Every village in Budiope West Constituency has a PDM story.
This week, the best ones were given a stage.
The Minister for the Presidency and MP for Budiope West, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, hosted one beneficiary from each of the 277 villages across the constituency’s 38 parishes and 8 sub-counties.
Each had been chosen because theirs was the standout PDM success story in their village.
Why the Timing Mattered
The gathering landed at a difficult moment for the Parish Development Model nationally.
The programme has disbursed over UGX 1 trillion in seed capital to more than a million households through parish SACCOs.
But its two-year loan grace period expired in March 2026, and by August government reported that beneficiaries had repaid only Shs3.4 billion of the Shs966 billion now due, prompting threats of legal action against defaulters.
Busoga has been flagged as one of the regions most heavily reliant on subsistence farming and most targeted for PDM funds, which makes local repayment discipline especially consequential for the programme’s national credibility.
Against that backdrop, 277 genuine success stories offered rare proof that the model can work as designed.
Greetings and Purpose
Babalanda opened by conveying greetings from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the First Lady, and the Office of the President.
She said the gathering was meant to let her listen to beneficiaries, celebrate their progress, and identify the challenges still holding others back.
From Seed Capital to Livelihoods
Beneficiaries described turning their Shs1 million into poultry projects, piggery, goat rearing, dairy farming, retail shops and expanded crop farming.
Many said the income had covered school fees and basic needs previously out of reach.
Babalanda commended their discipline and urged them to become role models.
“I urge you to go back and share the knowledge and values that have made you stand out with your village mates, so that everyone who receives PDM funds registers success,” she said.
A Warning Delivered With Humour
She reminded beneficiaries that PDM funds are purpose-built capital, not general income, and urged timely repayment so the revolving fund can reach more people.
“Do not use PDM money to marry second wives or for drinking. That money is seed capital to fight poverty in your home,” she cautioned, to laughter and applause.
Given the scale of unpaid loans reported nationally, the caution carried weight beyond the room.
A Promise to Walk Door to Door
Babalanda pledged to personally monitor PDM implementation, promising to visit beneficiaries door to door and work with district leaders to ensure transparency and accountability.
The Four-Acre Model
She also promoted President Museveni’s Four-Acre Model as a complementary strategy: one acre for coffee and cocoa, one for fruits like oranges and mangoes, one for food crops such as maize, beans and cassava, and one for pasture supporting zero-grazing dairy.
She encouraged backyard enterprises too, including vegetable growing and poultry for eggs.
What Success Looks Like at Scale
Individually, each of the 277 stories was a small local account of a poultry pen or a new shop shelf.
Together, they offered something the national PDM conversation has lacked lately: village-level proof that the model works when funds are used as intended and repaid on schedule.
Whether that success can be replicated widely enough to move the national repayment numbers will depend on the door-to-door follow-up Babalanda has now promised to lead herself.
