Lands Minister Judith Nabakooba has ordered local leaders in Mityana to step up recovery of billions of shillings disbursed under government livelihood programmes, warning that poor repayment is denying other households an opportunity to benefit.
Ms Nabakooba, who is also the Mityana District Woman MP, said funds distributed through the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) and Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP) must revolve among beneficiaries rather than be treated as grants.
“What hurts is that this money is ours. It’s not returning to the government,” Ms Nabakooba told local council leaders and their committees in Bulera, Kalangaalo and Kikandwa Sub-counties in Mityana North Constituency.
She said leaders must take responsibility for recovering the funds instead of waiting for ministers or district officials to intervene.
The minister said she was beginning a series of monitoring visits across Mityana following President Museveni’s directive allowing ministers to assess the implementation of government programmes and establish whether public funds are reaching their intended beneficiaries.
She said leaders should first identify beneficiaries who had failed to repay or properly utilise the funds before engaging communities to address the challenges.
Ms Nabakooba said beneficiaries have been given flexible repayment arrangements and should use them to repay the money.
“We thought that if you were given the money, you would work for two years and start repaying in the third year. You do not have to bring back the whole Shs1 million at once. You could bring Shs80,000 a month until you finish,” she said.
The concern is particularly pronounced under Emyooga. Ms Nabakooba said about Shs540 million had been disbursed to 17 Saccos in Mityana North, with each receiving about Shs30 million.
However, only three Saccos, comprising restaurant operators, salon operators and market vendors had performed well enough to receive an additional Shs20 million, she said.
“Out of the 17 Emyooga Saccos, only three have managed to recover the money. The others have gone silent. Nobody knows where they are and they do not want to talk about the money,” she said.
Mityana District commercial officer Ivan Kisakye said the district had received Shs30.5 billion under PDM, benefiting 23,004 households since the programme was introduced in the 2020/21 financial year.
He, however, said recovery remained poor in some areas. In Kalangaalo Sub-county, the parish with the highest recovery had repaid only Shs3 million, while others had recovered as little as Shs40,000.
Mr Kisakye attributed some of the poor recovery under Emyooga to misconceptions among beneficiaries who received the funds around the 2021 General Election and allegedly viewed them as government gifts rather than revolving funds.
Ms Nabakooba also asked leaders to ensure government agricultural inputs reach the intended beneficiaries.
District production officer Daniel Sseremba said farmers had received 50,000 coffee seedlings, 4,000 bags of organic manure and hoes under government programmes.
Ms Nabakooba urged local leaders to work with technical officers to monitor the distribution and use of the inputs.
Mityana District Chief Administrative Officer Nsubuga Zirimenya said LC1 chairpersons have a responsibility to sensitise residents about government programmes, monitor implementation and ensure accountability.
He urged them to maintain updated village registers and work with security agencies to address challenges affecting government interventions.
