The chief executive of GOAL, Mr John O'Shea, has criticised the Government's policy of providing financial assistance to the Ugandan people through government organisations.
"Uganda is one of the most corrupt countries in Africa, and it is a government responsible for the death of five million human beings in the Congo," he said.
He made his comments yesterday at the launch of an Oireachtas committee report on Ireland's development aid programme in Uganda.
However, the chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Dr Michael Woods, who launched the report, rejected the claims, saying the €32 million spent last year by the Government was helping ordinary Ugandans. Ireland's development aid programme in Uganda is run by Development Co-operation Ireland, which assists developing countries such as Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia.
The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr Tom Kitt, also disagreed with Mr O'Shea. "Our money is accountable and accounted for," he said. "It is not going to President Museveni, it's going to the poorest of the poor, and while the non-governmental organisations do great work, they cannot do the work we can do."
Mr O'Shea said he had called on the Taoiseach to pull out completely from Uganda. "It's morally indefensible. The Government is involved in the rape and pillage of the Congo," he said.