The Department of Foreign Affairs is set to approve a £100,000 grant to the relief agency GOAL, its first major State funding since last year's dispute over the accounts submitted by the agency.
The grant, for GOAL's humanitarian work in southern Sudan, was approved last month by the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell. Department officials still want clarification in relation to a number of accounting matters, but Ms O'Donnell says these "difficulties" are "close to being resolved".
The news comes as the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, is preparing to travel to Sudan later this week. The director of GOAL, Mr John O'Shea, had led calls for Government action to relieve the famine in southern Sudan and to search for ways to end the civil war in the country.
Up to 2.6 million people are at risk of starvation or malnutrition, according to UN estimates. The official death toll is unknown - one agency puts it at 120 people a day - but aid workers say the situation is worsening by the day.
Last night, a Department spokesman said arrangements were being finalised to allow the money to be paid to GOAL. "We're working towards being able to pay it over, but there are a few things outstanding."
The Department suspended its funding of GOAL in July 1997 after an investigation by the EU fraud unit identified possible irregularities in the agency's accounts.
The Department said GOAL had failed to provide sufficient detail in its audited accounts. It was also unable to satisfy itself that the agency had not applied for grant-aid for the same projects from two separate funding agencies.
At the time, GOAL denied there was anything wrong and blamed the Department's decision to suspend funding on annoyance with Mr O'Shea's opposition to government aid policy. EU funding was also suspended. Last October, a report commissioned by the Department recommended stricter financial controls at the agency, but found no evidence that funds were improperly diverted for purposes other than development.
Both GOAL and the Department agreed to implement the report, by auditors Ernst and Whinney, in full. A number of former GOAL staff joined the controversy by criticising the way the agency was managed, and in particular the manner in which it closed a number of operations in Third World countries several years ago. Other staff moved to defend the director, Mr O'Shea, against criticism.
In the absence of Government and EU funding, GOAL has endured significant financial difficulties over the past year. But in recent months, thanks to several high-profile fund-raising ventures and the appeal for funds for Sudan, the agency's finances have improved once again.
Mr Andrews plans to travel next Wednesday to Nairobi, Kenya, which is the main transit point for entering southern Sudan. After visiting a number of aid projects in the rebel-held south of the country, he will travel on to the capital, Khartoum, for talks with the Islamic government.
A spokesman said last night the visit was prompted by calls from aid agencies for Mr Andrews to travel to Sudan. The Minister also wished to raise the problems of the region on the international agenda, the spokesman said.
In an article in Saturday's Irish Times, Mr O'Shea called on the West to send in an international peacekeeping force to secure the food supply lines to southern Sudan and protect the local population from attack.
