Breaking News: İmamoğlu's statement on SSI debts: 'They are exposing their own failures...'

A new controversy has erupted between the government and the opposition after AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan targeted CHP-run municipalities over their SSI debts.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu held a press conference on the matter in Saraçhane.

İmamoğlu began the press conference with the words: "While this government, which lost its ability to govern a long time ago, and the head of the government try to cover up their incompetence by smearing CHP-run municipalities, we want to shed a little more light on the fact that they are actually exposing their own failures once again."

"OUR CITIZENS DELIVERED AN 'OTTOMAN SLAP' AT THE BALLOT BOX"

Recalling the words 'Garbage, pits, mud' used by Erdoğan against CHP-run municipalities during the election campaign, İmamoğlu said, "Our citizens did not give any credit to these lies. They just waited for March 31, 2024, to respond. So to speak—and there is no harm in a metaphor—they delivered a full 'Ottoman slap' response to the ruling party at the ballot box."

TOUGH QUESTIONS FOR VEDAT IŞIKHAN

Responding to the words of Minister of Labor and Social Security Vedat Işıkhan, who said, "CHP municipalism is garbage, mud, and pit municipalism. Now, 'debt municipalism' has been added to this," İmamoğlu continued as follows:

"Let's first look at the state of the SSI under the Minister's management. First, they have tripled the deficit of the SSI, which they have been managing for 22 years. In other words, I would like to point out that they have weakened an institution that is perhaps the greatest guarantee for our people in the country in terms of social security, by increasing its deficit so much during such a process.

Second, although they are legally obligated to do so, they have not disclosed the companies that have debts to the SSI since 2016. Which companies' debts are you hiding from the citizens? For which characteristics and privileges are you hiding the debts of which companies? You put public municipal institutions in front of the citizens every day, so why do you refrain from disclosing these indebted companies? Who are you afraid of, and what is the reason for this fear? Let's underline it again: it hasn't been disclosed since 2016. Moreover, they are hiding it even though they have an obligation to disclose it twice a year.

"THE MONEY TRANSFERRED TO THE SSI IN 2023 IS EXACTLY 10 TIMES THE DEBT OF ALL MUNICIPALITIES"

Third, exactly 885 billion TL was transferred from citizens' taxes to the SSI, which is breaking deficit records, in 2023 alone. Do you know what this figure means? It is exactly 10 times the figure presented as the debt of the municipalities that they are swarming over and saying, 'How can we crush CHP-run municipalities from here?'

Fourth, the total amount transferred from our taxes to the SSI in the last 3.5 years is exactly 2.3 trillion TL. In other words, you can think of this as a debt given to the SSI. What does the mentioned debt of municipalities serving the public mean in terms of volume? It is only 4.3 percent of this huge budget transferred in 3.5 years...

Let me state it clearly and plainly. The report card of the Minister, who accuses CHP-run municipalities of being 'debt municipalities,' is this broken and in a miserable state. You should first fix the SSI, which you have bankrupted with your poor management.

Do not try to pass the bill for your own failure onto the municipalities.

Unfortunately, Turkey is being managed very poorly, just like the SSI. The most painful part is that the President, who claims to be an economist, made some decisions contrary to economic science. Attempts were made to be an inventor. During these decisions, many economic bank heads and Central Bank governors were removed from their posts; inconsistency and instability reached their peak. The President, who experimented with interest rates, managed to explode both the interest rates he called the cause and the inflation he saw as the result.

The annual inflation of Russia, which is at war, is less than Turkey's monthly inflation. The annual inflation of Ukraine, which is at war, is equal to our monthly inflation.

After Argentina and Syria, Turkey is the country with the third-highest inflation in the world. While nearly 50 percent of the workers in this country work for a wage close to the minimum wage, they have unfortunately become unable to pay rent, eat, or even breathe under this inflation. When inflation, interest rates, and foreign exchange went out of control, a foreign exchange-indexed deposit was invented. It was called the 'Currency Protected Deposit' (KKM). An incredible income transfer was created; there is no such thing in world history. The rich became richer. Even those who did not enter such a deposit area were threatened with punishment.

Two months ago, Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan said at the TBMM Planning and Budget Committee, 'The Central Bank's loss resulting from KKM is exactly 833 billion TL.'

You ask me about debt, and I ask you this. Someone suddenly had an idea, 'I found something,' and tried something; 833 billion TL of this country's Central Bank alone disappeared. The bill for this experiment is almost 10 times the municipal debt they mention. Moreover, municipalities serve their citizens while incurring debt.

Municipalities are in debt. First, turn around and think about the burden you have placed on the back of this country. First, look at the debt you created yourself. In the economy you created, neither the state nor the nation can live without borrowing. Everyone is in debt. There has never been another administration period in world history that has indebted its nation this much.

Today, the Treasury borrowing rate is over 100 percent. The debt stock has grown exponentially. The public debt stock, which was 892 billion TL at the beginning of 2018, skyrocketed to exactly 7.9 trillion TL as of June 2024. Our debt has increased exactly 9 times. The budget deficit is increasing as control over expenditures is lost.

