Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, reveals that they intend to leverage the operation structures of ISO, to stamp out corruption tendencies in the implementation of PDM
The government has
considered deploying operatives of the Internal Security Organization-ISO as
the second-line monitors for the implementation of the Parish Development
Model-PDM.
Ramathan Ggoobi,
the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury in the Ministry of
Finance, Planning and Economic Development, reveals that they intend to
leverage the operation structures of ISO, to stamp out corruption tendencies in
the implementation of PDM.
In 2022, the government
undertook to implement the PDM as the latest livelihood improvement program targeting to take development planning
and resources to the Parish level to ensure that the national development is
fully embraced right from the grassroots.
Under the program, the government allocates each parish 100
million in every financial, which money is eventually disbursed to individual households, which are each given one million shillings, to boost their respective enterprises
of choice.
However, Ggoobi admits that in its early stages of
implementation, the program has suffered violation by unscrupulous individuals,
whose selfish conduct is threatening its relevance and success.
He explains that the government
is concerned that some Parish Chiefs who
are supposed to oversee the effective implementation of the program, are conniving
with leaders of the PDM committees to abuse the program for self-enrichment.
He indicates that
as a remedy, the Ministry has empowered ISO operatives with a newly acquired
digital tool, to start verifying every detail of the beneficiaries, which the
Parish Chiefs uploaded on the centralized program’s Management Information
System.
//Cue in: “we have now…..
Cue out: ……systems which monitor.”//
Ggoobi reveals
that the Ministry of Finance is already coordinating an inter-ministerial committee
that will regularly share information and emerging reports about the implementation
of all government wealth-creation interventions that are implemented in the
country.
For instance,
according to him, they already obtained reports of technical officers in
districts who connive with PDM Committee leaders to register and disburse money
to ghost beneficiaries and leave out the genuine members.
//Cue in: “we give the money ….Cue out; ….we follow up.”//
According to
reports at the Ministry of Finance, a total of 2 trillion shillings has so far
been dispatched to finance the Parish Development Model Program across the
country. The PSST indicates that 1.05 trillion shillings will also be released this financial
year beginning with January 2025.
Meanwhile, the deployment of ISO operatives
has come at a time when several District PDM Focal Persons and Parish Chiefs
are already facing charges related to the program's mismanagement.
For instance in Masaka district; John Baptist Matovu the District
Production Officer also doubling as PDM Focal Person, Joseph Akuguzibwe and Jumba Peter Kyakamala, the Parish
Chiefs of Ssunga and Makonzi wards respectively in Bukakata sub-county, are on
remand in prison for alleged misappropriation of PDM funds.
