Interesting reaction from AKP's Türkyılmaz to debt disclosures by CHP municipalities

The first session of the May meeting of the İBB Assembly was held at the municipal building in Saraçhane, chaired by the 1st Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Nuri Aslan.

Taking the floor to speak at the assembly, AKP Group Spokesperson Murat Türkyılmaz reacted to the hanging of debt figures on the walls of municipal buildings in districts that passed from the AKP to the CHP, describing this situation as "unseemly and inappropriate for the gravity of the office."

Stating that all district municipalities would make statements by referencing official information reflected in their activity and audit reports as of December 31, 2023, Türkyılmaz said:

"Debt is the whip of the public. Debt is not inherently a bad thing. In fact, according to legislation, it is a legitimate and reasonable method to facilitate the provision of needs to meet the financial requirements of our municipalities.

The existence of debt alone is not enough to smear or slander. If you do not make an assessment based on criteria such as where this debt was spent, whether the debt turned into investment, and how much of a place the debt occupies within your budget, you are being unjust.

We will not make an assessment by focusing solely on the debts of our municipalities, but rather through the ratios of investments and debts to the budget."

ANNOUNCED THE DEBTS OF CHP MUNICIPALITIES

Listing the debts of 14 CHP-run district municipalities, Türkyılmaz said, "The budget of the Adalar Municipality is 148 million 500 thousand liras, and its debt is 128 million 888 thousand liras. The ratio of debt to budget is 87 percent. The realized budget as of year-end is 145 million liras, and the realized investment is unfortunately 0 percent.

Avcılar Municipality, 1 billion 635 million liras, debt 476 million liras, realized budget 1 billion 369 million liras, realized investment 447 million liras, the ratio of investments to budget is 33 percent. Ataşehir Municipality, budget 2 billion 390 million liras, debt 1 billion 446 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 61 percent. Realized budget is 2 billion 193 million liras, realized investment 542 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 25 percent," he said.

Explaining that the Bakırköy Municipality's budget is 1 billion 220 million liras, its debt is 860 million liras, and the ratio of debt to budget is 70 percent, Türkyılmaz stated that Bakırköy's realized budget is 1 billion 54 million liras, the realized investment is 220 million liras, and the ratio of investment to budget is 21 percent.

Türkyılmaz said, "Beylikdüzü Municipality, budget 2 billion 90 million liras, debt 1 billion 593 million liras, 76 percent of its budget consists of debt. Its realized budget is 1 billion 825 million liras, realized investment 423 million liras, and the ratio of investment to budget is 23 percent. Büyükçekmece Municipality, 1 billion 982 million liras, debt 720 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 36 percent, realized budget 1 billion 851 million, realized investment 381 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 21 percent. Esenyurt Municipality, its budget is 3 billion 951 million liras, debt 2 billion 14 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 51 percent, its realized budget is 3 billion 846 million liras, realized investment 1 billion 693 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 44 percent," he stated.

Türkyılmaz continued his remarks as follows:

"Kadıköy Municipality, its budget is 3 billion 70 million liras, debt 2 billion 6 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 65 percent, realized budget 2 billion 801 million liras, realized investment 522 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 19 percent. Kartal Municipality, budget 2 billion 550 million liras, debt 1 billion 710 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 67 percent. Realized budget 2 billion 159 million liras, realized investment 365 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is unfortunately 17 percent.

Küçükçekmece, its budget is 2 billion 850 million liras, debt 1 billion 163 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 41 percent, realized budget 2 billion 838 million liras, realized investment 511 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 18 percent. Maltepe, its budget is 2 billion 442 million liras, debt 1 billion 288 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 53 percent. Realized budget 2 billion 309 million liras, realized investment 744 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 32 percent.

