This is what the competition law will look like, which would be the biggest reform to the Colombian state apparatus.

Last December, the constitutional reform of the general participation system (SGP), which is the transfer made from the national level to departments and municipalities to address issues of education, health, and basic sanitation, was approved in its eighth and final debate. It was determined that starting in 2027, a gradual increase will occur over a period of 12 years, increasing the amount of this item from 28.5 percent of the nation's current revenue to 39.5 percent.

It was also made clear that for this reform to take effect, a powers law must be passed that would distribute functions between the national, departmental, and municipal levels in the three fundamental areas of the SGP. This is a way to avoid greater allocation of resources to the territorial level and the concentration of tasks in national bodies. It is an exercise in decentralization, providing powers and resources to carry them out.

The initial schedule expected the proposal to be submitted in the first quarter of 2025, to be socialized from April to June, and to be submitted on July 20 for processing by the last legislative session. The drafting of the text was affected by the ministerial upheaval at the beginning of the year, and the proposal's socialization has only just begun.

Just last week, the text was presented to Indigenous communities, and a prior consultation process was initiated. This stage has already been completed, and a similar process is expected to take place in the coming days with Fedemunicipios, Fededepartamentos, Asocapitales, Asointermedias, Fecode, and other bodies. Their comments will be taken into account, and modifications will be made before the final text is presented to Congress.

EL TIEMPO received firsthand information about the text, which will be released in the coming weeks. The bill totals 176 pages, not including the explanatory statement, and 201 articles. Beyond the length of the text, the proposal promises to be one of the largest reforms to the Colombian state apparatus since the 1991 Constitution.

The proposal defines the process for transferring powers and how resources from the SGP will be distributed, always under the basic principle of closing gaps. The draft clearly states that powers will be exercised "by the level of government closest to the citizens."

That is, the municipal level will be responsible for service provision; the departmental level will be responsible for regional coordination and technical cooperation; and the national level will be responsible for policy formulation and oversight, with follow-up, monitoring, and evaluation systems. As greater resources become available at the local level, the project emphasizes the monitoring and oversight of implementation, particularly strengthening citizen and territorial oversight.

The text goes into great detail about the responsibilities each agency will assume in the areas of health, education, and basic sanitation. At the municipal level, it was established that it must provide education from preschool through higher education, as well as provision of drinking water, basic sanitation, and basic health care. Regarding this last sector, the text is formulated along the same lines as the current health reform, which is stalled in Congress—with little support—referring to primary care centers (CAPs), territorial health teams, among other aspects.

The proposal makes it clear from the outset that the assignment of tasks to the regional levels "must be carried out gradually, progressively, and simultaneously." That is, functions will only be transferred to municipalities and departments as they become ready. Furthermore, the national government and the departmental level are tasked with preparing municipalities to have the technical capacity for the new assignments.

In the areas of education and health, certification of municipalities is a condition for the corresponding powers to be granted, or their functions will be assumed by the departmental level. Meanwhile, in Amazonas, Guainía, and Vaupés, it is made clear that the department will assume the functions of the local level in non-municipalized areas.

The bill contemplates the possibility of the central level resuming its functions if there is a risk of noncompliance by any of the lower levels. However, there must be a plan for their return to the corresponding authority within a maximum of five fiscal periods. Likewise, the door is opened for municipalities and departments to "freely associate" to jointly exercise powers and seek to strengthen their own institutions. Furthermore, the territorial level may request the exercise of powers specific to the national level, for which it must demonstrate the capacity to do so.

The draft reforms the way departments and municipalities are classified for resource distribution. The current classification based on population—criticized for having the majority of Colombian municipalities in categories 5 and 6—would be replaced by one that takes into account fiscal capacity (structural poverty) and institutional capacity, population density, and territorial connectivity.

Under these new criteria, the municipal level would be categorized as capital districts, large cities, and groups one to five, while departments would be categorized as groups one to three. Under this new hierarchy, municipalities and departments located at the lowest levels would be prioritized for "the allocation of resources from the General Participation System and the authorization to use them freely for operations and investment."

A special categorization based on attributes such as "ethnic and environmental prevalence, specific productive vocations, and rurality" is also contemplated. This will be used to grant differentiated powers or exceptions for their implementation, as well as to define different sources of funding and support for territorial management.

The text obtained by this newspaper also details how the SGP will be distributed. Ninety-six percent will be allocated to primary items, which will be distributed as follows: 58.5 percent for education, 24.5 percent for health, 5.4 percent for basic sanitation, and 11.6 percent for general purposes, which is a type of free allocation for public services, housing, rural and agricultural development, transportation, the environment, detention centers, sports and recreation, culture, disaster prevention and response, development promotion, care for vulnerable groups, community development, institutional strengthening, municipal facilities, justice, and employment.

The remaining 4 percent will be distributed: 0.52 percent to indigenous reservations, 0.08 percent to municipalities bordering the Magdalena River, 0.5 percent to the PAE, and 2.9 percent to the Fonpet.

Juan Sebastian Lombo Delgado