By Ambrose Okwanga
The Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, Alex Kakooza, has announced that 559 households have so far received UGX 2.8 billion under the government’s cattle restocking programme targeting communities in the Acholi, Lango and Teso sub-regions.
Addressing the media in Kampala on Monday, Kakooza said the programme is progressing steadily, with beneficiary verification and payments already underway through the Parish Development Management Information System (PDMIS) and the PearlBank-Wendi mobile wallet platform.
The restocking programme was launched following a directive by President Yoweri Museveni in November 2025 and later approved by Cabinet to support livestock recovery in 33 districts across the three sub-regions.
Kakooza said the government allocated UGX 80 billion in the 2025/26 financial year to support 16,000 beneficiary households. Each household is expected to receive UGX 5 million to purchase five cattle comprising three heifers and two bulls.
According to Kakooza, beneficiaries are selected at parish level by Parish Development Committees before their details are uploaded onto the PDMIS for verification and payment processing.
“So far, 11,504 selected beneficiaries out of the targeted 16,000 households have been uploaded onto the system, representing 71.9 percent progress,” he said.
Kakooza noted that payments to verified beneficiaries have already commenced, with 559 households receiving a total of UGX 2.8 billion.
“We expect to complete the first phase of disbursements to all the 16,000 targeted households by June 30, 2026,” he added.
The Permanent Secretary cautioned beneficiaries against signing or thumbprinting documents confirming receipt of funds before the money is credited to their registered accounts or mobile money numbers.
“No funds are handled by parish chiefs or Parish Development Committees. Beneficiaries should only acknowledge receipt after funds have been received on their registered account or mobile money number,” Kakooza emphasized.
He explained that the programme guidelines provide for verification through established government systems before direct payment to beneficiaries in order to guarantee transparency and accountability.
However, Kakooza revealed that implementation has been slowed by delays from four local governments—Lamwo, Nwoya, Pader and Agago districts—which have not yet uploaded beneficiary data onto the PDMIS.
He urged district leaders and technical teams in the affected districts to expedite the exercise to facilitate verification and payment processing before the close of the financial year.
Kakooza also appealed to political and technical leaders across the 33 participating local governments to strengthen monitoring, supervision and verification processes to prevent fraud and ensure the programme achieves its intended objectives.
“The Government remains committed to ensuring that all eligible beneficiaries receive support from the Restocking Programme in a transparent and accountable manner,” he said.