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REPUBLIC OF
COLOMBIA
Public Administration
Country Profile
Division for Public Administration and Development Management (DPADM)
Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)
United Nations
September 2007
All papers, statistics and materials contained in the Country Profiles express entirely the opinion of the mentioned authors.
They should not, unless otherwise mentioned, be attributed to the Secretariat of the United Nations.
The designations employed and the presentation of material on maps in the Country Profiles do not imply the expression
of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country,
territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents........................................................................................... 1
Colombia ...................................................................................................... 2
1. General Information ................................................................................... 4
1.1 People.................................................................................................. 4
1.2 Economy .............................................................................................. 4
1.3 Public Spending ..................................................................................... 5
1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages....................................................... 5
2. Legal Structure .......................................................................................... 6
2.1 Legislative Branch.................................................................................. 6
2.2 Executive Branch ................................................................................... 6
2.3 Judiciary Branch .................................................................................... 7
2.4 Local Government.................................................................................. 7
3. The State and Civil Society .......................................................................... 8
3.1 Ombudsman ......................................................................................... 8
3.2 Civil Society and NGOs ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined.
4. Civil Service .............................................................................................10
4.1 Legal basis...........................................................................................10
4.2 Recruitment .........................................................................................10
4.3 Promotion............................................................................................11
4.4 Training...............................................................................................11
4.5 Remuneration ......................................................................................11
4.6 Gender................................................................................................11
5. Ethics and Civil Service ..............................................................................13
5.1 Corruption ...........................................................................................13
5.2 Ethics..................................................................................................12
6. e-Government ..........................................................................................15
6.1 e-Government UNPAN Link.....................................................................15
7. Links .......................................................................................................16
7.1 National sites .......................................................................................15
7.2 Miscellaneous sites................................................................................15
1
Colombia
Argentina
Click here for map of Latin America and the Caribbean
Government type
Republic
Independence
20 July 1810 (from Spain)
Constitution:
5 July 1991; amended many times
Legal system
Based on Spanish law; a new
criminal code modeled after US
procedures was enacted into law
in 2004 and is gradually being
implemented; judicial review of
executive and legislative acts
Administrative divisions
32 departments and 1 capital
district*; Amazonas, Antioquia,
Arauca, Atlantico, Bogota*,
Bolivar, Boyaca, Caldas, Caqueta,
Casanare, Cauca, Cesar, Choco,
Cordoba, Cundinamarca, Guainia,
Guaviare, Huila, La Guajira,
Magdalena, Meta, Narino, Norte
de Santander, Putumayo, Quindio,
Risaralda, San Andres y
Providencia, Santander, Sucre,
Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Vaupes,
Vichada
Source: The World Factbook - Colombia
Source: The World Factbook - Colombia
2
Colombia
is located in the northwestern region of South America. Colombia is
bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to
the North by the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea; and to the west by
Panama and the Pacific Ocean. Besides the countries in South America, the Republic
of Colombia is recognized to share maritime borders with the Caribbean countries of
Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the Central American countries of
Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica.
In contrast to the usual pattern found in Latin America, Colombia has had a long
history of civilian rule and control over the armed forces. Since gaining independence
from Spain in the early nineteenth century, Colombia has experienced only three
intervals of military government.
Despite the establishment of civilian rule in 1850, Colombia continues to face internal
armed conflict and several unsuccessful attempts at negotiating peace, Colombia
remains immersed in violence, with the state pitted against two well-armed guerrilla
organizations, ELN (Ejército Popular de Liberación) and FARC (Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de Colombia), and fast growing paramilitary forces. Bereft of any
meaningful political cause since the end of the Cold War, the irregular armed
organizations have become deeply involved in kidnapping, drug trafficking and
terrorism. The FARC and the paramilitary forces produce some 80 per cent of the
world’s cocaine and the ELN is responsible for a large proportion of about 4,000
kidnappings committed every year in Colombia.
