BOGOTA.- The elected president of Colombia, Abelardo De la Espriella, announced the elimination of several ministries and agencies of the Presidency to avoid “duplicity of functions and waste.” In addition, he put an end to the role of the peace commissioner, who will now be called the security commissioner.
In a video on social media, De la Espriella said he hopes to “transfer the powers of these agencies to ministries and entities with a legal mandate, thereby strengthening accountability and reducing bureaucracy.” He added that “this will allow 229 entry charges to be reduced.”
“I am going to transform the structure of the Presidency into an executive coordination center, with a staff without ties and without charges to pay political favors or bureaucratic fees. “Now it will be an austere, efficient and results-oriented structure.”he asserted.
The Colombian president, elected in the June 21 runoff, hopes to save about 10,000 million pesos annually (about 2.7 million euros), money that he hopes to use to finance “programs that directly benefit Colombians.”
“We have to guarantee a more transparent State that is closer to the regions, as it should be,” he noted.
He questioned the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) for the permission it granted at the end of June to Rodrigo Londoño, alias “Timochenko”, to travel to Spain even though only days before he had ratified the sentence against him as former leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
World Bank visit
Likewise, De la Espriella reported the appointment of María Nohemí Arboleda as Minister of Mines and Energy. He also indicated that a visit by representatives of the World Bank is planned to “put together a cooperation and investment package.”
He ratified his intention to assume power “from a military garrison to pay solemn tribute to the heroes of the country and the uniformed men who protect the country,” this despite the refusal of the current Colombian president, Gustavo Petro.
The president-elect ordered the commissioner of security and minister of defense, Jorge Eduardo Mora, and the minister of justice, Iván Cancino, to “immediately dismantle all that impunity that takes refuge in the mirage of false peace.”
