Parish Development Model (PDM) is a government strategy designed to uplift households from subsistence farming into the money economy by improving incomes and welfare at the parish level. This was launched on 26 February, 2022 by HE Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in Kibuku District. This was the president’s idea to create a government initiative aimed at uplifting millions of Ugandan households with low-income earners from poverty. PDM brought to the parish level to empower communities’ local management planning, resource distribution and enterprise development.

Basing on article 176, (2b, d, e and f) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda in the 1995 amendment, the Parish Development Model (PDM) aimed at deepening decentralization, improving household incomes, and enabling inclusive socio-economic transformation. By empowering local governments and communities.

PDM seeks to transform subsistence households into a money economy through seven pillars that is Production, Processing & Marketing; Infrastructure and Economic Services; Financial Inclusion; Social Services; Mindset Change and Cross-Cutting Issues; Parish Based Management Information System and Governance and Administration. 
Decentralization being a key to the PDM, ensuring people's participation and democratic control in decision making, with each local government unit having a sound financial base and reliable revenue sources to plan and execute policies affecting their communities.

This approach has promoted community driven development, local level participation, and government support, ultimately aiming to eradicate poverty and vulnerability, PDM has improved Ugandan livelihoods by providing direct financial support and services to rural parishes, enabling households to transition from a subsistence to a money economy, fostering wealth creation, job opportunities, and greater economic participation, PDM funds are channeled through parish cooperative societies to support activities like agriculture, value addition, and entrepreneurship, with a specific focus on empowering marginalized groups both men, women and youth.

President Museveni has played a key role to ensure its purpose is achieved through holding nationwide tours for the purpose of assessing and monitoring the PDM projects, their progress and sensitizing Ugandans. He has repeatedly emphasized that the biggest challenge Uganda faces is the 68 to70% of households in subsistence farming, and PDM is his strategy to solve this by taking development to the parish level, the lowest administrative unit. During his tours, Museveni directly visits the beneficiaries and project owners deep in villages and other areas, engages with them, listens and advises them on the best practices. 
In his tours, Museveni has called for simplicity of the model’s language to help local communities understand that the core goal is wealth creation where every family should be involved in money making thus tasking RDCs, councilors, and parish chiefs with active monitoring roles, reinforcing that PDM is a cornerstone of the NRM's economic agenda. Under his directive, the Parish-Based Management Information System (PDMIS) was developed to track beneficiaries, SACCOs, and disbursements. Over 22 million Ugandans are now registered. 

Many concerns on extortion of funds have come up from the program beneficiaries, however, the President strongly condemns all forms of corruption for example, during the Sebei sub-region tour beneficiaries reported some cases of mismanagement of PDM funds by local leaders and he was attempted to arrest those mismanaging the funds by directing State House and Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to step out and record the offenders. He has also ordered the arrest of offenders of these funds’ country wide.

      
Strict warnings against misusing PDM funds have been issued as offenders risk jail time country wide. In addition, he has recognized urban needs, hence pledging to increase PDM funding for city parishes, with personal donations to boost community initiatives for example during his tours of Bwaise and Kamwokya, Kawempe, he pledged to support specifically the ghetto youth by increasing their beneficiary funds to one billion for each division in Kampala.

PDM is more than a development program it is Museveni’s signature vehicle for delivering socio-economic transformation at the grassroots. His personal involvement, digital oversight tools, and strict enforcement measures demonstrate a strong political and developmental commitment. As the program expands, its success depends on transparency, local engagement, and sustained support.