By Sophan Niwamanya
apearlnews.com
The state minister for Finance in Charge of General Duties, Henry Musasizi, has asked leaders to manage the Parish Development Model funds cautiously and desist from acts of corruption.
The minister made the call yesterday while addressing Rubanda district stakeholders in a meeting held at Rubanda district headquarters, which was aimed at the implementation of parish development model sensitization.
In his speech, Hon. Musasizi said that the government will not tolerate corruption in the implementation of the project and that whoever is culpable will face the law. He says issues of accountability and transparency are very vital while implementing the project.
Musasizi revealed that the model is the last strategy for service delivery, improving the incomes and welfare of all Ugandans at the household level.
He told leaders that it is our mandate and our role to ensure that the parish development model is a success in the Rubanda district since the major activity in Rubanda is farming.
He claimed that by implementing PDM, he would be able to bring all people who had previously worked for their stomachs in the subsistence economy into the money economy.
Musasizi noted that people who are in enterprises will be the ones to receive PDM funds, thus calling upon parish chiefs to be cautious while disbursing funds.
Hon Kamuntu Moses Mwongyera, the Rubanda West legislator, is optimistic that if well handled, the parish development model project will help transform the livelihoods of Ugandans since it is targeting the grass-root people who are entirely not in the money economy.
Kamuntu assured stakeholders that President Museveni allowed them to grow in wetlands, thus providing an opportunity to carry out farming.
The Rubanda district Member of Parliament, Akampurira Prossy Begumisa, emphasized the need for stakeholders to publicise parish development models and guide the community well.
According to Section 69 of the Local Government Act of 1997, the parish chief will be the coordinator of all government efforts in each of the 10,594 parishes and will report to the sub-county chief.
