The Auditor General, Edward Akol has raised an alarm over the poor implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM) which the Government launched to lift 39% households out of the subsistence economy. 

Akol revealed that over 41.7 billion shillings was disbursed outside the management system, while some SACCOs were found to have undertaken ghost projects.

Akol sounded the alarm while handing over the annual Auditor General’s report for the financial year 2023/24 to the Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa. 

He also raised concern over the low levels of data collection about the PDM, revealing that only 46.3% of the eligible beneficiaries have been registered.

The Auditor General explained that the implementation of the PDM project demands immediate attention, noting that Parliament appropriated 1.1 trillion shillings for this program where 10,594 PDM SACCOs have been successfully boarded onto the WENDI platform, however, the report has identified that 41.7 billion shillings was disbursed outside this platform, contrary to the established guidelines.

In his remarks, the Deputy Speaker Tayebwa assured the Auditor General that Parliament will take the report seriously and applauded him for this year’s report, which has also focused on value for money, noting that this will help Parliament to deepen its oversight role beyond just financial audits.

By Francis Lubega

15 Nov 2024

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