Officials at parish level who fail to adhere to the Parish Development Model (PDM) guidelines in Namayingo district are in trouble, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner (DRDC), Trevor Solomon Baleke has said.
This after the district PDM monitoring team headed by him has embarked on a thorough parish to parish monitoring exercise to ensure the government initiative aimed at alleviating poverty is implemented according to the guidelines and whether there are signs of getting out of poverty.
During their visits, PDM officials involved in mismanagement and fraudulent activities are being identified and arrested if pinned with evidence by the community members.
The first victim is Godfrey Matiya Wapatiti, the Madowa PDM Buswaale SACCO vetting committee member.
Wapatiti was pinned by the beneficiaries and his own fellow leaders of the SACCO to have fraudulently transferred PDM money from their phones to his and to that of Sulah Bazalaki a former Stanbic Bank staff.
Baleke confirmed to this website on Friday November 24, 2023 that the accsued Wapatiti was handed to police at Namayingo CPS and efforts to arrest his accomplice, Sulah Bazalaki were still on.
“Sulah Bazalaki has been running a Forex pay point, and Wapatiti is a member of the SACCO vetting committee. The beneficiaries trusted them since they were very instrumental in the whole process. So when money landed on peoples’ accounts, these two suspects used their expertise and withdrew part of the money using the beneficiaries’ phones,” said Baleke.
The Eye Media Uganda has established that at least 7 statements have been recorded against the duo and that the file is ready for perusal by the DPP.
In total, the duo withdrew UGX2.09 million from beneficiaries’ phones using their expertise in artificial intelligence.
Addressing PDM beneficiaries at Madowa Parish, Buswaalwe sub-county on Tuesday, Baleke urged the public to embrace the government program and to own it.
On these visits, the Deputy RDC is flanked by the DISO, DCO, CO, SACAOs, CDOs and LCIII chairpersons.
“When you receive the Parish Revolving Fund (PDM money), own it. Take it as your own money and please don’t abuse or misuse it. It is your seed for development. There must be visible positive change in your household after a year or two,” he said.
“Please look after the enterprise where you have invested your PRF. Even when your child is sent back for scholastic materials or when you go for your evening meetings, please don’t spend the PDM money. This is the money meant to pull you out of poverty,” he added
Baleke told the gathering that experts had briefed him that to clear and plant cassava on an acre of land in Namayingo, one required Shs.600,000 and would get about Shs. 4.5 million after 9 months.
He argued them to spend most of their time on economic activities than leisure and unproductive things.
