. Rashida Namubiru in Butambala and Hajji Mohammad Zziwa in Mpigi, whose diversified five-acre farm includes 2,000 laying hens, bananas, coffee, and dairy cows, and employs eight workers.
The meeting was attended by Members of Parliament, local government leaders, and residents across Gomba.