Unfortunately, for the vast majority of Venezuelans, corruption is present in day to day, and more than a statistic in a research paper, we burst into everyday life whenever utilities suffer they serve, we see unfinished work (or poorly executed), we are a public official asks us "Collaboration" between his work, which sadly we find that, despite having great resources, they never reach to solve the most fundamental problems that impair quality of life. Article 28. ° "... Everyone has the right to ... access to documents of any nature containing information of interest to communities or groups of people ..."
Free access to information provides that any citizen can know or administrative budget documents, payroll, research and development plans, contracts, minutes and minutes of meetings, resolutions, decrees, legal regulation, memory and features, procedures and formalities, and / or any other information that is of public interest.
Article 141. "The Public Administration serves the citizens and is based on the principles of honesty, participation, speed, effectiveness, efficiency, transparency , accountability and responsibility in the exercise of public functions, being fully subject to the law and the right ... "
What constitutes the Ordinance on Transparency and Free Access to Public Information?
Ordinance Transparency and Free Access to Public Information given to Valencia, largely inspired by the principles-driven and the great work done by Transparencia Venezuela and book published Mercedes De Freitas (director of the organization), who have been the core promoters defense of the right to information in our country. In Venezuela, there are currently only 4 municipalities with ordinances of transparency, and this project reflects the best ideas raised in each of them, and incorporates a set with new ideas with a special emphasis on the use of technologies information. The draft Ordinance has 7 chapters and 33 articles and fundamental aims Art.1 " establishing rules and procedures that will facilitate the exercise of the right of all citizens, access free to public that rests in all the institutions of the Bolivarian Republic of Valencia City, and has specific objectives:
"1 .- To facilitate citizen oversight of municipal governance, through advertising, ; transparency and accountability by public officials;
2 .- To enable the effective control of municipal and public resources, through the exercise of comptroller information and communication technologies.
3 .- To facilitate the effective participation of all people in decision making in the public interest;
4 .- Empowering citizens through free access to public information, promoting public participation through the democratization of knowledge of municipal administration, and thus, strengthening democracy and good governance;
5 .- Ensure the protection of personal information held by public sector . "
- Data protection: The possibility of declaring public information as confidential, in cases where informació n put at risk the safety of municipality or persons, for which they must declare it by an administrative act, which will register at a rate of classified information, being the public record (Articles 9, 10 and 19).
- The mandatory Response: All officials will be obliged to receive and give explicit timely and proper response to any soliciltud information " either via fax, telephone, electronic, written or oral "(Article 16).
- La verificación personal de la información: Todo ciudadano tendrá el derecho, previa solicitud formal, de verificar personalmente los originales de las fuentes que sustente la información pública solicitada (Artículo 17).
- La justificación de la inexistencia o denegación de información: Toda denegación a las solicitudes de información deberá ser justificado por escrito, expressing to seek the reasons why such information is lacking or is classified information (Article 19).
- The management and control of requests for information: includes the establishment of an official (not the hiring of a new one, but one already nomic) in each agency or body under the purview of the ordinance will be responsible for monitoring and responding to requests for information made under the scope of the powers of his institution. It also plans to create a public index of requests for information containing all requests, responses and resolutions associated with each request for information (Articles 20, 21 and 22).
Among the most important aspects considered included in the ordinance, is the obligation of all the institutions of municipal government of Valencia, publish and update whenever, in its corporate website a standard core set of public information concerning the institution (Article 24 ) you can always be available, updated, without intermediaries, without applications and free on the Internet to be constantly available to everyone (with similarities to this example Municipality of Concepcion, Chile). Among them are: 1 The reason for the institution and the activities and functions performed.
2 The legal basis that governs the regulations and applicable internal procedures.
3 º projects regulations that are in the process of dispatch.
4 The administrative structure of the entity or body, including all instances and positions within it.
5 The list of officials occupying each of the charges and the responsibilities and powers of each officer according to the position held.
6 º services offered and how to access them, in a simple and accessible as well as opening hours, their procedures and formalities, including those making complaints, queries or complaints about the service or the performance of the duties or powers by the person concerned, and other information necessary to enable all people to exercise their rights and fulfilling their obligations .
7 The forms or formats of applications that are required for procedures associated with their field of action and procedures for complaints about violations of the right of access to public information in the form simple and accessible.
8 ° Information on the annual budget administered by the agency or body and the projected budget for next fiscal year.
9 º Information on the implementation of the annual budget with signs recipients of the delivery of public resources and the purpose and use have given and done them.
10 º Memory and has the ultimate authority or institution for the previous year and other accountability mechanisms accounts, such as management reports and performance indicators.
11 th annual goals and objectives in accordance with their operational programs and the degree of compliance of these goals and objectives.
12 º Plans and running programs, and future.
13 º mechanisms of interaction, consultation and participation of all people in the management of the agency or body.
14 º The name, office address, telephone number and email address the official, agency or body to process and respond to requests for access to information in the relevant agency or body.
1 º Post digital version of the Official Gazette of the Bolivarian Republic of Valencia City simultaneously publication in physical format.
2 º Post well in advance the respective agenda before each meeting of City Council.
3 º Publish respective minutes after each session of the City Council within a maximum of 5 working days after the meeting.
4 º Keep a digital archive of all the Official Gazettes, published agendas and minutes from the entry into force of this ordinance.
5 th transmit video on the Internet for live sessions of the City Council.
We are fortunate to live in a wonderful time where advances in knowledge and technology allow us to realize things were a few years ago seemed impossible or impractical. Today information technologies can be placed within reach of all a wealth of information and knowledge in the Information Society and Knowledge which we live is the main source of empowerment. I have no doubt that the adoption and implementation of this draft ordinance driven by popular initiative in Valencia (as stipulated in Article 224 of LOPPM), will bring countless benefits to all levels, and perhaps most important, strengthening democracy through participation Particitiva citizens in building the best possible future for our city.