"President M7's Wealth Creation Program Is The Best Idea Of Fighting Poverty In Households"-Mafumo Elaborates

By Keffa Mafumo:

President yoweri Kaguta Museven's Wealth Creation Agenda Is The Best Idea Of Fighting Poverty In Households"- Keffa Mafumo Elaborates.

You must be aware that ever since President M7 captured power in 1986, he has introduced several poverty eradication programs, for example, NAADS, EMYOOGA, NISAF, And PDM as the Current one.

All those programs aim at fighting poverty at household level. 

For the starters, Wealth Creation Agenda (WCA) typically refers to a strategic plan or initiative aimed at generating wealth, economic growth, and prosperity for individuals, communities, or nations. The agenda often focuses on:

1. Entrepreneurship development

2. Investment promotion

3. Job creation

4. Innovation and technology

5. Education and skills development

6. Infrastructure development

7. Economic diversification

The Wealth Creation Agenda can be implemented through various programs, policies, and initiatives, such as:

1. Business incubators and accelerators

2. Mentorship programs

3. Access to finance and funding

4. Tax incentives and policies

5. Trade and investment promotions

The ultimate goal of a Wealth Creation Agenda is to create a thriving economy that benefits all stakeholders, promotes financial inclusion, and reduces poverty.

When You look at President M7's Achievements, all the above are progressing and eventually poverty levels are dropping.

Recently, While in Bududa and Butiru on his ongoing pdm performance monitoring, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni challenged leaders, especially chairpersons at different levels and sub county chiefs, to document the beneficiaries of the Parish Development Model (PDM) in order to help the government track the effectiveness in implementing the program.

As a visionary leader, the president is looking at the impact and progress of the programs.

By getting data of beneficiaries (families) per parish, the government will get to know how many people have benefited from PDM because President M7's plan is to give Shs 100 million to 100 homesteads per year. 

This means that in three years,  300 homesteads will be covered, and still in the third year, those who would have got the Shs1 million will be returning it. That means in five years, it will be Shs.500 million per parish, plus the Shs 300 million that will have been returned by previous borrowers, making it Shs 800 million in their parish bank. If this is done  for two terms, the parish will have got Shs. 1 billion and Shs 600 million.

Take an example, On October 15, 2023, Mr. Namukhono from Manafwa received Shs 1 million through the PDM but withdrew Shs 990,000 after the bank charges (Shs 10,000), which he used to purchase a heifer (calf) at Shs 700,000 and two pigs each at Shs 100,000.

After six months, he sold the cow for Shs 1.2 million. The pigs also gave birth to five other piglets, of which four were sold at Shs 50,000 each, making it Shs 200,000, which he added on the Shs 1.2 million to make Shs 1.4 million, which he used to purchase an in-calf cow that has since given birth and is giving him 5 litres of milk a day.

So if this strategy can be implemented to other beneficiaries, then this means poverty levels will drop.

Actually, the President Museveni was impressed and supported him with Shs 12 million to buy 2 extra cows and expand his dairy project, which will greatly improve the quality of life for his household.

As a person who does research, I have confidence in the PDM and I know it will  perform better than the past poverty alleviation programs such as the start-up capital (entandikwa), where the money would be at the sub county and later through the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) and Operation Wealth Creation (OWC)

You must note that (Shs 100 million) per parish is given each year, and every borrower must get Shs 1 million, the target is to have households doing some of the seven activities recommended by President M7 that one can do in a small area and get good money. 

When you look at President  M7'' four-acre plan, farmers engage in seven activities on account of high returns per acre per year, which include  One acre for coffee, another acre for fruits (mangoes, oranges and pineapples), another one for food crops for the family (cassava, bananas, upland rice or irrigation rice, Irish potatoes, sorghum, or millet) and the fourth acre for pasture for dairy cattle. On top of this, one can add poultry for eggs in the backyard, piggery and fish farming in ponds for those near the wetlands. 

This idea also aims to fighting poverty in households.

I witnessed President Museveni visited Mr. Moses Kutosi , another beneficiary of the PDM program operating on half an acre of land in Shanemba Village, Bunakuti Parish, Buchigayi Sub County, Buchigayi County in Bududa distridistrict.

Mr. Kutosi, who received Shs. 980,000 from the PDM fund in 2023, bought 3 pigs at Shs. 300,000, and one of these produced 9 piglets; he sold five of them at Shs 100,000 each, earning Shs 500,000. The pig produced again, giving him 4 more piglets; one given to the owner of the male pig, while 2 were sold at Shs 100,000 each, making it Shs 200,000.

He informed the President that two of the original pigs which did not produce were sold at Shs 800,000 each, earning him Shs. 1.6 million. 

From this money, Mr.  Kutosi bought a heifer that has now calved, and it gives him 4 litres of milk per day, which he sells at Shs. 4,000 every day, Shs. 28,000 in a week, and Shs. 112,000 per month. He, however, decried the high costs of feed, especially for the pigs, which is affecting his enterprise.

The PDM is a government strategy aimed at eradicating poverty and fostering socio-economic transformation in Uganda by focusing on the parish as the lowest administrative and operational hub for planning and development. It is designed to deliver inclusive and sustainable development by addressing issues of production, financial inclusion, and service delivery at the. 

Keffa Mafumo is a state House official, and also planning to contest for Member of Parliament, In Butiru County, in the forthcoming 2026 general election.