ADVERTISING EXPENDITURES OF PUBLIC BANKS

The figures I will give now are taken from the 2023 activity reports of Ziraat Bank and Halk Bank.

Both banks are public banks. When the earnings of these banks increase, they pay more taxes. Every year, the subsidiary profit to be transferred to the Treasury, that is, the nation's coffers, emerges from the profit obtained. A decrease in the earnings of public banks negatively affects budget revenues.

Due to every wrong or unnecessary expenditure made in public banks, the money that will enter the budget decreases. In other words, there is a decrease in the money that will be spent as a service to you.

In the last 3 years, the advertisement expenditure paid by only 2 public banks is 5 billion 784 million TL. However, the loss of the same 2 banks in just the first 6 months of 2024 is exactly 42 billion TL. This 42 billion TL was paid to these banks from citizens' taxes, that is, from the Treasury.

Why did state institutions that lost 42 billion in 6 months make expenditures by transferring money to approximately 6 billion liras of 'advertising expenditure' or to some privileged media organizations? While there are huge deficits in the budget, why is this being tolerated? They are stomping around over SSI debt.

Why are those who removed the teapot in the teachers' lounge as 'savings' silent about the advertising expenditures of public banks? We actually know the answer to this question very well. Waste has become the essence of the administration. Waste has become their philosophy of life. They have even forgotten the literal meaning of waste. As for us, it is opportunism that we are brought to the agenda while we are trying to cut waste and bring good management to our people despite the resources left by the debts we took over. It is an attempt to take the pain of the 'Ottoman slap' that the people delivered to them on March 31 by instrumentalizing public service for politics, and to take it out on the nation again.

I promise, I will defend the rights of all municipalities, not just CHP-run ones, but also AKP, MHP, and other parties, to the end.

It is said that municipal debts must be paid so that retirement pensions can be paid. From where to where, right? The government, which sees every penny as too much for the retiree, will create agitation from this process. I say, 'Get out of here.'

Do not dare to load your own responsibilities, your own failures, and your own incompetence onto us. We managed municipalities that would create new resources by preventing waste with the resources you cut and the debts you left behind.

Leave aside chanting slogans and efforts to create perception. My brother, the nation is waiting for action from you. Look, the nation voted for you more than a year ago. They are waiting for service from you. Spring does not come to this country with slogans.

Since we took office, we have fulfilled the requirements of populist municipalities. We tried to be a breath of fresh air for your economic policies and our impoverished laborers. Today, City Restaurants have provided healthy and cheap food to 3.3 million Istanbulites, and these centers of kindness are spreading to every region of Turkey.

MONEY SENT FROM THE PALACE TO AKP-RUN MUNICIPALITIES

On January 5, 2024, Çekmeköy Municipality requested 45 million TL in aid from the Presidency. It would never occur to me to receive aid from the Presidency. We are only waiting for one signature from the Presidency for our credit waiting at the door. If they sign that, 10-12 year repayment loans will come to this city's coffers.

In the document dated February 5, 2024, we see that the Presidency sent this 45 million TL to Çekmeköy Municipality. And this money is sent before the election. Well, when this money was sent to Çekmeköy Municipality, Çekmeköy Municipality's insurance and tax debt was 100 million TL. Why are you sending 45 million TL, which is non-repayable, from the state to the state again while it has a debt to the state?

It's not over. Similarly, in January 2024, just before the election, 45 million TL was sent to Beyoğlu Municipality. The total grant money sent to Beyoğlu Municipality in the 13-month period between December 2022 and January 2024 is 70 million TL. It would never cross my mind to ask for money from the Presidency. I advise all municipalities here. Write down the figure that comes to your mind and ask for money from the President. Let's see how many of you he will send it to? Even request money equal to your SSI debt. Don't do like them; pay the SSI debt with the money that comes.

The issue is not Çekmeköy and Beyoğlu. They sent 45 million TL in grant money each to all AKP-run municipalities in Istanbul on the same date before the election to be spent on the election. They didn't send it to one municipality only. Do you know why? They didn't send it to Silivri Municipality because it is MHP-run. They didn't even give it to their partners.

"IMM HAS NOT A SINGLE PENNY OF SSI OR TAX DEBT"

I saved what I should have said at the beginning for the end. The IMM does not have a single penny of SSI or tax debt. Our 5 subsidiary companies affiliated with the municipality have a debt of 1.5 billion TL. But this debt was from before we came; we restructured it in 2021 and we are paying it off like clockwork.

We have a total debt of 2.3 billion, and we are paying it. What debts we paid when we took office in 2019, we will pay again. We ended the municipalism of waste, our heads are held high! We have debts, but we have subsidiaries that pay their debts with honor and labor. İGDAŞ did not pay a 7 billion debt to BOTAŞ before us; we paid it when we arrived."

News Source: 12punto