In this article, I disagree with the issue of giving Karamoja PDM beneficiaries only UGX one million. My request or advice is for the government to at least provide UGX 5 million per beneficiary. Why do I advocate for UGX 5milion? Karamoja’s poverty rate stands at 74.2%, four times more than the national average (UBOS, 2025).
If PDM is to be used as a tool for poverty alleviation, one million Ugandan Shillings can hardly uplift an individual in Karamoja from poverty. Let me give an example. If a person receives one million, then he or she has to establish an enterprise like poultry or piggery. One million cannot be enough. An enterprise like poultry involves the procurement of birds, medicines, vaccines, feeds, and even establishing a poultry house.
How can one million be enough for such an enterprise in a rural area of Karamoja, where people sometimes have to travel hundreds of kilometers to access materials needed for the enterprise? Kyambadde, citing Nuwagaba and Omona (2021), shows that the sole objective of all the micro development interventions which the government of Uganda has been implementing since the 1990s has been to eradicate household poverty. This is one of the reasons it introduced the Parish Development Model (Ministry of Local Government [MOLG], 2022).
Therefore, if the government of Uganda is to reduce poverty in Karamoja, kindly provide UGX 5million or more for the Karamoja beneficiaries, as they are indeed poorer than other regions. Some readers may question whether this Karamoja writer is aware of inflation, to be honest Iam. But what is important to clarify is that Karamoja faces unique and peculiar challenges that require a special intervention, one that involves critical thinking and innovative approaches, rather than “doing business as usual”.
Actually, what the government can do is give 5million per beneficiary and use incorruptible military forces for monitoring to ensure that no one mis uses the PDM funds for alcohol consumption or other nonproductive activities. In conclusion, without bias, the government of Uganda should reconsider the UGX one million and provide at least 5million for the Karamoja PDM beneficiaries in order to increase incomes, create jobs, reduce poverty, and improve the lives of the Karimojong.
Ayub Mukisa (PhD)
Executive Director-Karamoja Anti Corruption Coalition
Email: ayubmukisa@gmail.com
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