President Yoweri Museveni has reiterated that the Parish Development Model (PDM) funds are not handouts but vital community-owned investments designed to combat poverty at the grassroots level.
Speaking during a rally in Buikwe District on his final stop in the Greater Mukono tour, the President urged beneficiaries to treat the PDM funds responsibly and with accountability.
“This PDM is the people’s bank. It is not a handout, it’s a revolving fund meant to uplift Ugandans from poverty,” President Museveni said.
He emphasized that the money must be repaid within two years to ensure that other community members can also access the funds and improve their livelihoods.
“Those who have received the money must ensure it is put to good use and repaid after two years so that others can also benefit. Misusing it or failing to repay means you deny others a chance to improve their livelihoods,” he added.
The president thanked the people of Greater Mukono for their warm reception during his visit and wished them well in their development journey.
At St. Cornelius playground in kalagala, president urged Ugandans to embrace his four-acre model for rural prosperity, allocating one acre to coffee, one to fruits, another to pasture for Friesian cows, and the last to food crops.
He also promoted backyard ventures like poultry, piggery, and fish farming, which he said could yield up to shs80 million per year from four ponds.
Museveni slammed illegal land evictions as a “colonial hangover,” announcing that ground rent (busuulu) payments would now be channeled through sub-county offices to protect vulnerable tenants.
“The landlords abusing our people’s ignorance by charging exorbitant busuulu must be stopped. We are ending this exploitation,” he said.
