Debt-ridden AKP municipality rents goat-hair tents for 1.5 million TL

The Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, governed by the AKP's Fatma Şahin, has made another expenditure that is set to spark controversy. On February 19, 2025, the Metropolitan Municipality rented tents for 1 million 486 thousand TL under the name of “tent rental service and goat-hair tent rental service.” The payment, made via the direct procurement method, was for tents rented from the World Ethnosport Confederation.

According to a report by BirGün, the World Ethnosport Confederation is presided over by Bilal Erdoğan, the son of AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Uğur Kalkan, a former CHP member of the Şahinbey Municipal Council, stated to BirGün, “The Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality continues to support the World Ethnosport Confederation. Now they have rented tents for 1.5 million TL. Previously, the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality had also transported baklava, pistachios, and Turkish delight to this confederation's events through direct procurements. Our citizens living in Gaziantep did not entrust the municipal administration to Fatma Şahin and those managing the municipality so that they would engage in these kinds of activities.”

MUNICIPALITY IN A DEBT TRAP

Stating that “Fatma Şahin and municipal officials must stop spending the municipality's money on such matters,” Kalkan continued his remarks as follows:

“Millions of our citizens, both in our city and in our country, are living below the hunger and poverty line. While there is so much misery on one side, I do not find the extravagance of AKP municipalities and the foundations and associations close to them to be right. The Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality is one of the most indebted municipalities in Turkey. They have to pay millions of liras in interest every year. As we examine the municipality's tenders, we see once again why the municipality has sunk so deep into debt and interest.”

News Source: 12punto