The NRM Central Executive Committee member representing Buganda region Hon Godfrey Kiwanda Suubi has no cool words for the recently rolled out government project the Parish Development Model which is aimed at eradicating poverty in the country, especially the rural areas.
However, according to Kiwanda, he believes the PDM is doing more harm than good saying that it is actually spreading more poverty in the country than eradicating it.
Kiwanda says that the PDM program was enrolled without putting into consideration what exactly the problems the people of Uganda who will use the funds are facing hence it’s a project that was rolled out based on assumptions than reality.
The former tourism Minister says that it is wrong to put a cap limit on how much one is supposed to get from the funds to inject in his or her business because not every business requires 1 million shillings or less to thrive.
Kiwanda added that this mistake of putting a limit on how much can be accessed by an individual meant that this program ceased to be a poverty eradication project but rather a money distribution kind of thing.
Kiwanda said that the only solution was to set up parish banks where individuals could access the funds in an evolving way at a low-interest rate like how Saccos operate. He also added that it was also wrong for PDM to be ring-fenced for those who want to deal in agriculture only because not everyone in the village has the land to start a farming business adding that a young man who would want to get the money to buy a boda boda is left out.
The Parish Development Model for some time has been under criticism with many people wondering if enough research was done before the program was rolled out to the public. Over a trillion shillings were invested in the project with the government hoping that it will be the magic bullet to eradicate poverty in the country. Each parish in Uganda is supposed to receive 100 million shillings every financial year.