Sarıyer, budget 2 billion 206 million liras, debt 1 billion 630 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 74 percent. Realized budget 2 billion 104 million liras, realized investment 142 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 7 percent. Şişli, its budget is 2 billion 100 million liras, debt 2 billion 460 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 117 percent. Realized budget 2 billion 74 million liras, realized investment 162 million liras, the ratio of investment to budget is 8 percent. Beşiktaş, its budget is 2 billion 231 million liras, debt 2 billion 55 million liras, the ratio of debt to budget is 92 percent. We look at the investment. Realized budget 2 billion 180 million liras, realized investment 21 million liras. The ratio of investment to budget is not even 1 percent, it is 0.99 percent."

"THE RATIO OF INVESTMENT TO BUDGET..."

Stating that they also conducted a performance comparison between AKP municipalities and CHP municipalities, Türkyılmaz said, "As of the end of 2023, the ratio of debt to budget in the AK Party is 35.38 percent, and in the CHP it is exactly double, 63.34 percent. When we look at investment ratios, the ratio of investment to budget in 25 AK Party municipalities is 27.62 percent, and in CHP municipalities it is 21.49 percent."

Expressing that the 5 municipalities with the highest debt-to-budget ratios are Şişli, Beşiktaş, Adalar, Beylikdüzü, and Sancaktepe, Türkyılmaz said, "The investment made by Sancaktepe Municipality in 2023 is much more than 11 CHP municipalities. You looked for the jacuzzi in the wrong place."

Declaring that the 5 most successful municipalities according to their budgets are Pendik, Üsküdar, Ümraniye, Silivri, and Zeytinburnu, Türkyılmaz noted that the 5 municipalities that invested the least relative to their budgets are Adalar, Beşiktaş, Sarıyer, Şile, and Şişli.

Türkyılmaz stated that the 5 municipalities with the highest investment relative to their budgets are Arnavutköy, Eyüpsultan, Esenyurt, Pendik, and Çekmeköy.

Explaining that the average ratio of debt to budget in all municipalities is 48 percent, that 4 AK Party municipalities and 11 CHP municipalities have debt above this ratio, and that the average ratio of investment to budget in all municipalities is 25 percent, with 4 CHP and 17 AK Party municipalities investing above this ratio, Türkyılmaz stated:

Türkyılmaz noted the following:

"During the AKP period of the İBB between 2014-2019, the average ratio of debt to budget was 87.20 percent. In the 2019-2024 CHP period, it is 148.49 percent. Almost double. The Metropolitan Municipality has even surpassed Şişli in this regard. While an average investment ratio of 54.57 percent was made during the 2014-2019 AK Party period, a 38 percent investment was made under the CHP-led İBB administration between 2019-2024. Especially in 2023, an investment of 57 billion was planned, but 48 billion was realized. By the way, with that figure, you have the opportunity to renew almost half of the IETT fleet."

Türkyılmaz said, "AK Party municipalities have provided much better services than CHP municipalities by a wide margin. I would like to applaud them on this occasion. We are aware of the message that came out of the ballot box. We are doing our accounting, we are identifying our shortcomings and faults. Rest assured, we are preparing vigorously for the 2028 and 2029 elections by recovering in the coming period."

At the end of his speech, Türkyılmaz hung a sign showing the İBB's debt on the podium.

"THE DEBT FIGURES ARE NOT CORRECT"

CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ülkü Sakalar said that the people of Istanbul gave the necessary answer.

Sakalar continued her words as follows:

"Now, after the people of Istanbul gave 26 out of 39 district municipalities to CHP municipalities, saying 'of course we actually worked better' became a nice irony.

You certainly worked, but the people of Istanbul said; 'you worked very well, but let us vote for the others,' I wonder if that is what they said, this is also interesting. You worked well, so why did we get the votes then? That is another matter."

Stating that the assembly is not a place for shows, Sakalar noted the following:

"Coming here and hanging banners on the podium was not elegant either. I did not find that appropriate for the decorum. District municipalities can hang their debts, furthermore, the debt figures you provided are not correct."

News Source: AA