Legislators siting on Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee – PAC Local Government have asked for tougher remedies to be put in place for recovery of pending revolving funds disbursed to beneficiaries under various Government empowerment programmes.
The Government has over the years implemented several life-changing interventions aimed at alleviating poverty such as the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme – UWEP, Youth Livelihoods Programme, and the Presidential Initiative (Emyooga) among others.
Hundreds of beneficiary groups in the different districts across the country are required to refund the capital disbursed to them to aid new emerging groups.
However, the Government through community Development Officers – CDOs have struggled to sustainably make recoveries.
The legislators now want the beneficiaries audited and individual group members compelled to repay the monies.
They also want civil servants who irregularly benefitted from the interventions to be singled out and punished and the funds recovered by deducting their salaries.
The MPs also want Chief Administrative Officers – CAO, and CDOs to design road maps, including the time frame for the recovery of the funds failure which they should be compelled to make recoveries from their own pockets.
The Obongi County MP Dr. George Didi Bhoka, noted that previous funds disbursed and mismanaged without punitive measures against defaulters provide fertile ground for the failure of the upcoming government interventions show bad legacy and the impunity must be addressed.
He was supported by Christine Apolot the Kumi District Woman Representative, who pointed out that beneficiaries who defaulted under the UWEP and YLP have not being reprimanded, and similar practices of impunity will frustrate the ongoing PDM.
The Jonam County MP, Emmanuel Ongiertho suggested records of the beneficiaries under YLP and UWEP must be thoroughly reconciled so that they do not benefit from the PDM unless they have cleared their pending dues.
It has emerged that several Sub-County Chiefs, LC3 Chairpersons and Community Development Officers from Pader District have benefitted from the funds, and consequently are making it difficult for the District to recover the funds.
From the FY2015/2016, the District received over Shillings 900 million but by the end of FY 2020/2021, the District had only recovered four million Shillings.
Dr. George Didi Bhoka, the Obongi County MP noted that PDM will not succeed following mishandling of the previous funds.
Equally, from FY 2015/2016 to date Arua received a total disbursement Shillings 2.194 billion but only recovered 445 million Shillings representing 20.2 per cent recovery but 79.8 percent remains outstanding.
The Auditor General’s report for FY 2020/202 revealed that groups such Lezebu Central Produce Traders received eight million Shillings in FY 2017/2018 and have never repaid. Another group, Abira-Alur Youth Grind Milling Project received seven million Shillings and has only paid 200,000 Shillings only in FY 2019/2020.
