The government has revealed plans to employ the Internal Security Organization’s (ISO) expertise as second-line managers to monitor the implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM).

The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Ramathan Ggoobi, revealed that the government intends to leverage operation structures of the Internal Security Organization to stamp out corruption tendencies in the implementation of PDM.

Ggoobi made the remarks during a media briefing  on the State of Uganda’s economy and the budget priorities for the short and medium term at the ministry on December 12, 2024.

‘’We have eliminated middlemen, but ghosts are still being registered and paid PDM money. This needs to be followed up,” he said.

Ggoobi said that in its early stages of implementation, the program has suffered violation by unscrupulous individuals, whose selfish conduct is threatening its relevance and success.

In 2020, the government implemented the Parish Development Model as the latest livelihood improvement program, focusing on development planning and resources at the parish level.

However, there have been numerous reports to the ministry about corrupt district officials working with PDM Committee leaders to register and disburse money to ghost beneficiaries and leave out the genuine members.

According to Ggoobi, as a remedy, the ministry has empowered ISO operatives with a newly acquired digital tool to start verifying every detail of the beneficiaries, which the parish chiefs uploaded on the centralized program’s Management Information System.

The Internal Security Organization (ISO) is actively involved in the data capture of beneficiaries under PDM, and it recently trained Gombolola Internal Security Officers (GISOs) in the Kigezi region on using the Zaidi App for this purpose, emphasizing improved data management and monitoring of government programs.

The Zaidi App aims to enhance transparency and create a reliable database for future government planning.

Ggoobi revealed that the Ministry of Finance is already coordinating an inter-ministerial committee that will regularly share information and emerging reports about the implementation of all government wealth-creation interventions that are implemented in the country.

ISO operatives will play a pivotal role in the Parish Development Model (PDM) by enhancing data collection and community mobilization efforts.