Senior Ugandan ministers are in Dublin to allay the Irish Government's concerns over alleged corruption and human-rights abuses in the east African state.
However, the head of the Goal aid agency, Mr John O'Shea, yesterday refused to meet the delegation. Mr O'Shea, who has led the campaign to end Irish aid to Uganda, said he had raised his concerns with Irish Ministers and a meeting with the Ugandans would be of no benefit.
The delegation acknowledged that some of the Government's worries were legitimate but blamed negative publicity about their country on a lack of knowledge and deliberate "misinformation". The Minister of State for Development, Mr Tom Kitt, said he had raised Irish concerns in an "honest and blunt" way in his meeting with the Ugandans.
Earlier this year, Ireland cut €10 million in direct annual funding to the Ugandan government because of concerns over alleged corruption and rising military expenditure. The money will be ring-fenced in a special fund to tackle poverty instead.
Mr O'Shea has repeatedly called on the Government to end its €30 million annual aid programme in Uganda altogether.
However, its deputy Prime Minister, Mr James Wapakhabulo, said yesterday his government had made sure all Irish aid money was carefully protected and would be spent only on poverty alleviation.
His colleague, investment minister Mr Sam Kutesa, expressed concern that other donor countries could follow Ireland's example. Most other donors pay money directly to Uganda's central government.
Mr Wapakhabulo said Uganda had withdrawn its army from the Democratic Republic of Congo under the terms of a peace agreement.
He denied claims that it had armed and incited rival tribes in the area it controlled.
The minister acknowledged that Ugandan military expenditure was rising, but said this was due to an upsurge in violence by the Lord's Resistance Army, a rebel group active in the north of the country. Allegations by human-rights groups of abuses by Ugandan forces, including rape, torture and summary executions, were "overstated," he said.
After meeting the Ugandan ministers, Mr Kitt, said Ireland was "in for the long haul" in providing aid to Uganda's poor.
He criticised those who called for "simplistic" answers such as ending Irish aid to Uganda.
It was "irresponsible and reckless" to argue for disengagement, when Irish aid was doing so much to save lives and lift people out of poverty.
"People who say we should leave it to the NGOs and missionaries show a lack of appreciation of the kind of work that governments do. NGOs simply don't have the capacity for this work."
Mr Kitt said he had "agreed to disagree" with Goal.
He said Uganda had been hugely successful in combating poverty (reduced from 55 per cent of the population to 35 per cent) and HIV/AIDS (reduced from 30 per cent to 6 per cent).
