The Minister for Presidency in Uganda Hon Milly Babirye Babalanda has issued a stern warning to corrupt leaders, who swindle government developmental funds, saying they will face hefty penalties.
Hon. Babalanda issued this warning yesterday while addresssing local leaders from Kawempe and other Kampala divisions, during the urban council leaders’ sensitization of the state of readiness for Parish Development Model (PDM), that took place at Tick Hotel, Kawempe.
Conducted under the auspices of Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA), the ceremony was attended by a multitude of local councilors and chairpersons in Kawempe division, and elsewhere, in addition to legislators, mayors, town clerks, RCCs, representatives from KCCA and other high profile guests.
Hon. Babalanda said that lack of political will among local leaders and corruption tendencies impinged the success of government past interventions, intended to extinguish poverty among the population.
She touted that for the case of Parish Development Model, government will not keep a blind eye and will exercise zero tolerance to corruption tendencies among local leaders, citing that such illicit practices have forced past interventions not to deliver to Ugandans’ expectations.
Minister Babalanda explained to the leaders that poverty can be effectively eliminated, a process that begins with change of one’s mindset, to either remain in impoverishment, or come out of wretchedness.
“This time we have come to make it clear to you, that we will jail you. Don’t accept kickback, and even you the citizens, don’t make our public servants fall for your fantasies by tempting them with bribes, we will also jail you,” the Minister added, after which she supplied a toll free line of 0800320320 to citizens, to report cases of graft.
Dorothy Kisaka, the KCCA Executive Director said as city authorities, their role is to do governance and administration, by educating, monitoring and sensitizing people, inclusive of using the PDM funds.
She underlined the readiness of KCCA to embark on mass sensitizations aimed at mindset change, such that these funds are intelligently utilised, to enable the successful implementation of this government intervention.
“As KCCA, we are going to institute a school of parish development model, not constructing a big building but every day, every week, on radio stations, everywhere, we will be teaching people to make sure that Parish Development Model is conducted as expected, such that everyone knows their responsibility,” said Mrs Kisaka.
Also present at the function was Minister for Kampala City and Metropolitan Affairs Hon. Kabuye Kyofatogabye.
He said that the prime aim of the meeting was to inspire councilors and other leaders get engaged in workshops, such that they transmit the necessary knowledge regarding the intervention to the local people at the parish level.
“Why parish? Because it is the epicenter of development or leadership, from where we begin looking at structure of government leadership in Uganda. Parish is a basis of society transformation. Therefore we are giving you this knowledge, such that you also give it to the people,” said Hon. Kyofatogabye.
Also addressing local leaders at Tick Hotel Kawempe, Ms Jovrine Kaliisa, the National Development Coordinator for PDM noted that Uganda cannot experience an economic take-off, if people in the subsistence economy, who form 39% of the whole population are not aided out of poverty.
“We cannot as a country take off at once, when we leave this 39% behind. That means we will be paying for them taxes, but now if we give them this one million shillings, it is the minimum and the maximum.”
She cautioned the yet to be beneficiaries to exercise vigilance, and avoid being conned by fraudsters. She also urged the youth, who form a large portion of the Uganda population to be patriotic and expeditiously support government policies.
The Parish Development Model is a strategy by the government of Uganda, using the parish as a last epicenter, to drive socio-economic transformation. Unlike other earlier programs, the PDM is a house based program, not an individual program.
According to this initiative , funds will be disbursed by the Ministry of Finance, and deposited directly to Parish SACCOS. Each beneficiary will access one million shillings as a revolving fund, for which an interest rate of 6% will be paid annually.
Accordingly, each Parish was apportioned Shs. 100 million and of this amount, Shs. 30 million has been set aside for women, another Shs. 30 million for the youth, while People With Disability (PWD’s) will get Shs.10 million. Similarly, the elderly will bag 30 million shillings.
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