Kampala, Uganda: Members of Parliament on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have raised concern over delays in the rollout of the Parish Development Management Information System (PDMIS), warning that the key digital platform may become fully operational late into the implementation of the Parish Development Model programme.
The system, developed by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance in collaboration with other government agencies, is intended to track beneficiaries, monitor the disbursement of funds and measure the impact of the government’s flagship poverty alleviation programme at the parish level.
However, legislators say slow progress in operationalising the platform could undermine effective oversight of the multi-billion-shilling Parish Development Model (PDM) programme.
During a committee sitting on Tuesday, March 10, chaired by PAC Chairperson Gorreth Namugga, lawmakers asked officials from the Ministry of ICT to explain the status of the system and how it will support implementation of the programme.
Namugga emphasised that the committee wanted clarity on whether the digital platform would deliver the transparency and accountability expected from such a major government initiative.
“We want a clear update on the platform and its benefits to the country. This is a transformational programme for the NRM government, so assure us that it is the magic bullet it is meant to be,” Namugga said.
The Parish Development Model, launched in February 2022, is designed to transition households from subsistence to the money economy by supporting income-generating activities at parish level.
Under the programme, government allocates about Shs100 million annually to each parish, targeting investments in agriculture, livestock and small businesses.
Disbursement of funds to beneficiaries began in January 2023, with the programme covering more than 10,000 parishes across the country.
Officials say the PDMIS digital platform was designed to address long-standing challenges in tracking beneficiaries, funds and programme outcomes.
Appearing before the committee, Peter Ogule, Senior ICT Infrastructure Engineer at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, said the system was specifically developed to monitor the performance of the programme nationwide.
“The Parish Development Management Information System is intended to keep track of the performance and implementation of PDM,” Ogule told the committee.
He explained that the platform was built using a modular structure integrating the different pillars of the programme to enable information sharing and analysis across government agencies.
Key components of the system include household registration and community profiling, which captures village-level data, as well as a financial inclusion module used to track the disbursement of funds under the Parish Revolving Fund.
The platform also includes a monitoring and evaluation component aimed at assessing the programme’s impact on household incomes and economic transformation.
Lawmakers said timely operationalisation of the system is critical to ensuring transparency and accountability in the implementation of the flagship poverty eradication programme.
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