Court of Accounts report revealed: Irregularities uncovered at the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

The 2023 audit reports from the Court of Accounts regarding various ministries have brought irregularities to light.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry report noted the existence of 1,555 bank accounts used by accounting units for collections and payments that were not reported to the Court of Accounts.

It could not be verified which accounting units held the 502 million 124 thousand 837 TL that appeared on the ministry's balance sheet.

The report stated, "It has been observed that there are bank accounts opened outside the control of the duly appointed accounting officer on behalf of all units of the ministry's central and provincial organizations, and the amounts in these accounts have not been recorded in the accounting system. It is understood that after excluding salary, social facility, and revolving fund accounts from these unregistered bank accounts, 99 accounts with a year-end balance of 28 million 589 thousand 725 TL have still not been closed and remain open."

COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES AND FISHERY SHELTERS

The Ministry of Agriculture's report also stated that fishery shelters and superstructures, built to provide services related to aquaculture and fishing, were being used by unrelated individuals without any rental agreements.

The report noted, "Although these structures were built with public resources for fishing activities, they are being treated as commercial commodities by their users, bought and sold, and established and operated for restaurants, summer residences, and other similar commercial activities."

UNEMPLOYMENT ISSUE

In the Court of Accounts report regarding the Ministry of Family and Social Services, significant data was included concerning individuals who are fit for work but have not been reported to İŞKUR (Turkish Employment Agency) while benefiting from social assistance. In this context, it was reported that there are 433 thousand 152 people waiting to be reported to İŞKUR.

The report stated, "The number of people placed in jobs suitable for their status by İŞKUR is 58 thousand 764, while 3 thousand 311 people benefited from job referral assistance and 2 thousand 104 people benefited from job start-up assistance. The number of people whose regular cash social assistance should be cut off because they rejected a job offered by İŞKUR for the third time without a valid reason is 25."