The Politics of Local Service Delivery: Bogotá Mauricio Cárdenas Political Economy of Service Delivery Joint Seminar of the IDB and the World Bank June 2-3, 2005 Washington, DC

Agenda Bogotá in the 80’s Institutional Changes A decade of transformations ( )

100% owned by the municipality Low quality services No clear framework for regulation and quality supervision Structural financial imbalances Financial support from the central government Public utilities in the 1980s

Public transport system High congestion in spite of low car ownership (131 per 1000 pop. vs. 300 in Curitiba) Simultaneous provision and ownership by the state and the private sector, until the mid-1980s. The average speed was 10 kilometers per hour (5 km/hour at peak hours) (Chaparro, 2002). Mean travel time was 66.8 minutes for public transport users and 42.6 minutes for car owners (Lleras, 2003). The public transit system a was characterized by excess supply of usually empty and slow running buses, low quality service, and inefficiency. 70% of air pollution was generated by traffic, and accidents were frequent.

Policy failure: Free affiliating privileges and periodic fare negotiations with a cartel

Limited progress in education * Number of persons enrolled over total population of respective ages Source: Development Local Plan ( ) Thousands of students enrolled Enrollment Rates*

1991 Constitution: First Step A new system of fiscal transfers to the departments and municipalities Greater fiscal decentralization Redefinition of the role of the government in regards to public services: regulation vs. provision The political and administrative organization of the capital district was to be reformed by law. Enhanced decentralization at local level and introduced greater taxation autonomy

Public utilities changed from“Public Establishments” to “Industrial and Commercial Companies” Fiscal Autonomy More accountability in the head of the manager Appointment of board members: –2/3 by the Major and –1/3 are conformed by users and unions representatives. The Council cannot appoint any member The Board should only intervene in the policy guidance of the company Congress did not enact it, and the executive used special legislative powers (decree 1421 of 1993 Decree)

Political variability, policy stability Jaime Castro (Liberal Party) Antanas Mockus (Independent) Enrique Peñalosa (Liberal / Independent) Antanas Mockus (Independent) Luis Eduardo Garzón (PDI, former labor leader).

Perception of improvements Source: Superintendence de Services-Centro Nacional de Consultoría In the last ten years (94-04) public services coverage in your neighborhood

Transmilenio´s wide access Transmilenio covers 85% of the urban area Source: Transmilenio S.A and Consorcio Rothschild-Louis Berger-Selfinver Metro´s coverage would had been only 8%

Public School access increased *Number of persons who attended to classes between 5-15 years old over total population between 5-15 years old Source: DNP Thousands of students enrolled School Attendance Rate*

Security in Bogotá HomicideHoldup Cars robbery Source: Observatorio de la Seguridad en Bogotá -CCB Kidnappings

And, fiscal conditions improved in the second half of the nineties Source: Ingresos y gastos municipales Contraloría Genral de la República and author calculations Millions of Pesos of 2003

Outer features of public policies Stability vs. volatility Adaptability vs. rigidity Coordination / coherence Investment related qualities / capacities Public vs. private regardedness At the city level, a transformation took place in favor of stable, coherent, and publicly regarded policies. Why? Political institutions or other factors?

Public Services Development in Bogotá Mauricio Cárdenas Washington, June 2005