Older persons want special PDM groups
A man reads a message from the bank indicating that he had received the PDM cash in Masaka District last week. Older persons have asked the government to allow its members create special groups so that they can easily access the funds. PHOTO | GERTRUDE MUTYABA.
What you need to know:
- The government earmarked Shs5 trillion for a period of five years for Parish Development Model aimed at driving socio-economic transformation for the country’s poorest individuals to the money economy.
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KAMPALA. The National Council for Older Persons has asked the government to allow its members to create special groups in order to access the Parish Development Model (PDM) funds.
Addressing a council meeting in Kampala yesterday, Mr Isabirye Charles, the council chairperson, said elderly people are expected to receive 10 percent of the PDM cash.
He said special interest groups receive different percentages and their members may not benefit from the 10 percent for the elderly when they are part of other groups.
Under PDM, the government allocated 30 percent of the funds to women, 30 percent for youth, and 10 percent to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), 10 percent for the elderly and 20 percent to groups that don’t fall in the special categories.
“As older persons, we have to have our own special interest groups. We want to apply for our 10 percent and put it in our group and see how we can dispatch that money to our fellow older persons and see how we can start doing business,” he said.
He added that as the elderly, they feel cheated if they are mixed with other groups, adding that they are supposed to receive their 10 percent separately.
In an interview with Daily Monitor yesterday, Mr Michael Owori, the Tororo District chairperson for the elderly, said the PDM programme still has a lot of challenges such as lack of awareness among the elderly.
“When I was inquiring, I found out that only one older person in the Southern Ward, Nagongera Town Council, Tororo District, had received the money,” Mr Owori said.
He added that the elderly are being charged money to have them registered for the programme, which is hindering access to the funds.
Mr Owori also asked the government to rectify how the older persons are supposed to get their money.
Guidelines
The State minister for Elderly, Mr Dominic Mafwabi Gidudu, said the government has guided on how the issue of percentage will be handled.
“We have explained the essence of PDM to the last person in the village, they know what it is, they know what they are entitled to, the next thing is we are going to monitor and evaluate,” Mr Gidudu said.
He added: “Beginning the month of July, I am going to do random checks on whether the PDM is being implemented, whether my older persons have Saccos and whether they are getting the 10 percent”.
The minister asked the older persons to put the PDM funds to good use by identifying enterprise projects they are able to do such as piggery, goat rearing and poultry farming, among others.
Mr Gidudu echoed President Museveni’s message of urging the older persons to get Covid-19 booster doses, saying their immunity is lower than that of the young people.
“It is necessary that each one of you goes for a booster dose. We expect the chairpersons in every district to remind the old people to go and get a booster dose,” he said.