On May 26th 2002, Colombians elected Álvaro Uribe to succeed President Andrés
Pastrana, whose efforts to find a negotiated solution to the armed conflict with the
FARC and ELN ended in failure. During almost four years of government peace
efforts, which included the granting of a large demilitarized zone to the FARC and
saw a number of peace initiatives launched by the international community, no
progress could be made regarding respect for international humanitarian law, lasting
ceasefires or viable negotiation agendas. Uribe was reelected president in 2006 and
has continued his mandate to crack down on Colombian rebels. Instead, the irregular
forces and Colombia’s military and police have grown in size and firepower and
warfare has become more intense, spreading also to the cities. Moreover, a flawed
counter-narcotics strategy has seen Colombia’s role in the drug trade increase, and
tensions with bordering states, in particular Venezuela, have not been resolved.
Source: International Crisis Group; www.crisisgroup.org/
3
1. General Information
1.1 People
Colombia
Argentina
Chile
Population
1
a
Total estimated population (,000), 2003
44,945,790
Female estimated population (,000), 2003
20,884,475 i
19,592
7,982
Male estimated population (,000), 2003
20,024,088 i
18,836
7,824
Sex ratio (males per 100 females), 2003
Average annual rate of change of pop. (%), 2000-2005
i
38,428
15,806
--
96
98
1.5
1.17
1.23
Youth and Elderly Population
b
Total population under age 15 (%), 2003
30.3
27
27
Female population aged 60+ (%), 2003
7.5
vi
15
12
Male population aged 60+ (%), 2003
7.5
vi
12
10
88
86
i
Human Settlements
c
Urban population (%), 2001
77.4
Rural population (%), 2001
22.6 i
12
14
Urban average annual rate of change in pop. (%), ‘00-‘05
2.24
1.35
1.48
Rural average annual rate of change in pop/ (%), ‘00-‘05
-0.5
-0.06
-0.72
Total school life expectancy, 2000/2001
--
14.3i
13
1
Female school life expectancy, 2000/2001
--
13
1
Male school life expectancy, 2000/2001
--
13
1
i
Education
d
i
15
i
13.5
ii
iii
Female estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000
7.5
3.2
4.4
Male estimated adult (15+) illiteracy rate (%), 2000
7.7
3.2ii
4.1iii
Employment
2
2
e
Unemployment rate (15+) (%), 2000
43.63 i
Female adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2000
33.54
i
Male adult (+15) economic activity rate (%), 2000
53.88
i
15iv
7.9vi
1
iv
vi
2
vi
2
44
iv
73
35
73
Notes: i 2005; ii 1991; iii 1992; iv Aged 10 years and over, Months of May and October, 28 urban agglomerations; v 1999, Aged 10 years and over,
Excluding the rural population of Rondonia, Acre, Amazonas, Roraima, Par and Amap, Month of September; vi 2005, Total population aged 60=
1.2 Economy
Colombia
Argentina
Chile
97.7 i
102,191
64,154
2,694
4,118
GDP
2
a
GDP total (millions US$), 2002
2,673 i
GDP per capita (US$), 2002
354,265
401,817
148,945
7,256 i
10,594
9,561
Value added in agriculture (% of GDP), 2005
12.5
11.1
8.8
Value added in industry (% of GDP), 2005
34.2
34.8
34.3
Value added in services (% of GDP), 2005
53.3
54.1
56.9
PPP GDP total (millions int. US$), 2002
PPP GDP per capita(int. US$), 2002
i
Sectors
b
Miscellaneous
c
322.6
10.7
4.4
Private consumption (% of GDP), 2003
--
62.7
63.3
Government consumption (% of GDP), 2003
--
11.4
11.4
GDP implicit price deflator (annual % growth), 2003
Notes:
1
United Nations Statistics Division:
Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN Secretariat; b Statistics Division and Population Division of the UN
Secretariat; c Population Division of the UN Secretariat; d1 UNESCO ; d2 UNESCO; e1 ILO; e2 ILO/OECD
2
World Bank - Data and Statistics:
a
Quick Reference Tables; b Data Profile Tables ; c Country at a Glance
a
4
1.3 Public Spending
Colombia
Argentina
Chile
Public expenditures
3
i
Education (% of GNP), 1991
2.4
Education (% of GNP), 2002-04
4.9
--
Health (% of GDP), 2003-2004
6.4
2.4ii
2.7
Military (% of GDP), 1990
2.2
1.3
3.6
b
Military (% of GDP), 2004
3.8
1.3
3.3
b
Total debt service (% of GDP), 1990
9.7
4.4
9.1
Total debt service (% of GDP), 2004
7.9
9.6
8.7
Health (% of GDP), 1990
Notes: i Data refer to the ministry of education only;
ii
1.4
3.3
a
3.5
3.6
a
4.2
2.2
1999
1.4 Public Sector Employment and Wages
Data from the latest year available
Colombia
1991-1995
Colombia
1996-2000
251.0
..
