Vol. 533 No. 6
120 Mr. Spring asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if it is his intention to continue supporting aid programmes in Uganda and Zambia; and if he will consider undertaking a total review of this in view of recent political developments in both countries. [9635/01]
As Uganda has striven in recent years to create an enabling environment for development and for the emergence of democracy, Ireland, along with most western donors, has become a committed partner in its development efforts. Since the inception of our aid involvement with Uganda in 1994, Ireland Aid has committed resources to assist with Uganda's economic and social development in a strong aid programme through which we will spend £19 million in 2001 on health, including HIV-AIDS, education, water and sanitation, roads, the productive sector and governance. This budget will be spent in accordance with a three-year country strategy negotiated with the Ugandan authorities, which is based on an agreed assessment of needs, with an emphasis on poverty reduction and capacity-building.
The eradication of poverty is the core aim of a partnership approach agreed between the Ugandan government and the donor community. There is significant progress to report. The percentage of the people in Uganda living below the poverty line has fallen from 56% in 1992 to 35% in 2000. This in turn arises from consistent strong economic growth of between 5% and 8% over the last five years.
I have followed very closely the recent Presidential elections in Uganda and have been receiving regular reports from our Embassy in Kampala. The assessment made by our Embassy and by a wide range of international observers is that the election was imperfect but essentially fair. The observers acknowledged that there were malpractices, some of them serious, in a number of districts, mainly by supporters of President Museveni. However, these were deemed sufficiently restricted not to have altered the overall outcome. In other words, despite the flaws, the outcome of the election is judged to reflect the will of the Ugandan people.
Governance in poorer countries is itself a developmental issue and, against the background of the chaos from which Uganda has emerged in a little over fifteen years and the general instability in the region, this open election between two strong contestants can be seen as a significant and positive step in the evolution of functioning democracy. The Government is also continuing to closely monitor political developments in Zambia in advance of the forthcoming presidential elections. We hope that the elections will be free and fair and will be conducted in full accordance with the Zambian constitution. It should be borne in mind that Zambia has for many years remained one of Africa's more stable countries, despite being in a very turbulent region. Our development partnership with that country has been one of the most enduring among the six priority countries, and the focus of the Ireland Aid programme on health, including HIV-AIDS, basic education, water and sanitation and urban community development is directly targeted at the estimated 70% of Zambians who live in poverty. As with Uganda, the programme operates on the basis of an agreed assessment of needs, incorporated in a three-year strategy plan formulated in partnership with the Zambian authorities. The programme budget for 2001 is £8.75 million.
Our strategy is to continue to work with the authorities and people of both Uganda and Zambia with a view to furthering democracy and reducing poverty. In common with all Ireland Aid programmes, our contributions to these countries will be subject to ongoing review with the objective of maximising their effectiveness.
