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2007 Assessment

Colombia: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Colombia: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Procurement
Indicators		Score
48	Is the public procurement process effective?	65
49	Can citizens access the public procurement process?	75

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is the public procurement process effective?

48a: In law, there are regulations addressing conflicts of interest for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to Law 80 of 1993, public servants are unable to participate in procurement processes as well as their relatives, the societies in which any of the members has familiar links with another bidder, former members of the entity making the procurement process, relatives of managerial servants in the contracting entity, the wife or husband of managers, advisors, members of directorates and those with previous disciplinary sanctions.

References: LEY 80 DE 1993 (Octubre 28) Diario Oficial No. 41.094, del 28 de octubre de 1993 Por la cual se expide el Estatuto General de Contratación de la Administración Pública. art. 8

Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. art. 127

48b: In law, there is mandatory professional training for public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments: One of the objectives of the Law 909 of 2004 that regulates civil service is the professionalizations of public employees. In this context, training programs are included as an important tool to improve the professional capacities of employees and the development of their duties. Thus, training programs have been increasing in recent years. However, there is no specific regulation onregular training for public procurement official.

The Law 909 states that It is a responsibility of the offices of human resources in each institution, and of the Administrative Department for Civil Service (DAFP) to train their employees, however, these programs are still in the process of becoming regularized and standarized. Many public officials still report that the lack of knowledge on procurement rules is one of the main reasons for irregular procurement processes. According to the diagnosis made by the DAFP, training of public procurement regulations constitutes the main interest of public employees and therefore they are planning to increase training in this area. In sum, although the regularization of training procedures in public procurement is increasingly seen as a priority for the Civil Service Department and some initiatives are being taken in this area, there are still many loopholes in training public procurement officials.

References: Vicepresidencia de la República, Programa Presidencial de Lucha contra la Corrupción. 2005. Propuesta de una política de Estado para el control de la corrupción.

Departamento Administrativo de la Función Pública. 2006. Informe de Rendicion de Cuentas Sector Funcion Publica 2005-2006

LEY 909 DE 2004 (septiembre 23) Diario Oficial No. 45.680, de 23 de septiembre de 2004 "Por la cual se expiden normas que regulan el empleo público, la carrera administrativa, gerencia pública y se dictan otras disposiciones" Title XI Chapter I.

48c: In practice, the conflicts of interest regulations for public procurement officials are enforced.

Score:

100

Comments: Despite the existence of detailed and specific regulations to prevent conflicts of interest, public procurement is still one of the major sources of corruption cases through different mechanisms used to circumvent regulations such as: specifications previously negotiated with contractors, use of figureheads, contract fractioning, non-competitive process in which the winner is favored from the beginning and the use of untrue prices which are then compensated with additional contracts.

The Federation of Chambers of Commerce published a survey about procurement processes among 1,697 entrepeneurs in 2004 and 2006, reporting an improvement in the transparency of tendering processes. Such improvement is reported at the national, but not the sub-national level. In general, entrepreneurs still report very low levels of confidence in public institutions for procurement processes. Additionally, it is believed that bribing is more common in procurement than in any other administrative process and a high percentage of entrepreneurs (around 80 percent) report that they abstain from procurement processes for three main reasons: there are monopolies, the specifications are adjusted to favor some bidders, and there are political pressures to decide on contracts.

References: Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio. Encuesta Probidad 2006.

Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio. Encuesta Probidad III. Encuesta Empresarial sobre corrupción y probidad en el sector público.

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2002. Sistema Nacional de Integridad.Análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Cuadernos de Transaprencia # 4. Bogotá.

48d: In law, there is a mechanism that monitors the assets, incomes and spending habits of public procurement officials.

Score:

YES

Comments: There is no such mandate, although according to Law 190 (Anti-corruption Law) and Law 734 (Disciplinary Code for Public Servants), it is a responsibility of public servants to present asset declarations when taking and leaving office.

References: LEY 734 DE 2002. (febrero 5). por la cual se expide el Código Disciplinario Unico art. 34

Ley 190 de 1995 (junio 6) Diario Oficial No. 41.878, de 6 de junio de 1995 "Por la cual se dictan normas tendientes a preservar la moralidad en la administración pública y se fijan disposiciones con el fin de erradicar la corrupción administrativa". art 13,14, 15, 16

48e: In law, major procurements require competitive bidding.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to Law 80 of 1993 and its most recent reform introduced in July 2007, all major procurements require competitive bidding. The amount of procurements that require bidding is determined according to the yearly budget of the respective institution.

