Museveni urges Kampala census to refine PDM budgeting

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President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has directed local authorities in Kampala's five divisions to establish accurate data on the number of households within their jurisdictions to help in the equitable allocation of funds under the Parish Development Model (PDM).

He made the call on Saturday (July 19) during his visit to Kyambogo Complex Parish in Nakawa division, where he met with PDM beneficiaries, including a standout success story, Lillian Mbabazi.

He said the uniform allocation of shillings 100 million per parish annually is insufficient for urban centres with dense populations and high demand for financial support.

“So, this is the kibalo (calculation) I want in the town: to know how many parishes and how many homesteads are in each parish so that when we plan, we shall give over one million [shillings], plus some additional funding, based on the number of homes in that parish."

President Museveni (c) together with the First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports Janet Museveni (c) listening to Lillian Mbabazi, a PDM beneficiary. (PPU)

Museveni said urban parishes, like those in Kampala, are experiencing overwhelming demand for PDM funds, and the current funding structure fails to cater effectively to the high number of eligible households.

During the meeting, the President, accompanied by the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Kataaha Museveni, also toured the poultry enterprise of Mbabazi.

(PPU)

She is a PDM beneficiary who used her one million-shilling funding to launch a successful poultry business.

Mbabazi initially purchased 125 broiler chicks with 350,000 shillings and invested the remaining funds in feed and poultry housing. After a month, she sold the broilers for 1.5 million shillings and reinvested in a second round, earning shillings 2.6 million.

Mbabazi initially purchased 125 broiler chicks with 350,000 shillings and invested the remaining funds in feed and poultry housing. (PPU)

Eggs from the poultry business. (PPU)

Her success did not stop there. She later bought 250 more chicks at shillings 700,000 and sold them for shillings 3.2 million.

Eventually, she transitioned into layer chicken farming for egg production, purchasing chicks at 6,500 each. After three months, her hens began laying, and she now collects six trays of eggs daily.

Flanked by her husband, Samuel Rukundo, Mbabazi expressed gratitude to the President and the government for initiating the PDM.

“Now I have some achievement because I was badly off due to COVID-19. My children now go to school, and we’re doing well. I have shillings 3 million in savings and have also started a small juice and chips business,” she said.

Despite her success, Mbabazi voiced concern over her lack of permanent land, stating that her current residence is on Kyambogo University property, which restricts her expansion.

Impressed, the President congratulated her for exemplifying the benefits of PDM when effectively implemented. He offered her shillings 10 million to scale up her poultry business and pledged to buy her two acres of land for permanent settlement and farming.

“When I come here and see that Rukundo and Mbabazi have implemented one of the seven items under the four-acre model, then I feel very happy,” he said.

Additionally, the President extended shillings 10 million in cash to each PDM beneficiary from the Kyambogo complex parish.

He used the opportunity to reflect on Uganda’s economic transformation journey since independence. He underscored the challenge of transitioning the population from subsistence farming to a money economy, citing that in the 1960s, only 4% of households were integrated into the monetary system.

Museveni cited the success of Mbabazi as a vindication of the shift to direct disbursement of funds under the PDM.

Highlighting the case of Kawempe division, he noted that with 22 parishes each receiving shillings 100 million annually, a total of shillings 6.6 billion has been injected into approximately 7,000 households over the past three years.

“This money, if used wisely, can transform lives," he said.

"You don’t need a moneylender who charges shillings 400,000 per month, shillings 5.8 million a year. With PDM, you return shillings 1 million plus shillings 120,000 interest in two years."

The President urged the beneficiaries to understand the revolving nature of PDM and not expect lump-sum access to the fund, emphasising that with patience, all will benefit.

His visit to Kyambogo marked one of the penultimate events of his nationwide PDM sensitisation tour, which has seen him crisscross the country to evaluate impact, inspire uptake, and recalibrate the program’s delivery.

The grand finale will be held on Sunday (July 20) at Kololo Independence Grounds in Kampala, where a mega rally is expected to draw thousands of Kampala residents.