The team of joint of the incoming president Gustavo Petro revealed his report following almost a month of meetings with officials of the current Government National. Among other things, they issued some warnings regarding what they consider to be urgent issues that the State must resolve.
In the splice report that was shared with the media, several “alerts” of what was found during the joint meetings with the current government.
For example, they indicate that there must be an “urgent review” of the accounts of the Department of Social Prosperity, since they argue that there have been cuts to its budget, which remain regarding 10 billion pesos.
These resources that were withdrawn, details the report, correspond to monetary transfers to citizens, that is, the policy of the Solidarity Income that during the pandemic allowed millions of people to have extra money to cover their basic needs.
The next Minister of Health, Carolina Cork, assured that there are public policies that seek to “criminalize]” young people. According to him, she said, they will respect social protest and listen to the demands of young people.
The conclusions
In addition, says the report, there is a problem of sustainability of the health system. As highlighted Cork, the accumulated debts of the EPS -mostly with clinics and hospitals- add up to 20 billion pesos.
Of course, he explained that this is an approximate figure. “There is no single information system that accounts for this.” In addition, he argued that there is a budget deficit of 4.5 billion pesos in the health sector by 2023.
“The system is going to an oligopoly, the oligopolies they are illegal”, assured Corcho and defended a health reform.
In addition, he touched on the issue of sugary drinks, since he said that they would not be subject to a regressive tax, but a progressive one. He warned that those most affected by conditions such as obesity or diabetes are the poorest.
Among other things, it was also known that the implementation of President Duque’s orange economy will be stopped in its tracks. Daniel Rojasanother of the joint coordinators assured that four years following the current administration it is still not clear what the orange economy refers to.
The current government also called for the granting of licenses to grow cannabis to stop, as they warned that they are being delivered to multinationals and not to medium and small farmers.
Continuity to some policies
But not only were there pit policies discarded, the splicing team also picked up some strategies that the Duque government is implementing that will continue in the next four years.
There they highlight the possibility of deepening a single day in schools, continuing with the National Vaccination Plan (with special emphasis on municipalities with low coverage), strengthening the National Circular Economy Strategy.
On other issues, such as Solidarity Income, the need to continue implementing it was raised, but expanding the amount of income and unifying it in a single public policy.
Tied up money?
Mauricio Lizcano, one of the coordinators of the joint work, assured that there are several contracts that might be tied up in what remains of the current government, which reduces the room for maneuver of the next one.
For example, the former senator indicated that they would be regarding to award a contract for the Canal del Dique, compromising future terms. “We are still concerned regarding the issue of the Commission for the Regulation of Energy, Gas and Fuels,” said Lizcano, who pointed out that they continue to appoint new people to the position.
In addition, they highlighted that the budget for 2023 in the science and technology sector has an inflexibility of 93.4%, due to the quota of “future validity approved in the 2019-2021 cohort, FIS, COLFUTURO and the figures projected in the CONPES DIE for a value of 216,814 pesos”.