Latin
America &
Caribbean
average4
1996-2000
Excluding
the
Caribbean
average4
1996-2000
Middle
income
group
average4
1996-2000
0.69
0.74
0.59
0.69
0.74
0.59
0.58
0.58
1.20
..
..
0.70
..
..
0.30
0.34
0.37
0.46
2.16
2.16
3.61
..
..
6.05
Employment
Civilian Central Government5
Sub-national Government5
Education employees
Health employees
Police
Armed forces
SOE Employees
Total Public Employment
(,000)
(% pop.)
(,000)
(% pop.)
(,000)
(% pop.)
(,000)
--
..
859.0
..
--
..
228.0
..
--
..
102.0
..
(% pop.)
--
..
(,000)
..
..
(% pop.)
(,000)
(% pop.)
(,000)
..
..
67.0
68.0
--
--
138.0
..
(% pop.)
--
..
(,000)
--
..
(% pop.)
..
Wages
Total Central gov't wage bill
(% of GDP)
2.1
2.7
6.6
5.6
8.5
Total Central gov’t wage bill
(% of exp)
17.0
14.8
20.3
19.7
21.6
Average gov't wage
(,000 LCU)
17.8
14.7
Real ave. gov’t wage ('97 price)
(,000 LCU)
19.3
14.8
1.8
2.0
4.2
Average gov’t wage to per capita GDP ratio
2.6
1.9
Source: World Bank - Public Sector Employment and Wages
3
UNDP - Human Development Report 2002
Data refer to total public expenditure on education, including current and capital expenditures.
b
As a result of a number of limitations in the data, comparisons of military expenditure data over time and across
countries should be made with caution. For detailed notes on the data see SIPRI (2001).
4
Averages for regions and sub regions are only generated if data is available for at least 35% of the countries in that
region or sub region.
5
Excluding education, health and police – if available (view Country Sources for further explanations).
a
5
2. Legal Structure
T he politics of Colombia takes place in a framework of a presidential representative
democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and
head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by
the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two
chambers of congress, the Senate of Colombia and the House of Representatives of
Colombia. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Source: U.S. Department of State - Background Notes
2.1 Legislative Branch
Bicameral National Congress consists of Senate and Chamber of Representatives
women in parliament: Senate: 12 out of 102 (11.8%); Chamber of Representatives: 14 out of 166 (8.4%).6
The Congress of Colombia consists of a 166-seat Chamber of
Representatives and a 102-seat Senate. Members of both houses
are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.
Senators are elected on the basis of a nationwide ballot, while
representatives are elected in multimember districts co-located
within the 32 national departments. The country's capital is a
separate capital district and elects its own representatives.
Members may be re-elected indefinitely, and, in contrast to the
previous system, there are no alternate congressmen. Congress
meets twice a year, and the president has the power to call it into
special session when needed.
Source: La Camara/Composicion; www.camara.gov.co/
Fact box:
Elections: Senate and
Chamber of
Representatives last
held 12 March 2006.
