Dokolo North MP Joseph Jones Ogwal Omara has called for stronger oversight of the Parish Development Model (PDM) to ensure government funds reach their intended beneficiaries and improve household incomes.
Ogwal made the remarks during a monitoring visit by the Minister of State for Economic Monitoring in the Office of the President, Santa Alum Ogwang, to assess the implementation of government programmes in Dokolo District.
The monitoring exercise focused on PDM, Emyooga and the cattle restocking programme and brought together Members of Parliament, district leaders, heads of departments, councillors and community members.
Ogwal commended the Government for implementing the programmes, saying they are intended to promote economic inclusion and transform livelihoods.
He, however, urged authorities to address challenges affecting the implementation of PDM in Dokolo and strengthen accountability to ensure the programmes achieve their intended objectives.
“PDM remains one of the government interventions aimed at promoting economic inclusion and transforming livelihoods,” Ogwal said, urging authorities to address challenges affecting beneficiaries.
His remarks came as the minister received complaints from PDM beneficiaries in Adeknino Parish over alleged extortion by former leaders of Adeknino PDM SACCO.
Several beneficiaries accused former SACCO chairperson Awany Andrew and former secretary Ojok Richard of allegedly demanding money before applicants could access PDM funds.
Some beneficiaries told the minister that amounts ranging from Sh200,000 to Sh350,000 were allegedly demanded from applicants.
One elderly woman reportedly said she was asked to pay Sh200,000, while another beneficiary alleged that she paid Sh100,000, followed by additional payments of Sh80,000 and Sh20,000.
Following the complaints, Alum directed the office of the Resident District Commissioner to work with security agencies to trace and arrest the two former leaders so they can answer the allegations.
Alum said the Government would not tolerate corruption or the exploitation of beneficiaries under programmes intended to improve household incomes.he minister also raised concern over reports that some PDM beneficiaries in Adeknino Parish could not be traced despite more than Sh418 million having been allocated to the parish.
The minister also raised concern over reports that some PDM beneficiaries in Adeknino Parish could not be traced despite more than Sh418 million having been allocated to the parish.
She said her monitoring team was working to establish how the funds had been utilised and identify the beneficiaries who received the money.
Alum also cited a case in Agwata Town Council where approximately Sh17 million allocated to beneficiaries could not be traced.
She said investigations were underway to establish what happened to the money, identify those responsible and recover the funds where necessary.
The minister warned civil servants, technical officers, elected leaders and other officials responsible for government programmes against mismanaging public resources.
She said officials entrusted with implementing government programmes must be prepared to account for resources and activities under their supervision.
Dokolo Resident District Commissioner Babra Akech pledged to follow up the allegations raised by beneficiaries and urged residents to report suspected cases of corruption directly to her office.
Akech said her office would not ignore cases involving corruption and called upon residents to provide information whenever they suspect misuse of government resources.
The Chief Administrative Officer of Dokolo District, Grandfil Oryono Omonda, said the district receives approximately Sh7.1 billion annually under the PDM programme.
Omonda said that over the past four years, the district had recorded 12 cases of alleged PDM mismanagement and corruption involving approximately Sh30 million.
He said about 99% of the money involved had been recovered and returned to beneficiaries, while some of the cases had also resulted in prosecutions.
According to district figures, Dokolo has received approximately Sh28 billion under PDM over the past four years, of which about Sh25 billion has been disbursed to 25,181 beneficiaries.
About Sh3 billion remained undistributed, with part of the fourth-quarter release allocated to the election, training and induction of new PDM circle leaders.
Dokolo has 71 parishes and 71 PDM circles, with each PDM circle corresponding to its respective parish.
Ogwal said stronger oversight, accountability and timely intervention were necessary to address implementation gaps and ensure that government programmes translate into meaningful economic benefits for communities.
The minister’s monitoring team was also compiling recommendations from its field assessments, with an exit and validation meeting scheduled to bring together district leaders to review the challenges identified during the exercise.