Contractual management of public entities in Colombia

The law, doctrine and jurisprudence have recognised state contracting as a strategic issue for the Colombian state; however, the contractual exercise of public resources, mainly of territorial public entities called municipalities, has presented shortcomings and deficiencies, which have led to the stigmatisation of the public function performed by civil servants and state contractors. The essay analyses some of the situations that possibly cause failures in the strategic planning of public procurement in municipalities, and raises the need to adapt processes and procedures for structuring, monitoring, follow-up, auditing and control, in which all participants support the construction of effective and efficient strategies for the achievement of the purposes of the state, and the optimisation of the strategic planning of Colombian public entities.