Colombia’s poorest regions will be receiving $20 million over the next four years as a result of the royalties reform passed by the country’s Congress Thursday, the finance minister says.
The Minister of Finance, Juan Carlos Echeverry, told RCN Radio that the reform “will dedicate 50% of the royalties to ending poverty,” and save another “30% in an outside fund to avoid revaluation.”
The royalties are primarily to be redistributed to the coastal areas of Colombia, which have the highest rates of poverty and malnutrition in the country.
A monitoring mechanism has been created to prevent corruption and misuse of funds. As the Minister of Energy and Mines Carlos Shot Noriega said, the reform establishes “improved transparency through monitoring and sanctions.” The minister added that “there will be massive penalties for those who abuse money from the royalties.”
The redistribution of royalties income will begin in 2012.