Namisindwa parish chiefs protest Shs179m unpaid allowances

2026-03-17 - 05:39

Parish chiefs and town agents in Namisindwa district have petitioned district leadership over the delayed payment of parish development committee (PDC) and housing allowances amounting to Shs 179.3 million. In a March 16, 2026, letter addressed to the chief administrative officer (CAO), the officials said most of them have not received their allowances despite submitting the required payment requisitions. They referenced an earlier request dated January 20, 2026, noting that payments for the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year have not been effected, even though the district reportedly received the funds. Willy Namanda, chairperson of parish chiefs in the district, said 163 parish chiefs and town agents are each entitled to Shs 250,000 as PDC allowance and Shs 300,000 as housing allowance per quarter. This translates to Shs 89,650,000 per quarter, bringing the total unpaid amount to Shs 179,300,000 for two quarters. Namanda said the delay has created pressure from community stakeholders and is affecting service delivery. “The delay to pay us our allowances has made our work very difficult because both the PDC members and landlords are on our necks whenever they see us, which is affecting service delivery in the parishes,” he said. Copies of the petition were also sent to the resident district commissioner (RDC), district internal security officer (DISO), LCV chairperson, district planner, and the PDM focal person, seeking their intervention. Elijah Madoi confirmed awareness of the concerns and said he would follow up with district leadership. “We have received the concerns from the parish chiefs and town agents regarding the delay of their allowances. My office will engage the district technical leadership to establish what could be causing the delay and ensure the matter is handled,” Madoi said. He emphasised the critical role parish chiefs play in implementing government programmes such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), stressing the need for timely facilitation. “These officers are key in monitoring and supervising government programmes at the parish level, so their facilitation must be handled in time,” he said. Efforts to obtain a comment from the Namisindwa chief administrative officer were ongoing by press time.