Colombia’s Congress Approves 4-Year, $319 Billion Spending

Colombia’s congress approved a four-year economic development plan that involves about 565 trillion pesos ($319 billion) of spending by the government and private companies on health care, mining and poverty reduction

The Senate and lower house last night reconciled separate versions of the plan and then voted after midnight on the final bill, National Planning Department Director Hernando Jose Gomez told reporters.

The bill next goes to President Juan Manuel Santos to be signed into law.

The spending program, 60 percent of which will be funded by the government and the rest by the private sector, aims to reduce unemployment to single digits by 2014 from 13.2 percent at present, boost housing and improve infrastructure.

The plan includes an article that would allow the central bank to use peso bonds, known as TES, sold directly by the government, to remove excess liquidity from the market.

The bank said in September it would buy at least $20 million a day in a bid to ease gains in the peso.

The peso was little changed at 1767.00 per dollar from 1767.13 yesterday.

The plan envisages economic growth of about 5 percent annually over the next four years.

In 2010, Colombia’s economy expanded 4.3 percent.