Political parties that
won the majority
votes in both houses
of congress include
Partido Liberal
Colombiano, Partido
Social de Unidad
Nacional and Partido
Conservador
Colombiano
2.2 Executive Branch
The Colombian Congress amended the constitution on October 19th 2005, which now allows presidents to
serve up to two consecutive four-year terms instead of a single four-year term.
Article 188 of the Political Constitution of Colombia describes the
constituents and roles of the Executive Branch. The President of
the Republic is head of the state, head of the government and
supreme administrative authority.
Fact box:
Chief of state and
head of government:
President Alvaro Uribe
Velez was reelected in
May 28 2006 with
62% of the vote.
The National Government is formed by the President of the
Republic, the Vice-president of the Republic, the ministers of the
office and the directors of administrative departments. The
President of the Republic and the Minister or corresponding Director of Department,
in each particular business, constitutes the Government.
6
Inter-Parliamentary Union - Women in National Parliaments
6
Source: Presidencia de la Republica/Funciones; web.presidencia.gov.co
President Uribe was reelected with 62% of the vote in May 2006. In congressional
elections in March 2006, the three leading pro-Uribe parties (National Unity,
Conservative Party, and Radical Change) won clear majorities in both houses of
congress. In late 2006, the Supreme Court began investigations and ordered the
arrest of some members of congress for actions on behalf of paramilitary groups.
Source: U.S. Department of State, Background Notes-Colombia
2.3 Judiciary Branch
In 1991, the government set up five regional jurisdictions to handle narcotics, terrorism, and police
corruption cases in which anonymous judges and prosecutors handle the major trials of narcotics terrorists.7
The judiciary system comprises a Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Justice,
Council of State, the Higher Judiciary Council, and superior and municipal courts. The
Supreme Court in Bogotá is composed of 24 magistrates selected for lifetime terms
by justices already in office. Guidelines and the general structure for Colombia's
administration of justice are set out in Law 270 of March 7, 1996.
The Supreme Court reviews state and municipality laws, frames bills to be submitted
to Congress, and proposes reforms. It acts as an advisory board to the government
and can veto decrees. It has original jurisdiction in impeachment trials and
constitutional interpretation and appellate jurisdiction in ordinary judicial matters.
The court is divided into four chambers—civil cassation, criminal cassation, labor
cassation, and constitutional procedure.
The judiciary branch has generated controversy dealing with political relations
between jurists and the Government, and institutional confrontations with high level
corporations. However, recent reforms that have taken place within the judiciary
branch have increased citizen confidence in the judicial institution and have sought
to promote the rights of the Constitution from a mere theoretical formulation into
reality.
Source: Información General; Government of Colombia www.ramajudicial.gov.co/csj
2.4 Local Government
The Municipalities of Colombia are decentralized subdivisions of the Republic of
Colombia. Municipalities make up most of the departments of Colombia with some
1,119 municipalities. Each one of them is led by a Mayor elected by popular vote and
represents the maximum executive government official at a municipality level under
the mandate of the governor of their department which is a representative of all
municipalities in the Department.
The municipalities of Colombia are also grouped in an association called the
Federación Colombiana de Municipios (Colombian Federation of Municipalities) which
functions as a union under the private law and under the constitutional right to free
association to defend their common interests.
Source: Federacion Colombiana de Municipios, www.fcm.org.co/
7
Library of Congress Country Study-Colombia
7
3. The State and Civil Society
3.1 Ombudsman
The Defensoría del Pueblo, representative of the Colombian Ombudsman Office, is an
institution that acts within a framework to impel the effectiveness of democratic,
participation and the implementation of pluralistic rights.
The establishment of the functions defining the role of the Colombian Ombudsman
Office is stated in Article 281 of the Political Constitution of 1991. Various functions
of the Defensoría del Pueblo are listed below:
•
To observe and make recommendations to authorities and individuals
involving threats or violations to human rights. To guard and promote the
exercise of human rights. The Defensoría del Pueblo can inform Congress and
make such recommendations and observations available to the public.
