By Brian Mugenyi
mugenyijj@gmail.com
The National Resistance Movement National Treasurer Ambassador Barbara Nekesa Oundo has challenged Busia’s newly elected grassroots leaders and local natives to protect Parish Development Model (PDM) funds from corruption and ensure Government programmes translate into improved household incomes.
Addressing local leaders during her grassroots engagement in Busia District on Saturday, Nekesa said citizens should use opportunities provided by Government under President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to develop their households, while leaders must expose individuals who misuse or divert resources intended for communities.
Nekesa said PDM beneficiaries were already using the funds to invest in coffee farming, livestock rearing and other income-generating activities, creating opportunities for households to increase production and improve their livelihoods.
“Our responsibility as leaders is to mobilise our people to embrace these opportunities and use them to improve their livelihoods,” Nekesa said after visiting coffee farmers in the area.
She said the responsibility of grassroots leaders should go beyond political mobilisation to include monitoring Government programmes and ensuring that public resources reach the intended beneficiaries.
‘DEVELOP UNDER GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES’
Nekesa said the Government’s development programmes were designed to give ordinary citizens opportunities to improve their economic wellbeing.
She encouraged local leaders to mobilise communities to embrace PDM and other Government interventions and invest in productive activities.
“President Museveni has always emphasised that development must reach the people. The village is where people live, where they work and where they need services. That is why grassroots mobilisation remains very important,” she said.
For Nekesa, PDM should ultimately be visible in the household—in the coffee garden, livestock enterprise, poultry project, small business and other activities capable of generating regular income.
She warned that corruption could undermine these opportunities.
Nekesa called on the leaders to expose people involved in stealing, diverting or misusing PDM funds, saying communities should not lose resources intended to improve their livelihoods.
CULTURAL LEADERS JOIN THE CONVERSATION
During her Busia engagement, Nekesa also visited cultural leaders, including women occupying influential positions within the cultural leadership structures.
Her engagement with the cultural leaders added another layer to her grassroots message, as she sought to connect community leadership, cultural institutions and Government’s development programmes.
Nekesa emphasised the importance of leaders using their influence to encourage communities to participate in development programmes, protect public resources and promote household economic transformation.
The involvement of women cultural leaders is particularly significant in communities where women play an important role in household production, agriculture, livestock and small businesses.
Nekesa urged leaders to encourage communities to use Government opportunities productively rather than allowing public resources to be lost through corruption.
BUSIA BENEFICIARIES INVEST IN ENTERPRISES
Mr David Maloba John, the Busia District PDM coordinator, said the programme has helped communities organise around productive enterprises and access Government support.
“Through the Parish Development Model, we have reached over 19,000 beneficiaries who are organised in more than 800 cooperative groups. These groups have helped communities work together, access government support and invest in productive enterprises,” Maloba said.
He said beneficiaries have invested in coffee growing, poultry, piggery, livestock and other income-generating activities.
The investments are intended to help households generate income beyond the initial Government support.
Busia District identifies enterprises including coffee, dairy, beef, bananas, beans and fish among areas through which households can increase production and incomes.
THE ACCOUNTABILITY CHALLENGE
Nekesa’s message comes as Government continues to invest heavily in PDM.
The programme was designed to move households from subsistence production into the money economy through parish-level financing, enterprise development and financial inclusion.
That makes accountability at the village and parish level critical.
The newly elected LC I and LC II leaders are among the Government representatives closest to beneficiaries. They can identify challenges, follow up on projects and communicate community concerns to higher Local Government authorities.
Nekesa urged them to use that proximity to protect public resources.
Her message was direct: citizens should embrace Government programmes, leaders should monitor them, and anyone who corruptly interferes with the resources should be exposed.
A LONGER CONNECTION WITH BUSIA
Nekesa’s latest engagement builds on her previous grassroots activities in Busia.
In September 2025, she led an NRM mobilisation meeting at Budecho Primary School in Dabani Sub-county, where more than 4,000 grassroots leaders reportedly gathered, including village chairpersons, flag bearers and mobilisers from Busia’s 568 villages.
In March 2024, she was also guest of honour at Busia District’s International Women’s Day celebrations at Masafu Town Council Grounds.
Her latest visit therefore reinforces her longstanding engagement with Busia’s grassroots communities.
But this time, her message went beyond political mobilisation.
It was about what happens when Government money reaches the village.
For Nekesa, development under President Museveni’s Government should be measured by what citizens are able to build with the opportunities provided to them.
A coffee farmer expanding production, a family building a livestock enterprise or a beneficiary starting a business represents the transformation she wants communities to pursue.
And where corruption threatens those opportunities, she wants local leaders and communities to speak out and expose it.
For Busia’s new grassroots leaders, the test is now clear: protect PDM resources, support productive investment and ensure that Government programmes are translated into real income and better livelihoods for the people.
