PDM Secretariat Clears Angwenya Leaders as Residents Deny Corruption Allegations

What the report says

Hon. Violet Akurut Adome, the Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Director at the Parish Development Model (PDM) Secretariat, has called on communities to treat corruption complaints carefully and avoid spreading unverified accusations that could harm reputations. Dokolo Post reports that she made the remarks during a community baraza in Angwenya Ward, Kangai Town Council, Dokolo District, where officials were reviewing a petition about alleged misuse of PDM funds.

The petition, filed several months earlier by a resident of Otongodel Cell, accused some local actors of extortion, bribery and profiling more than one beneficiary from the same household. According to the report, the engagement with residents did not produce evidence directly linking the Parish Chief, local council leaders or SACCO leadership to the alleged taking of money from beneficiaries. Residents also rejected claims that household members were improperly listed more than once. Akurut said some deductions from payouts were linked to bank charges rather than payments demanded by leaders.

She urged greater transparency, including posting beneficiary lists on parish notice boards and using radio programmes to explain selection procedures and beneficiaries’ rights. She also reminded people who received PDM money between 2021 and 2023 to begin repayment so recovered funds can stay within local SACCOs and support more eligible borrowers.

RDC Babra Akech and district PDM focal person Moses Okello encouraged residents to verify information and raise concerns through the proper administrative channels. As reported by Dokolo Post, several community members at the dialogue said the petition’s allegations were false and that they had not seen irregularities in Angwenya Ward.