Caluco,
El Salvador
Caluco is a small municipality in the Sonsonate Department, approximately 50 kilometers west of El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador, and has a population of around 10,000.
VCA Score
90 Points
May 2018
Most of Caluco’s inhabitants (over 80 percent) live in the rural districts of the municipality, which is divided in eight cantones, 32 caseríos, one barrio and eight colonias. The main economic sectors in Caluco are agriculture, farming, and tourism attracted by Turicentro recreational area. Despite these sources of income, the municipal government still receives most of its funding from the central government.
Results
According to IRI’s VCA assessment, Caluco’s governance practices have two major weaknesses: compliance with public procurement rules and regulations and the adoption of transparency and accountability mechanisms to serve a predominantly rural population. With respect to the public procurement process, IRI has identified areas for improvement in Caluco’s risk management practices, the level of technical knowledge of municipal staff, and Caluco’s information dissemination and communication practices.
Scoring: May 2018
Headlines
- The municipal authority has made a continuous effort to use various participation mechanisms and also traditional and digital media, to ensure that citizens have access to public information in order to hold the Caluco municipality accountable.
- However, IRI identified specific weaknesses related to the level of civic education of citizens, the participation of young people and the dissemination of municipal information.