SLEEPING ON THE JOB ? Kira Municipality Officials grilled Over Poor Recovery of PDM Funds

Officials from Kira Municipality have come under scrutiny from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (Local Government), chaired by Gilbert Olanya, over the slow recovery of funds disbursed under the Parish Development Model (PDM).

Led by Town Clerk, Benon Yiga, the officials appeared before the committee on Wednesday, 25 March 2026, to respond to queries raised by the Auditor General for the financial year ending June 30, 2025.

Legislators expressed concern that the programme risks following the same troubled path as past revolving funds, including the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP).

At the centre of the probe was the municipality’s failure to recover funds already issued to beneficiaries, despite the lapse of grace periods for some recipients.

“We are happy that you appreciate the PDM and are even asking for more resources,” Olanya said. “But up to now, you have never recovered any money out of PDM. Do you think this money will be recovered?”

He emphasised that although the funds are disbursed as grants to parishes, they are loans to individual beneficiaries and must be repaid to sustain the revolving model.

“This money is not for free and the beneficiary must return that loan so that it helps other beneficiaries in that parish,” he added.

Committee members warned that failure to enforce recovery early could undermine the entire programme. Emmanuel Ongierthor (FDC, Jonam County) stressed that government funding is finite and must revolve within communities.

“At some point we are going to be looking at recovery, more than having to get money from government. If we do not act from the beginning, we will fall into the other problem… this money really must help people,” Ongierthor said.

Data presented by Kira Municipality showed that out of approximately Shs2 billion disbursed, only about Shs67.4 million had been recovered. Legislators noted that by the time of the audit, at least Shs309 million should have been recovered from beneficiaries whose grace periods had expired.

Pressed for clarity, PDM Focal Point Person, Ronald Kagolo, who is also the Kira Municipality Commercial Officer admitted recovery had been slow but said efforts were underway to improve the system.

“For example… Bweyogerere has recovered Shs8.5 million, Kyaliwajjala Shs7.4 million… in total, that is Shs67.4 million,” Kagolo said.

He attributed the weak recovery to transition challenges, including earlier disbursements made outside the current digital payment system.

“Initially we disbursed without a system but now we have Wendi through which people should pay. So those who got money outside the system are being enrolled so they can start repayments,” he said.

However, lawmakers were unconvinced, questioning both the pace of recovery and the integrity of the beneficiary identification process. Sowedi Kitanywa (NRM, Busongora County North) raised concerns flagged by the Auditor General about the absence of a clear database of beneficiaries.

“You seem to be disbursing funds without a clear database, that you are simply gambling. Do you have the specific individuals who qualify?” he said.

In response, Kagolo said beneficiaries are identified through village vetting meetings involving local leaders and stakeholders to confirm subsistence households.

Despite the explanations, the committee insisted on stricter accountability measures, demanding a detailed breakdown of recoveries at the individual level.

“We don’t deal with guesswork,” Olanya said. “Give us the names of the individuals and how much each has recovered.”

The committee directed Kira Municipality to submit, within seven days, a comprehensive report detailing recoveries per beneficiary, clearly separating those whose repayment deadlines have expired, particularly those expected to complete payment by March 2026 from those still within the repayment window.

Olanya warned that Parliament would not allow a repeat of past failures.

“What we are suspecting is the same thing that happened to the Youth Livelihood Programme is going to occur again in the PDM,” he said. “If we are not serious, government is going to lose huge amounts of money in the name of helping beneficiaries.”

Town Clerk Yiga acknowledged the concerns and pledged improvement.

“We appreciate the concerns and we promise to do better,” he said. “We are learning lessons on how to manage and monitor the programme because it is a people-centred approach.”