•
To make diagnoses of general economic, social, cultural, legal and political
situations and the effects of the State’s actions on Colombian citizens.
•
To spread the knowledge of the Colombian Political Constitution, especially
fundamental, social, economic, cultural, and collective the rights.
•
To demand, to oppose or to defend the request of any individual dealing with
issues relating to human rights before the Constitutional Court. To interpose
criminal actions in defense of the National Constitution, the Law, the general
interest of the individual, before any jurisdiction, public servant or authority.
Sources: Defensoría del Pueblo Rupublica de Colombia;www.defensoria.org.co/red/
3.2 Civil Society and NGOs
Participacion Ciudadana, a civil organization associated with the State, provides a
scope in which Colombian citizens participate to defend their collective interests and
promote activities in the public sphere.
Below are the general objectives of Participacion Ciudadana.
•
•
•
•
To obtain ample informed citizen participation with proposal capacity. To
establish a framework that impels democratic principles that allow diverse
representation and participation in the proposal of amendments to the
Political Constitution of the State.
To construct a country in which citizens are informed about the rights, duties,
and guarantees that is granted to them by the national constitution.
To support the formation of parliamentary space with social movements so as
to strengthen the capacity that allows citizens permanent appropriation of
democracy.
To foment the participation and the presence of social movements and actors
in political processes.
Source: www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo/ParticipaciónCiudadana
8
The emergence of Organizaciones No Gubernamentales (Non-Governmental
Organizations, NGOs) started in Colombia during the late 1950s. Around half of the
NGOs that exist today were created between 1961 and 1980. With the aid of
financial and technical support provided by religious and secular organizations from
developed countries, NGOs have grown and expanded their areas of interest, as well
as their organizational forms. The organizational process has become more complex
with the creation of multiple networks, alliances with the public and private sectors,
and the creation of confederations, including the Confederacion Colombiana de ONGs
(CCONG).
Source: CCONG; www.ccong.org.co/generales/federaciones.htm
In 2007, there were 2,494 records for non-governmental organizations in the
country, according to Aida (Accessible Information on Development Activities).
Sources: Development Gateway; www.aida.developmentgateway.org/aida
The democratic opening begun during the mid-1980s and the Constitution of 1991,
in particular, have generated a favorable environment for the construction of that
public institutionality and a broadening of pluralist and democratic participation of
NGOs in the orientation and development of public policies in Colombia. The
fragmented perception of the sector has slowly begun to change based upon this
new Constitution and the process of increased autonomy of civil organizations in
relation to the government and political parties. The re-structuring of the
government, the establishment of participatory democracy, the deepening of
decentralization, and the greater importance of the private sector in social service
provision have all contributed to the greater visibility of NGOs.
Although the new Constitution and the opening of public democratic spaces for the
participation of NGOs established conditions for a more vibrant civil society, the
leverage of a political caste pledged to constitutional counter-reformation, the
influence still held by clientelism, and the political violence prevailing all across the
country have created a huge counter-weight against the potential for change opened
by these developments. To consolidate democracy in the midst of the crossfire
between guerrilla movements and paramilitary groups, whose most frequent victims
are NGO leaders and civilians, and to generate a renewal of political traditions are an
increasingly complex and risky undertaking, but an unavoidable alternative for the
country’s reconstruction and its ability to face the social and economic challenges of
the new century.
Source: Defining the Nonprofit Sector: Colombia; www.jhu.edu/ccss/Publications/pdf/colombia.pdf
9
4. Civil Service
4.1 Legal basis
In the Constitutional charter of 1991, Chapter II on the Public Function articulates
the basic outlines pertaining to the regulation and development of civil service
employment.
