PAC Queries Delayed Rollout of PDM Monitoring System

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has raised concerns over delays in the rollout of a key digital monitoring system for the Parish Development Model (PDM), warning that the platform may become fully operational late into the programme’s implementation.

The Parish Development Management Information System (PDMIS), developed by the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance in collaboration with other 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 village level.

However, lawmakers say slow progress in operationalising the system could undermine its effectiveness in monitoring the multi-billion-shilling initiative aimed at transitioning households from subsistence to the money economy.

Launched in February 2022, the Parish Development Model seeks to empower rural households through parish-level financing. The programme allocates about Shs100 million annually to each parish to support income-generating activities in areas such as agriculture, livestock and small businesses. Disbursement of funds to beneficiaries began in January 2023.

The monitoring system was developed to address long-standing challenges in tracking beneficiaries, funds and outcomes across the country’s more than 10,000 parishes.

During a committee sitting chaired by Hon. Gorreth Namugga on Tuesday, 10 March 2026, officials from the Ministry of ICT were asked to explain the progress of the system and how it will support implementation of the programme.

Namugga said the committee wanted a clear update on the system and its expected benefits.

“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,” she said.

Peter Ogule, Senior ICT Infrastructure Engineer at the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, told the committee that PDMIS was designed to monitor the performance and implementation of the programme nationwide.

“The Parish Development Management Information System is intended to keep track of the performance and implementation of PDM,” Ogule said.

He explained that the system was built using a modular structure integrating the different pillars of the programme so that information from various components can be shared and analysed.

Key components include household registration and community profiling, which captures village-level data, as well as a financial inclusion module used to track the disbursement of the Parish Revolving Fund. The system also includes a monitoring and evaluation component intended to assess the programme’s impact.