By David Serumaga
During his campaign rallies in Luuka and Kaliro districts in the Busoga Sub-region, the National Unity Platform presidential flag bearer, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, also known as Bobi Wine, stated that Ugandans do not need the Parish Development Model (PDM) cash, which he described as handouts. He promised that once voted into power, he would abolish the program.
In February 2022, the Parish Development Model (PDM) was launched by H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda as a multi-sectoral strategy for transforming subsistence households into the money economy. Under the PDM, the parish serves as the lowest administrative and operational hub for planning, budgeting, reporting, and delivering interventions to bring services closer to the people. So far, it has increased household food security, incomes, and the overall quality of life in communities across Uganda.
Through his wise guidance, President Yoweri Museveni pioneered this money train of the PDM, targeting subsistence households that operate across the entire agricultural value chain. According to statistics, 41% of Ugandan households, about 17 million people, are still in the subsistence economy. The majority of these represent the most poverty-stricken, landless, vulnerable, and unemployed Ugandans trapped in the vicious cycle of low income, low savings, low investment, and lack of assets. It is on this basis that the NRM government initiated the PDM program to ensure that people have money in their pockets, starting at the household level.
To ensure that the wanainchi access services under the PDM, subsistence households were organised into common enterprise groups engaged in shared income-generating activities within their localities. The main purpose of organising these households is to ensure that a minimum package of services is delivered in a coordinated manner so that investments truly work for them.
Under the current framework, each parish receives Shs 100 million annually to support 100 households with Shs 1 million each for income-generating activities. PDM, as a unifying economic transformation vehicle, targets a wide range of beneficiaries, including women, youth, persons with disabilities, the elderly, enterprise groups, and subsistence households, among others.
So far, PDM stands out as Uganda’s leading economic transformation program, reaching every parish across the country. For instance, Oyam District is among the best-performing districts under the program. The district received Shs 15.26 billion, all of which has been disbursed to 15,358 beneficiary households out of a total of 110,658 households engaged in various enterprises.
Similarly, Luwero District received total funding of Shs 31,083,706,000, of which Shs 30,372,608,500 has already been loaned out. The remaining Shs 711,097,500 is yet to be disbursed. Beneficiaries like Harriet Nampa of Mukono District have testified about how starting small with PDM funds has helped them transition into the money economy.
Given this impressive performance, it was astonishing to hear someone aspiring to lead Uganda, such as Bobi Wine, campaigning to abolish a program that is helping people join the money economy.
For many Ugandans who have been exploited by moneylenders, PDM came as a rescue initiative. In many parts of the country, a moneylender gives out Shs 1 million and demands Shs 200,000 in monthly repayments, meaning by the end of the year, one pays back Shs 4.5 million. Under PDM, the government provides Shs 1 million, and after two years, the beneficiary returns only Shs 1.2 million in a revolving cycle. Each year, the parish receives Shs 100 million, ensuring a lasting impact.
Unlike commercial bank loans that carry high interest rates, PDM funds are designed to give Ugandans time to grow their enterprises before repayment. Unless Bobi Wine is protecting the interests of moneylenders, his call to abolish PDM shows disregard for those striving to escape poverty and join the money economy.
I strongly believe that Bobi Wine miscalculated when he proposed abolishing PDM, because its impact is visible and firmly rooted in communities. Yes, Uganda still needs more roads, electricity, schools, and hospitals, but development without wealth keeps people in poverty.
Bobi Wine must understand that even if people do not have tarmac roads in their villages, they can still become rich. Wealth begins at the homestead, and fighting it is equivalent to condemning people to abject poverty.
For him to make such a careless statement about Ugandans is a sign of an unserious leader who wants to destroy their livelihood. I am confident that, since many Ugandans have benefited from this program, they will respond to him at the ballot box, and he will regret making such misguided statements.
The writer works with the Uganda Media Centre and is a student of Law.