Leveraging Social Investment with the Government of Cesar

The Department's wealth is primarily generated by agricultural and extractive industries, including natural gas and coal. However, the government has struggled to utilize these revenues effectively, leading to a decline in citizen trust. In 2007, the election of an independent candidate as Governor marked a shift towards reestablishing citizen trust in government. The Governor's plan to restore legitimacy and effectiveness involves successfully managing the resources entrusted to the government. To achieve this, the Governor has partnered with USAID through the CIMIENTOS project to provide technical assistance. The CIMIENTOS project is offering the Government of Cesar support in two key areas: pre-investment studies and public procurement. Pre-investment studies ensure that social projects are designed properly, taking into account factors such as population coverage, cost, rapid response, and priorities for service delivery. This approach helps to prevent conflicts of interest and corruption, promoting an efficient approach to public management. The Government of Cesar has invested $400,000 USD in pre-investment studies, which will be used to fund over $45 million USD in public projects. CIMIENTOS has also assisted the Government in improving the procurement process by designing flow charts and standardizing terms of reference, technical, and financial criteria for bid selection. This has resulted in the funding of $36,000 USD in technical assistance for 34 public procurement contracts valued at approximately $34 million USD. The CIMIENTOS strategy aims to promote transparency and accountability with public funds by modernizing the Government of Cesar's procedures. This includes ensuring proper management of funds, promoting fair competition among local bidders, and monitoring project execution. The ultimate goal is to increase the government's responsiveness to citizen needs and enhance its legitimacy.