ARUA CITY ADVANCES WITH NEW PDM SACCO LEADERSHIP ELECTIONS

Dr Luke Taban, Arua City PDM focal person during an interview with Radio Pacis in his office.

By Onzoma Albert

Arua City

The Arua City Parish Development Model (PDM) SACCO leadership elections are nearly complete, reaching 98% progress. This aligns with Uganda’s broader initiative to democratize grassroots cooperative committees across the country.

Dr. Luke Taban, the PDM focal person for Arua City, explained that these elections follow the expiration of the previous board’s four-year term across all 54 wards.

“We have been given up to the end of June to ensure that new Board of Governors executives are selected by the people which is ongoing and by 30th of June, we have constituted BOG and because of this 2.7 billion cannot be disbursed, unless we constitute new BOG and they are trained and enrolled into WENDI System” he said.

Once concluded, funds will be disbursed to beneficiaries selected in January.

Jobel Ayiko, the senior commercial officer of Arua city overseeing the elections, confirmed that isolated cases encountered in two wards have been resolved.

“The election is 98% already successful, there are only some few isolated cases we have been handling in Tanganyika Central and Awindiri Central PDM SACCO’s, the elections are by law, after every four years there must be new leaders elected and changes made where if a leader performs well he or she can still be re-elected” he said.

The election process occurs in phases: initially, a vetting committee is elected to assess candidates based on a “fit and proper” standard. Subsequently, the second phase involves electing the auditor, supervisory committees, and the new PDM board.

The formation of these committees and boards will include all registered parish residents—both individuals and members of enterprises—an inclusive approach introduced in the 2026 elections, expanding voting rights beyond just enterprise delegates.

The newly elected PDM board, once enrolled into the WENDI System across all wards, will be responsible for disbursing the 2.7 billion shillings allocated to Arua City’s PDM. Leaders have requested patience from beneficiaries as they finalize elections, train new leaders, and complete the enrollment process, which is essential before fund disbursement.

Nationally, Uganda is conducting fresh PDM SACCO leadership elections to be completed by June 30, 2026. These reforms aim to enhance governance and broaden voting rights to all individual parish residents, promoting greater grassroots participation. The ongoing elections and reforms are part of a nationwide effort to improve local governance, empower residents, and ensure more transparent and inclusive development at the community level.