By COTFONE
In Uganda, a country where hospitals run without medicine, schools struggle with dilapidated classrooms, and roads become rivers in the rainy season, it’s hard to imagine that Ugx12.7 billion of taxpayer money could be prioritised for something as trivial as repairing bicycles. But that’s exactly what happened.
According to the national budget, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development recently allocated and disbursed a staggering Ugx 12,700,000,000 to the Parish Development Model (PDM) Secretariat, not to uplift communities, not to strengthen PDM SACCOs, but to repair bicycles for parish chiefs.
Let’s put this into context. For a bicycle that costs roughly Ugx 250,000 to 400,000 brand new, how many bikes are being repaired, and why does it cost Ugx12.7 billion?
This decision raises fundamental questions about the prioritisation, transparency, and accountability in Uganda’s public finance management system.
Country in Need, Leadership in Denial
While billions are earmarked for bicycle repairs
-Health workers are striking over unpaid salaries and lack of protective gear.
-Teachers in rural schools teach under trees and go months without pay.
-Roads connecting agricultural zones remain impassable, suffocating local trade.
-Disabled and elderly citizens struggle to access basic services.
“So, whose priorities are these?,” wonders Yisito Kayinga Muddu, the National Coordinator – COTFONE.
Certainly not those of the common Ugandan who walks miles to the nearest health center only to be told there are no drugs, no staff, and no help.
Where Is the Accountability?
The Parish Development Model was envisioned as a flagship poverty eradication program, meant to lift the 39% of Uganda’s population stuck in the subsistence economy. But with questionable expenditures like this, we are forced to ask:
“Is the PDM becoming another cash cow for public officials instead of a lifeline for ordinary citizens?,” Kayinga says.
A Call to Action
As COTFONE, Ugandans deserve better. We need:
-An independent audit of the Ugx 12.7 billion bicycle repair allocation.
-Stronger oversight of PDM funds to prevent wastage and abuse.
-Public participation in budgeting, so people, not pedals, come first.
Leaders who serve, not splurge.
On paper, Uganda has enough to serve its people. But if we continue to treat governance like a bicycle business, the wheels of progress will never turn.
