| COLOMBIA,
A POSITIVE COUNTRY
Prepared by:
Affairs Coordinator
Internal and External Communications
Ministry of Foreign Relations
CLOSE UP
• FORUM TO TALK ABOUT DISPLACEMENT: the Colombian Government
launched the “Vértice” magazine, a publication
that seeks to support information and guidance processes on actions
undertaken for the benefit of the population displaced by violence.
The publication intends to raise the level of awareness among
representatives of national, international, public, private,
and community organizations regarding the importance of their
involvement in the care of the displaced population. The magazine
emerges as the outcome of the efforts of the Red de Solidaridad
Social (Social Solidarity Network), during the second half of
2003, in 20 regions and with more than 4 thousand representatives
of public, private, and community agencies. For further information
on the magazine, you may visit the website at: www.red.gov.co.
SOCIAL INVESTMENT
• SOCIAL INITIATIVES: the European
Commission extended the official announcement of projects supporting
stabilization
and social and economic reinsertion of Colombian displaced populations
until 11 January 2005. The official announcement seeks to crystallize
development alternatives that reduce the impact of displacement
on different municipalities in Colombia, and promote the strengthening
of local and national institutions. The projects proposed must
meet three basic conditions: guaranteed security in the homecoming
area, express willingness of the reinserted population, and institutional
support through integral actions that benefit the displaced population
and the receiving communities.
• MOTHERS’ MORTALITY, NATIONAL CONCERN: a total
of 26 EPSs (Health Promotion Agencies) and ARPs (Professional
Risk Administrators) joined the program of the Ministry of Social
Protection, which is intended to reduce the mortality of mothers
by 50%. This governmental strategy is supported by a number of
national and regional bodies, and its aim is to position the
issue of mothers’ mortality in the public agenda and monitor
the responsibilities assigned to the various social and institutional
players to reduce it. The impact plan, in which nearly $305 million
will be invested, will be carried out through two action areas:
first, communication and social mobilization to sensitize the
country in this regard and, second, the implementation of actions
for monitoring the programs that have already been formulated
and oversee their execution.
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND GENERATION OF EMPLOYMENT
• DEMAND FOR
ELECTRICITY GROWS: a consumption of 35,009.2 gigawatts / hour (GWh) was recorded
in the first nine months
of this year, which represents a 2.4% increase vs. 34,057.8 GWh.
The demand for electricity in the past twelve months increased
by 2.35%, compared to 45,525.8 GWh in the period between October
2002 and September 2003, with 46,722.3 GWh from October 2003
to September 2004. The monthly demand in September increased
by 1.82%, from 3,833.6 GWh in September 2003 to 3,903.4 GWh in
the same month of this year. During this period, the average
demand per day showed the same historical market values: 130.11
GWh/day, the annual cumulative was 127.77 GWh/day, and the average
for the past twelve months was 127.66 GWh/day.
• TELECOMMUNICATIONS,
COMPETITIVE SECTOR: the telecommunications sector in Colombia has begun
a new recovery and growth phase,
the foundation of which is the development of business plans
aimed at the creation of value and profitability. While in the
year 2002 only 10 out of 100 Colombians had a mobile phone, this
index went up to 17 out of 100 today, which represents a 69%
growth in two years of this Administration. Likewise, the Internet
service went from 1.6 million users in June 2002 to 3.1 million
Internet surfers in December 2003, with a 93% increase from one
year to the other. The number of computers in Colombia went up
in 2003 by approximately 45%, reaching an estimated 3 million
units.
• FINAGRO
SUPPORTS SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS: Fondo para el Financiamiento del Sector Agropecuario
(Finagro) [Fund for Financing
of the Farming Sector] launched a credit program intended for
small-scale producers, either individually or through an association,
and for all farming activities. This program, known as Credi-Agente,
will be financed jointly by the departments and municipalities.
Finagro will earmark 80% of the resources and the remaining 20%
will be allocated by the departments and municipalities. The
foregoing means that 100% of an economically viable project will
be financed. Farming and rural projects that are top priority
for national agencies and translate into productive employment
generation will be provided with 100% funding and guarantees.
• INTERNAL
TOURISM COMES BACK TO LIFE: the Vive Colombia,
Viaja por Ella (Live Colombia, Travel Through It) tourism caravans,
which started as an initiative to regain security and confidence
to travel again on the country’s roads, has become the
best element for tourism reactivation nowadays. In line with
the report from Dirección Nacional de Turismo y Fondo
de Promoción Turística (Tourism National Directorate
and Tourism Promotion Fund) from 12 October 2002 to date, 193.1
million people have been mobilized in 48.2 million trips, according
to records furnished by the tolls.
DEMOCRATIC SECURITY
• COLOMBIA, FIRM POSITION REGARDING
TREATY WITH OTTAWA: on 24 October, Colombia will comply fully
with the commitments
agreed upon in the Ottawa convention, when the last arsenal of
landmines in the country, stored by the Military Forces, is destroyed.
Colombia ratified the Ottawa treaty in 2001 and was incorporated
into the national legislation in law 759 of 2002, whereby the
State committed to destroy all the stocks of landmines in a term
not to exceed four years. As provided for by the Convention,
only 986 mines will be left as Military Forces reserves for drill
and training purposes. To date, 11,717 mines that were stored
have been destroyed.
• HOLLAND
SUPPORTS DEMOBILIZATION PROCESS: the government
of Holland will give Colombia nearly US$1.5 million to support
the reincorporation to civil life of one thousand young Colombian
men and women who left the lines of guerrilla and paramilitary
groups. The agreement was entered into by the Dutch Government
and the mission in Colombia of Organización Internacional
para las Migraciones (OIM) [International Organization for Migrations].
The program is scheduled to last two years as of the coming 15th
of October and includes assistance for education, labor training,
and productive projects, as well as the creation of three special
centers for tending the young demobilized population. A total
of 6,434 combatants from illegal groups have surrendered their
arms voluntarily so far in two years of President Álvaro
Uribe’s Administration.
STATE EFFICIENCY AND TRANSPARENCY
• COLOMBIA, RURAL COUNTRY OF LANDOWNERS: the Colombian
Government continues to expropriate goods belonging to drug dealers
and handing land suitable for growing of crops to poor peasants
displaced by violence. Today, the State is confirming the ownership
of 300 thousand hectares of land, to determine the origin of
resources with which they were acquired, so as to proceed to
terminate the right of fee simple ownership, if applicable. Some
of these properties are located in the Departments of Cundinamarca,
Meta, Nariño, Valle del Cauca, Cauca, Caldas, and Santander.
The Government has set the target of concluding its four year
period by giving the poor peasants 150 thousand hectares of land
suitable for agriculture purposes.
• 15 NEW PRISONS
WITH DRUG DEALING MONEY: 63% of the value
on account of designs and technical studies to build fifteen
new prisons in the country will be paid with resources seized
from drug dealing. The new prison centers will generate 24,887
new places, thereby reducing the overcrowding problem in Colombian
jails. The value of designs and technical studies for construction
of the penitentiaries is $15.65 billion, $10 billion of which
will be derived from moneys seized from drug dealing and the
remaining $5.65 million will be obtained from the budgetary addition
that the Government submitted for consideration by the Congress
of the Republic. The new prison and penitentiary facilities,
some of high and others of medium security, will be built in:
Yopal, Acacías, Bogotá, Jamundí, Ibagué,
Medellín, Cúcuta, Guaduas, Cartagena, Florencia,
and Puerto Triunfo.
(FIN/PCO/CIE)
22 October 2004
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