Katakwi District: A total of 22 parishes in Katakwi District have been excluded from benefiting from the Parish Development Model (PDM) funds, raising concerns among district leaders and residents.
The dispute emerged during a recent meeting between Katakwi District leaders and Vice President Jessica Alupo, where residents voiced concerns over the exclusion. Geofrey Omolo, the LC5 Chairman, stated that while the Ministry of Finance considers these parishes “ghost parishes,” the Ministry of Local Government recognizes their existence, with a population exceeding 40,000 people.
“The people believe the district leadership has deliberately locked them out of receiving PDM funds meant to improve livelihoods,” Omolo said.
He explained that the 22 parishes were created to bring services closer to the people and are officially recognized in the national gazette. However, the Ministry of Finance argues that the Electoral Commission did not conduct LC2 chairperson elections in these parishes, a requirement for PDM operations.
Martine Musoke, Katakwi District Returning Officer, contradicted this claim, confirming the 22 parishes are present in electoral data.
“We conducted the verification and update exercise of national voters in all 131 parishes in Katakwi District, which are in the national gazette,” Musoke said.
Despite the district receiving 22 billion shillings in PDM funds, the excluded 22 parishes have received nothing. Meanwhile, the program continues in the 109 recognized parishes, with some beneficiaries already repaying loans.
Patrick Todi, the PDM focal point person in Katakwi, affirmed that the program is running smoothly in the 109 parishes.
“Some beneficiaries have started repaying the loans to the PDM SACCO accounts,” Todi said.
The exclusion of these parishes has raised concerns over the fairness and effectiveness of the program. District leaders have written to the Ministry of Finance requesting their inclusion but have yet to receive a positive response.
“We don’t understand the problem. We have written to the Ministry of Finance, but there has been no positive response,” Omolo said.
The issue has heightened tensions between district leaders and the Ministry of Finance, with accusations of unfairness and exclusion of legitimate parishes. The controversy has also raised questions about the criteria used to determine PDM fund eligibility.
District leaders are now calling for transparency and fairness in fund allocation to ensure that all legitimate parishes benefit from the program.
