By Juan David Cano, CAMBIOColombia, November 20, 2024
(Translated by Eunice Gibson, CSN Volunteer Translator)
Controller Carlos Hernán Rodríguez has pointed out that the Petro administration has not responded with the necessary speed and effectiveness in the implementation of the Peace Agreement.
He has issued a warning about the state of the implementation of the Peace Agreement signed in 2016. During the Así Va La Paz (Here’s How the Peace is Going) forum conducted in Bogotá, Controller Carlos Hernán Rodríguez presented an analysis that exposes serious deficiencies in results, management, and the use of funds allocated to the post-conflict.
Funding is allocated, but the impact is limited
From 2017 to March of 2024, 88.5 trillion pesos (roughly 20 billion US dollars at current exchange rates) have been spent, 45% of the total projected for the 15 years of the Agreement. However, the structural changes expected in the rural regions have not materialized, according to the Controller.
“In spite of the allocation of funding for the implementation of the Peace Agreement, especially for Point I, (Integrated Rural Reform), structural changes in the regions and rural areas have not occurred, not even in the municipalities prioritized by the Development Programs with a Territorial Focus, (PDET). That’s because of a disjointed execution that compromised the efficiency and effectiveness of the public funding,” says the agency.
Another shortcoming is the disconnected execution and public management, which also compromise not only the effectiveness but also the efficiency in the use of funds. Between 2018 and 2024, the Controllers Office made 511 administrative findings related to the implementation of the Agreement: 102 of them with a fiscal effect of 141,000 million pesos (roughly USD $32,000,000 at current exchange rates). In addition, they identified 262 irregularities of a disciplinary character, and 10 of a penal character, plus 16 cases that required additional preliminary investigations. Along with that, in the framework of the Victims’ Law, injury to assets arriving at 27,767,000,000 pesos (roughly USD $6,300,000 at current exchange rates) in the last biennium.
Analysis of progress point by point in the Final Agreement
The agency recently furnished a brief point by point analysis of progress in implementation of the Agreement:
- Integrated Rural Reform. Only 1.2 per cent of the country’s municipalities are in advanced stages of implementation of the Plans for Social Order in Rural Properties. Of the hectares committed to the Land Fund, (Three million), only 18,201 or 2.1 per cent, have been turned over.
- Political Participation. Starting in 2017, 1.35 trillion pesos (roughly USD $307,000,000,000 at current exchange rates) have been allocated to strengthening political participation. The Controller’s Office made no observations on this point.
- Reincorporation. For the reincorporation of former combatants, the collective productive projects have faced serious problems, leaving many of the initiatives closed down.
- Solution to the problem of illegal drugs. With 7.1 trillion pesos (roughly USD $1,600,000,000 at current exchange rates) spent up to 2024, carrying out the commitments to the communities affected by drug trafficking is still lagging. The low level of land titling perpetuates dependence on the illegal economies.
- Attention to the victims. Once again, the Controller’s Office made no observations on this point, but, on the contrary, it highlighted progress in the System of Truth, Justice, Reparation, and No Repetition (SVFRNR in Spanish).
- Verification. From 2017 to March 2024, 2.3 trillion pesos (roughly USD $523,000,000 at current exchange rates) was spent. Specifically in 2023, there was an investment of 136 million pesos (roughly USD $31,000,000 at current exchange rates), which was 734,378 million pesos (roughly USD $166,000,000 at current exchange rates) less than was spent in 2022..