The budget of the General Royalties System for the 2021-2022 biennium was approved this Thursday by Congress, which amounts to $17.3 trillion, of which more than $16 trillion will be allocated to investment projects, equivalent to 93% of the resources.

The budget is made up of $15.4 billion in current revenues, $1.8 billion in financial yields and $75 billion in financial surpluses of the System.

By region, the investment allocation is divided as follows: Caribbean $3.6 billion; Plains $2.9 billion; Center East, $1.7 billion; Pacific, $1.4 billion; Center South Amazon, $1.2 billion and Coffee Axis, $1.05 billion.

In this regard, the Minister of Finance, Alberto Carrasquilla, said that it will help the reactivation of the economy so hard hit by the pandemic, because it will generate employment.

“It is a project that makes possible the decentralization of state money, because it gives sufficient tools to departmental and municipal authorities to control and invest their resources in projects that favor the development of their communities,” he said.

For his part, the general director of the National Planning Department, Luis Alberto Rodríguez, explained that the amount reflects all the changes implemented in the reform sanctioned by President Duque, which reduces the procedures and instances to speed up the approval of investment projects, going from having 1,152 Collegiate Administrative and Decision Making Bodies to only 8.

“For the first time, there will be an allocation of 5% of total revenues for the environment and sustainable development, which will help develop more projects that contribute to the ‘Produce by conserving and conserve by producing’ pillar of the National Development Plan: Pact for Colombia, Pact for Equity. This allocation amounts to $771 billion for the 2021-2022 biennium,” he said.

The Minister of Mines and Energy, Diego Mesa Puyo, emphasized that royalties from mining and hydrocarbon activities contribute to closing gaps and boosting economic reactivation in the regions.

“With the reform to the General Royalties System, this new biennial budget fulfills President Iván Duque’s promise to increase allocations for producing regions from 11% to 25%, while maintaining resources for the other areas of the country. In addition, greater autonomy is granted to the regions so that the resources are converted into works that improve the quality of life of the communities”, said the Minister.

Indigenous Peoples, Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizal and Palenquero Communities and the Roma or Gypsy People will have an allocation for the 2021-2022 biennium of close to $358,000 million. On the other hand, resources for science, technology and innovation increase from 9.5% to 10%, totaling $1.54 trillion, and the allocation for peace will be $1.1 trillion.