References: Ley 1150 de 2007, Diario Oficial No. 46.691 de 16 de julio de 2007, "Por medio de la cual se introducen medidas para la eficiencia y la transparencia en la Ley 80 de 1993 y se dictan otras disposiciones generales sobre la contratación con Recursos Públicos" Art. 2, 3

48f: In law, strict formal requirements limit the extent of sole sourcing.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the most recent amendment to the Procurement Law, there is no provision for sole sourcing but for direct contracting which can only be used for credits, inter-administrative bidding, in case of manifest urgency, for Security and Defense contracts, for the development of scientific and technological activities, when there are not enough suppliers in the market and for special professional services or artistic works that can only be recommended to certain suppliers.

References: Ley 1150 de 2007, publicada en el Diario Oficial No. 46.691 de 16 de julio de 2007, "Por medio de la cual se introducen medidas para la eficiencia y la transparencia en la Ley 80 de 1993 y se dictan otras disposiciones generales sobre la contratación con Recursos Públicos".

48g: In law, unsuccessful bidders can instigate an official review of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the law, bidders can access and appeal reports, concepts and decisions made or adopted during all the stages of the procurement process. They also can express observations when those reports or decisions are presented.

References: Law 80 of 1993.(Octubre 28) Diario Oficial No. 41.094, del 28 de octubre de 1993 "Por la cual se expide el Estatuto General de Contratación de la Administración Pública" art. 24

48h: In law, unsuccessful bidders can challenge procurement decisions in a court of law.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to law, all procurement decisions can be submitted to the same appeal mechanisms specified to all public decisions: Reposition, appeal, nulity and reparation can be presented before courts. Bidders can ask for a nullity action previous to the adjudication if the complaint relates to the bids specifications and has to be presented within 30 days after bids are communicated. If there are controversies bidders can ask for nullity before the administrative jurisdiction, the Supreme Audit Institution (Contraloria) the General Attorney´s Office (Procuraduria) or the General Prosecutor (Fiscalía General de la Nación).

References: Law 80 of 1993.(Octubre 28) Diario Oficial No. 41.094, del 28 de octubre de 1993 "Por la cual se expide el Estatuto General de Contratación de la Administración Pública" art. 44- 49

Decreto Extraordinario 1818 de 1998, DECRETO 1818 DE 1998 (septiembre 7) Diario Oficial No. 43.380, del 07 de septiembre de 1998 Por medio del cual se expide el Estatuto de los mecanismos alternativos de solución de conflictos.

Ley 1150 de 2007, publicada en el Diario Oficial No. 46.691 de 16 de julio de 2007, "Por medio de la cual se introducen medidas para la eficiencia y la transparencia en la Ley 80 de 1993 y se dictan otras disposiciones generales sobre la contratación con Recursos Públicos". art. 6

DECRETO 1 DE 1984 (enero 2) Diario Oficial No. 36.439, del 10 de enero de 1984 Por el cual se reforma el Código Contencioso Administrativo, art. 50

48i: In law, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

YES

Comments: According to the most recent amendment to the Procurement Law issued in July 2007, individuals who have been convicted of bribing or other corruption acts cannot participate in procurement processes. This prohibition is extended to the societies or companies to which they belong. However, the law does not create a formal blacklist.

48j: In practice, companies guilty of major violations of procurement regulations (i.e. bribery) are prohibited from participating in future procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments: There is no system of formal blacklists and in practice many companies convicted or involved in corruption scandals contract with the state again.

There are two online systems of information on public procurement. These have improved the centralization of information which can be useful to prevent convicted companies from engaging in procurement again. However, those systems are still in implementation stages and there are many problems in the reliability of information and in the level of use and knowledge of those mechanisms.

References: Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2002. Sistema Nacional de Integridad.Análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Cuadernos de Transparencia # 4. Bogotá

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Monitoreo ciudadano a herramientas de transparencia en la contratación pública. Sistema de Información par ala vigilancia de la contratación estatal SICE y portal Unico de Contratacion. Cuadernos de Transaprencia # 12. Bogota.

Can citizens access the public procurement process?

49a: In law, citizens can access public procurement regulations.

Score:

YES

Comments: Regulations for public procurement are covered in Law 80 of 1993 and all its amendments and are open to the public. The Constitutional principle that guarantees the right to information compels the government to make regulations public and easily available. In practice, the complexity of regulations and the amount of amendments made to the law makes it difficult for citizens to know and understand the specific regulations in place.

