Kira Municipality officials are facing pressure from Parliament to recover Parish Development Model (PDM) funds after it emerged that only Shs67.4 million has so far been recovered out of approximately Shs2 billion that was disbursed to beneficiaries.
Municipality officials appeared before the Public Accounts Committee on Local Government, where lawmakers expressed concern over the low recovery rate of the funds meant to operate as a revolving fund to benefit more households.
During the meeting, Gilbert Olanya, a member of the committee, emphasised the need for accountability and immediate recovery of the funds, saying the committee would not tolerate guesswork regarding public money.
“We don't deal with guesswork... this money must be recovered,” Olanya told the officials, directing them to submit a detailed, individual recovery report within seven days.
He warned that if recovery efforts are not strengthened, the Parish Development Model risks failing to achieve its intended purpose, similar to challenges previously faced under the Youth Livelihood Programme, which also struggled with loan recovery.
The Parish Development Model is a government initiative aimed at moving households from subsistence farming into the money economy through parish-based funding and enterprise support.
The funds are expected to revolve as beneficiaries repay so that others can also benefit.
However, the low recovery rate has raised concerns among legislators about possible diversion of funds, elite capture, and beneficiaries failing to repay the money.
The concerns were also highlighted in a report by the Office of the Auditor General, which pointed out several implementation challenges in the programme. These included financing non-existent projects, delayed disbursement of funds, and cases of duplicate beneficiaries.
While receiving the audited reports from the Auditor General, Anita Among urged the Auditor General to intensify scrutiny of the Parish Development Model funds to ensure the money reaches the intended beneficiaries and is properly accounted for.
The Public Accounts Committee is expected to continue reviewing the implementation of the Parish Development Model across various local governments as Parliament increases oversight on the utilisation and recovery of the funds.