Parish Chief, PDM Committee Members Arrested Over Misappropriation in Ngora

Parish Chief, PDM Committee Members Arrested Over Misappropriation in Ngora

A parish chief and Parish Development Model committee members have been arrested in Ngora District over allegations of misappropriating funds meant for vulnerable beneficiaries, including people living with disabilities.

Security authorities led by the Ngora Deputy Resident District Commissioner (RDC) have arrested a parish chief and several Parish Development Model (PDM) committee members over allegations of misappropriating government funds meant for vulnerable beneficiaries.

The suspects were arrested following complaints from residents of Kokong Parish in Agirigiroi Sub-county, who raised concerns over the management of government poverty alleviation programmes in the area.

Ngora Deputy RDC Jacinta Ayo said preliminary investigations established that the parish chief allegedly paid himself Shs5 million from funds intended for a person living with a disability.

“We have discovered that the parish chief paid himself five million shillings, money that was meant for a person with disability,” Ayo said during a community meeting in Kokong.

She said members of the parish committee who allegedly endorsed the payment had also been arrested for facilitating the transaction.

“We have also arrested the committee that endorsed him because they are supporting corruption,” she said.

Ayo also revealed that several individuals accused of extorting money from PDM beneficiaries had been arrested.

She said the suspects allegedly collected money from villagers after promising to help them access PDM funds, but some beneficiaries reportedly failed to receive the Shs1 million intended for them.

“They collect money from beneficiaries promising to help them receive the funds, but in the end they don't even get the one million shillings they were supposed to receive,” Ayo said.

She warned parish chiefs, technical officers and other government officials against diverting or abusing public resources, saying PDM funds were intended to help poor households improve their livelihoods.

“The money is meant for socio-economic transformation, not for parish chiefs or technical officers. Your responsibility is to serve the people and ensure government programmes are implemented properly,” she said.

The arrests come amid growing government concern over the implementation of PDM and other programmes aimed at improving household incomes in rural communities.

Brigadier General Stephen Oluka, one of the supervisors involved in presidential monitoring of government programmes, said it was unfortunate that initiatives designed to benefit vulnerable communities were being undermined by some implementers and beneficiaries.

He said government had previously arrested and prosecuted individuals involved in PDM-related abuses, but similar cases continue to emerge.

“PDM was supposed to target people who are not well in the villages, but they have taken those programmes and hijacked them by some few selfish people,” Oluka said.

Oluka also raised concerns over alleged irregularities in the cattle compensation programme, saying some implementers were replacing names of genuine beneficiaries with those of people who were not eligible.

He said some local government officials, including chiefs and other officers, were allegedly finding their way onto beneficiary lists.

“The teams responsible select the beneficiaries, but the implementers themselves are the ones that again go and get this programme messed up, changing the names of those who are the beneficiaries and putting other people,” he said.

Oluka said government would intensify monitoring and investigations to ensure that individuals involved in manipulating public programmes are held accountable.

“What we are going to do is to crack on these people who are derailing government programmes and make them face the law,” he said.

The arrests have sparked mixed reactions among residents, with some calling for accountability while others urging authorities to allow those accused an opportunity to reform and continue serving their communities where appropriate.

Authorities, however, maintain that any official or committee member found guilty of abusing public resources will face legal action.

The government has increasingly relied on PDM and other interventions, including cattle compensation and restocking programmes, as part of efforts to reduce household poverty and promote socio-economic transformation in rural Uganda.