Wakiso district authorities are planning to open police cases against beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model (PDM) who have failed to repay the revolving funds they received under the government programme.
The officials made the revelation when they appeared before Parliament’s Local Government Accounts Committee during a fact-finding visit to Wakiso.
The committee, led by Ivan Kyeyune on behalf of its chairperson, Betty Nambooze, examined several issues raised in the Auditor General’s report for the 2024/25 financial year, including the management of district assets, PDM funds and roads under construction.
Maria Nakazibwe, the official in charge of PDM in Wakiso District, told the committee that the district had received about Shs41 billion from the government for the programme since its implementation in 2021.
She said about Shs36 billion had so far been disbursed to beneficiaries, while about Shs5 billion remained on the district’s accounts.
According to Ms Nakazibwe, the undisbursed money was partly linked to challenges in establishing Sacco boards required to manage and administer the PDM funds effectively.
Wakiso has 100 PDM Saccos serving communities across its sub-counties and town councils.
The district official said the biggest challenge facing the programme was recovering money from beneficiaries after the two-year grace period given before repayment begins.
“We are planning to open up police cases against beneficiaries of PDM who have failed to pay back the revolving funds,” Ms Nakazibwe told the committee.
She said the district had made efforts to recover the money but had faced resistance from some beneficiaries who believed the funds were a government grant.
“Many of the people think that the funds were a grant from the ruling NRM for supporting the government,” she said.
Ms Nakazibwe said the district was particularly concerned about the low recovery rate.
She reported that, out of about Shs3.6 billion that was expected to have been recovered from beneficiaries, only Shs60 million had so far been collected.
The PDM was introduced by the government to support households to move into the money economy by providing revolving funds through parish-level Saccos. Beneficiaries are expected to repay the money so that it can be lent to other members.
The committee also raised concerns about the condition and management of district assets.
During the visit, MPs found that several motorcycles belonging to different town councils and sub-counties in Wakiso had deteriorated to the point of becoming scrap while awaiting disposal.
The condition of the motorcycles raised questions about how quickly government assets are being assessed, maintained and disposed of once they are no longer useful.
The committee is expected to use the findings from its fact-finding mission, together with the Auditor General’s observations, to assess how Wakiso District has managed public resources and whether corrective measures are needed.