The Chapter states that all the services generated from the public sector - which are
remunerated with money pertaining to the public treasure must fulfill the specific
goals and objectives of the position and perform within its detailed structural
function. These tasks are regulated by the Law that corresponds according to the
sector in which its position is located (executive, legislative or judicial branch, central
or decentralized organization, etc.) or in the regulation of the organ or public
organization that encompasses it.
Under constitutional amendments, the government enacted a career civil service law
in 1958 and put it into effect by executive decree (Law Number 19) in 1960. Law
Number 19 and subsequent decrees established the Commission of Administrative
Reform to study ways to reorganize the executive branch and the National Civil
Service Commission to centralize the government's personnel policies by establishing
a professional civil service through oral and written examinations.
Sources: Carta Administrativa http://www.universia.net.co
4.2 Recruitment
The National Civil Service Commission (CNSC) outlines the recruitment process
which is carried out in compliance with Law 909 / 2004 for public service.
Article 1 of Law 909; Companies must be structured so that the responsibilities of
each position are clearly delineated. Hiring for such positions must be carried out in a
transparent and fair process in which the person with the most appropriate
capabilities for the specific position can apply. Oral and written examinations also
complement the recruitment process.
Source: Carta Administrativa http://www.universia.net.co
4.3 Promotion
Promotion is based on merit and the capacity of an employee to carry out his/her
functions with excellence. The exceptional employee must be able to demonstrate
contributions to the position that exceeds the minimum requirement. Levels of
expertise and experience also contribute to the promotion of civil service employees.
Source: La Comisión Nacional del Servicio Civil; www.cnsc.gov.co/
4.4 Training
The government created the Higher School of Public Administration (Escuela Superior
de Administración Pública-- ESAP) to train middle- and upper-level bureaucrats by
offering a four-year college program, as well as graduate courses in public
10
administration, urban planning, international relations, and other fields relevant to
government service.
Law Number 19 also sought to complement the civil service by developing national
planning and long-term programs through the creation of the National Council for
Economic Policy and Planning (Consejo Nacional de Política Económica y
Planificación--CNPEP) and the Administrative Department of Planning and Technical
Services (Departamento Administrativo de Planificación y Servicios Técnicos-DAPST). The DAPST's mission was to formulate long-term development plans and
create long-range programs of public investment. These administrative reforms
created the conditions for developing a technically competent bureaucracy and
served to standardize procedures, elevate the role of planning, and provide some
administrative consistency.
Source: La Comisión Nacional del Servicio Civil; www.cnsc.gov.co/
4.5 Remuneration
The salaries of near 90% of civil service officials - including the managerial level- are
between US $100 and $1000 as of 2003. The earnings of nearly 75% of these
officials are under $550 per month. These figures are much lower then those in the
private sector, for which the state has a difficulty in recruiting and maintaining welltrained professionals.
Source: UNPAN Colombia; unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups.html
4.6 Gender
Formally the Colombian constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender.
Colombian women have the same literacy rate as men do (92 percent) and their
participation at all levels of the educational system is equal to that of males,
including university education. Yet that equality does not extend to employment
opportunities in either the public or private sector. Unemployment is higher for
women, and those employed tend to be in inferior positions.
Law 581 of 2000 created mechanisms so that women might have adequate and
effective participation in government. In maximum decision-making posts and other
directive posts at the national, departmental, and municipal level, women have the
right to a minimum of 30 percent of the positions.
The government has set up a Presidential Council for Women's Equity, within which
is an Observatory of Matters of Gender (OAG). The OAG reported that while 53
percent of Colombian adults were female, women occupied only 46 percent of
national ministries, 6 percent of departmental ministries, and 7.5 percent of
municipal ministries in 2002 - 2004. Women held 12 percent of the national senate
seats and 11 percent of the national house seats.
Source: Freedom House; www.freedomhouse.org/
11
5. Ethics and Civil Service
5.1 Corruption
2005 CPI Score relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by
business people and country analysts and ranges between 10 (highly clean) and 0
(highly corrupt).
