00:00More transparency and effectiveness are needed in the earthquake response.
00:06Three months after the earthquake in our country, the week ended with the news that the president
00:12Abelardo de la Espriella rejected the multimillion-dollar payroll allocated to the Miracle Fund,
00:18also with the resignation of the manager assigned to said fund, Jaime Andrés Uribe.
00:24While we celebrate the president's important decision to acknowledge a clear government error that gives the
00:32terrible taste in the mouth
00:33that we continue to improvise in the handling of the worst crisis that Colombia has faced in decades.
00:40There is a growing number of voices expressing frustration with the inefficiency of the public administration in showing results in providing care to
00:47the victims,
00:48while the lack of clarity in what is being done fuels discontent.
00:54How is it possible that the now former manager of the Miracle Fund did not comply with at least one of the three
01:01summonses issued to him by the Congress of the Republic?
01:06Uribe had been receiving a salary of almost 40 million pesos to manage a fund intended for the most vulnerable,
01:13And he failed to produce convincing results. That salary, by the way, was higher than that of a minister.
01:20His private secretary, the legal director, and the director of contracting were avenging 36 million pesos for him.
01:28The communications coordinator, 33 million.
01:32Uribe was summoned three times by Congress to give explanations to the country.
01:37and three times he made excuses saying that he was with President de la Espriella at a house handover.
01:45We need to think about how what is happening is perceived.
01:48While the government publicizes grandiose events with cardboard keys,
01:53the widespread discontent of the victims,
01:57who do not feel accompanied or represented in those gestures,
02:01It is palpable in social media posts and also in the reporting we have done at El Espectador.
02:07Uribe's resignation was necessary, but what caused it comes at a terrible time.
02:14The miracle fund is an act of faith.
02:17As it is an independent estate, it is governed by private law, which allows it to contract outside of the
02:22Law 80.
02:24The reason that was presented to the country for such an exception
02:27It was urgent to make efficient decisions to respond to the tragedy of the earthquake.
02:34For that very reason, that faith needs to be built on trust.
02:38And that is what the fund's management has not done so far.
02:43Returning to the topic of exorbitant salaries,
02:46Last Friday, apparently having just learned of these events
02:50thanks to a petition filed by the opposition,
02:53President Espriella wrote, and I quote,
02:57Nobody's job is guaranteed here.
03:00All officials are under constant evaluation.
03:03and they must act with absolute consistency with the guidelines I give.
03:09But why did it have to come to this scandal?
03:12to prevent this situation from continuing?
03:16While the government's priority appears to be the security crisis,
03:20their lack of leadership in addressing the needs of the victims and the improvisation we have been discussing
03:26are affecting his mandate.
03:28The challenge is complex, of course.
03:31But for that very reason, it required and still requires being up to the task and acting with absolute transparency and efficiency.
03:38Both have been absent.
03:41The frustration of the most vulnerable Colombians is growing without answers from Bogotá and Barranquilla.
03:49If you agree with this editorial,
03:51I sent your 500-word counter-editorial to elespectadoropinion@gmail.com.
