By Fidel Boy Leon
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has called on Uganda’s journalists to take up watchdog roles in the implementation of the Parish Development Model (PDM), a strategic poverty eradication initiative aimed at transforming Uganda from the bottom up.
Speaking at a high-level engagement with journalists from Wakiso District at State Lodge, Nakasero, the President made a bold case for embedding media professionals directly into the governance and accountability structures of national development.
“To have some journalists act as spies for the PDM fund… attach journalists per zone like Wakiso. “I will make a directive,” he said. We must defeat corruption. There must be investigations to confirm theft. Journalists should help us with all the information that we need.”
For decades, journalists have played a peripheral role in reporting on development programs, amplifying government plans but rarely being part of their actual implementation.
President Museveni’s proposal signals a paradigm shift, positioning journalists as active agents in combating corruption, especially in the PDM’s last-mile delivery.
The President plans to brief Cabinet and formalise this collaboration, acknowledging the unique position of journalists in accessing grassroots communities, exposing inefficiencies, and keeping local leaders accountable.
“Help us get the news about the PDM,” he added. “It must be confirmed, and we are going to put in energy.”
President Museveni described the Parish Development Model as an experimental program that has shown early signs of success. PDM is a successor to Entandikwa, NAADS, and Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), which were often derailed by elite capture and weak enforcement.
“The soldiers in OWC worked well but started getting complaints that they were serving themselves the coffee seedlings. “So, I resorted to PDM,” he explained.
While PDM is designed to put resources directly in the hands of households, its effectiveness depends on strong oversight, transparency, and community engagement, all areas where journalism can play a pivotal role.
The President did not mince words when addressing corruption in the program.
“Those that stole PDM funds, we are going to sell their property, they will return our money, and they will be jailed,” he warned.
Such statements underscore the high stakes of ensuring PDM works. With large-scale disbursements like Shs 100 million per parish, Uganda cannot afford leakages at the local level.
Museveni also promised infrastructure support, from boreholes to animal feeds, to complement PDM efforts where gaps have been identified.
“We have noticed that the beneficiaries are lacking water. “We will need boreholes in the villages… we are going to add in more money and other support.”
In a passionate appeal, Museveni urged journalists to educate the public on the distinction between public development and private wealth.
“Development is for all of us. Wealth is for an individual. “Each home must work for wealth,” he said.
Drawing on the Banyankole philosophy of “okwombeka”, the art of building a life, the President emphasised self-reliance, long-term planning, and a shift away from land fragmentation, which he described as “a symptom of ignorance.”
The engagement wasn’t only about journalists as monitors, it also recognised them as active participants in Uganda’s money economy.
Mr. Tony Ngabo, Chairperson of the Wakiso Journalists SACCO, lauded government initiatives like PDM and Emyooga, saying they had transformed media workers from “signposts” into entrepreneurs.
“We have moved from just looking for news. We have entered the money economy,” he said.
Beyond economics, the President touched on security and citizen responsiveness, highlighting the importance of timely reporting in addressing theft and emergencies.
He cited recent cases of cattle rustling in Agago and the tragic murder in Entebbe to underscore the need for better coordination between communities and police.
“Report immediately… Even if the criminal has left, the sniffer dogs are there. “There are also CCTVs,” he explained. “That’s how we defeated the chief criminal, Kidawalime, in Masaka.”
The solution? Sub-county-based policing and better civic response training are areas where journalists can again play an influential role in shaping public behaviour.
President Museveni pledged UGX 100 million to the Wakiso Journalists SACCO, along with a minibus to support their transport needs for event coverage and SACCO activities.
President Museveni’s directive to involve journalists in the PDM oversight loop marks a transformational shift in governance accountability. It recognises that anti-corruption can no longer be the job of the government alone.
By making journalists both monitors and beneficiaries, the approach builds trust, ownership, and shared responsibility in Uganda’s most ambitious poverty alleviation program to date.