Corruption Perceptions Index
2005 CPI
Score
Surveys
Used
Standard
Deviation
High-Low
Range
Number
Inst.
90 percent
confidence
range
Rank
Country
1
Highly clean
9.7
8
0.3
9.2 - 10.0
4
9.5 - 9.9
55
Colombia
4.0
8
--
--
--
3.4 – 4.6
133
Highly corrupt
1.3
8
0.7
0.3 - 2.2
6
0.9 - 1.7
Source: Transparency International - Corruption Perceptions Index 2005
Surveys Used: Refers to the number of surveys that were used to assess a country's performance. 17 surveys were
used and at least 3 surveys were required for a country to be included in the CPI.
Standard Deviation: Indicates differences in the values of the sources. Values below 0.5 indicate agreement, values
between 0.5 and c. 0.9 indicate some agreement, while values equal or larger than 1 indicate disagreement.
High-Low Range: Provides the highest and lowest values of the sources.
Number Institutions: Refers to the number of independent institutions that assessed a country's performance. Since
some institutions provided more than one survey.
90 percent confidence range: Provides a range of possible values of the CPI score. With 5 percent probability the score
is above this range and with another 5 percent it is below.
The results of a survey 'Perception of Integrity and Institutional Performance' carried
out by the Colombian Government and the World Bank in 2001 show that corruption
is a problem in the country. Among other conclusions, the survey found that 70
percent of the public officers that were interviewed considered that corruption is one
of the main characteristics of the political system in Colombia. Likewise, a high
proportion of the sample said that approximately 50 percent of the official contracts
involve bribery, for an average amount of 19 percent of the total cost of the
contract. However, the most important result of this survey as it relates to the
specific interests of the project is that the perception of corruption is more significant
at the municipal level, in which all the indicators exceed the negative averages of the
entities both at national and departmental levels.
The corruption in contractual procedures in the local governments is very high and
has influence on the loss of transparency and integrity of the institutions at that
level. Corruption has also been prominent in election campaigns.
Sources: UNODC; www.unodc.org/unodc/corruption_projects_Colombia.html
5.2 Ethics
In 2000, the government created the Presidential Program to Fight against
Corruption (Programa Presidencial a Lucha Contra Corrupcion--PPLCC). The first
strategic target of this plan was to form ethical values among public servants. The
components of this initial strategy are to diffuse ethics methodologies through public
12
forums, and design an assembly program that strengthens ethical principles and
values among public servant managers.
Source: "Programa Presidencial de Lucha contra la Corrupción"; República de Colombia, Junio 2000
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6. e-Government
6.1 e-Government UPAN link:
The UN e-Government Readiness Knowledge Base provides extensive data and information on eGovernment Readiness and e-Participation and is frequently updated. The country profile for
Colombia on this database can be found at the following website:
http://www.unpan.org/egovkb/ProfileCountry.aspx?ID=37
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7. Links
7.1 National sites
Authority
Topic
President
http://www.presidencia.gov.co
Government
http://www.gobiernoenlinea.gov.co/
Federal Senate
http://www.senado.gov.co/
Chamber of Representatives
http://www.camara.gov.co/
Judiciary
http://www.ramajudicial.gov.co/
Civil Service Commission
http://www.cnsc.gov.co/
Ombudsman
www.defensoria.org.co/red/
Municipal Government
http://www.fcm.org.co/
7.2 Miscellaneous sites
Institution
Topic
Centro Latinoamericano de Administración Para el
Desarrollo (CLAD)
http://www.clad.org.co
Development Gateway
http://www.developmentgateway.org/countryprofile/...
European Union (EU)
http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/country/...
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
http://www.iadb.org
Organization of American States (OAS)
http://www.oas.org
Unit for the Promotion of Democracy (UPD) (OAS)
http://www.upd.oas.org
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
http://www.undp.org.co
UNPAN
http://www.unpan.org/virtual_library-byregion.asp
World Bank (WB)
http://www.worldbank.org/co
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