The disbursement of the parish development model in Gulu District has reached 100%. There were a few errors with names, NIN numbers, and location of beneficiaries, but these are being worked on.
On Tuesday, January 16th, 2024, Deputy Resident District Commissioner Gulu District Mr. Cosmas James Okidi and Principal Commercial Officer Mr. Alfred Ocen appeared on radio Rupiny fm to confirm the registration of 641 enterprise groups and 9,037 households on the PDMIS. They also said that 4,942 (99%) households have so far received parish revolving funds (PRF).
“Gulu District received a total of Ugx 5,026,925,850 as parish revolving funds, which was remitted to the 47 PDM SACCOs. This means that the 4,942,000,000/= has been disbursed to 4,942 households,” said Commercial Officer Alfred Ocen.
According to the DRDC, the major challenge has been for SACCO leaders to operationalize PDMIS-FIS due to inadequate knowledge of ICT, lack of ICT equipment, and data. This has made it impossible for PDM SACCOs to work independently without technical staff, and they also have to move to a location with power and network.
Several beneficiaries called into the radio talk show to testify about the success stories they have had with the money they received from the PDM Disbursement. They appealed for more funding for the projects, and others thanked the President of Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, for the well-thought-out program that is employing many Ugandans in various economic activities.
The DRDC warned beneficiaries to spend the money as per the enterprise they selected and cautioned those who received the money to avoid reckless spending as this is a revolving fund.
“This is a five-year project, but it is subject to change or review in case of any abuse,” the DRDC said. “Over 80% of beneficiaries have invested the money in productive ventures and are thriving very well.”