References: Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. Art. 20

49b: In law, the government is required to publicly announce the results of procurement decisions.

Score:

YES

Comments: All procurement processes are public. If there is a request there can be a public audience for adjudication (art. 273 Constitution). If not, the decisions should be communicated to all bidders, published in two printed media with wide circulation, and communicated to the Chambers of Commerce.

Constitución Política de Colombia 1991. Art. 273

49c: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: Records on general rules governing public procurement are easily available online, but given the amount of rules and changes that have been made to the general framework, citizens may have some difficulties in understanding or knowing the entire universe of regulations.

References: Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio. Encuesta Probidad 2006.

Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio.2004. Encuesta Probidad III. Encuesta Empresarial sobre corrupción y probidad en el sector público. Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2002. Sistema Nacional de Integridad.Análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Cuadernos de Transparencia #4. Bogotá.

49d: In practice, citizens can access public procurement regulations at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

There are problems in accessing specifics bids. In fact, entrepreneurs feel that previous negotiations and privileged access to information before bids are open constitute major constraints for them to participate in fair procurement processes and may generate a financial burden on bidders. On July 2007 there was a reform to the Procurement Law prohibiting requests for payment for procurement specifications.

References: Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio. Encuesta Probidad 2006.

49e: In practice, major public procurements are effectively advertised.

Score:

100

Comments: There are two online systems of information on public procurement, which have made it easier for citizens to access information, however those systems are still in implementation stages and there are many problems in the reliability of information and in level of use and knowledge of those mechanisms by citizens.

Through Law 598 of 2000, the Supreme Audit Intitution (Contraloria General de la Republica) created the Sistema de Información para la Vigilancia de la Contratación Estatal (SICE-- Information System to Oversee Public Procurement) and in 2003 the vice-presidency of the Republic created the Portal Unico de Contratación on which public institutions publish information on public procurement. According to the decree 2434 of 2006 it is a duty for institutions to publish procurement information with some exceptions as national security and defense, and leasing of real estate, among others.

The Documento Conpes 3249 of October 2003 proposed to integrate both online information systems. It is an ongoing process. According to a study from Transparency for Colombia, up until July 2005, 134 public entities were publishing information on the Portal Unico and the number of monthly average visits increased from 30,000 to 43,087. On that Web page citizens can access contract specifications for open biddings. The SICE concentrates information on reference prices, list of providers and catalogs of goods and services. Up until July 2005 it had information on 2,221 national and decentralized entities.The publishing of information on the SICE and Portal Unico has improved, but there still are many information gaps between what is published and the information held by public entities, thus information on the Web page is not totally reliable. Additionally, there are still many public entities that do not publish information on those Web pages. Transparency for Colombia reports that the performance of the Portal is better than the performance of the SICE.

There are problems in accessing specific bids. In fact, entrepreneurs feel that previous negotiations and privileged access to information before bids are public constitute major constraints for them to participate in fair procurement processes and may generate a financial burden on bidders. On July 2007 there was a reform to the Procurement Law prohibiting requests for payment for procurement specifications.

References: Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Monitoreo ciudadano a herramientas de transparencia en la contratación pública. Sistema de Información para la vigilancia de la contratación estatal SICE y portal Unico de Contratacion. Cuadernos de Transparencia # 12. Bogota.

Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio. Encuesta Probidad 2006.

Confederación de Cámaras de Comercio. 2004. Encuesta Probidad III. Encuestra Empresarial sobre corrupción y probidad en el sector público.

Peer Review Comments: Also, publishing of information on public procurement through the major newspapers of the country makes the information more accessible.

49f: In practice, citizens can access the results of major public procurement bids.

Score:

100

Comments: Citizens can access results on public procurement on two Web pages, the Portal Unico de Contratacion and the SICE. It is reported however that information on procurement results is not totally consistent with information available directly in the procurement offices of public institutions (53 percent in national institutions and 33percent in decentralized entities).

The quality of information published online has improved but in many cases the publication of results is limited to those directly interested in the process. A reform to the Procurement Law passed in July 2007 makes it mandatory to adjudicate open biddings in public audiences, a reform that can improve the publication system once in place.

References: Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2006. Monitoreo ciudadano a herramientas de transparencia en la contratación pública. Sistema de Información par ala vigilancia de la contratación estatal SICE y portal Unico de Contratacion. Cuadernos de Transaprencia # 12. Bogota.

Corporación Transparencia por Colombia. 2002. Sistema Nacional de Integridad.Análisis y Resultados del Estudio de Caso. Cuadernos de Transparencia # 4. Bogotá.