Response from Bolu Provincial Special Administration to Minister Ersoy: A debate on authority and responsibility

Sırrı Köstereli, Secretary General of the Bolu Provincial Special Administration, who signed the license renewal document for the Grand Kartal Hotel in Bolu on December 29, 2015, has put an end to the authority debates following the fire. After Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy attributed the hotel's inspection authority to the Provincial Special Administration, Köstereli responded by stating that the inspection of the hotel falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

In his statement following the tragedy, Minister of Culture and Tourism Ersoy had expressed that the hotel's licensing and occupancy permit authorities rested with the Provincial Special Administration, and therefore the Provincial Special Administration was also responsible for inspections. Minister Ersoy said, "The fact that the workplace opening and operating license has been renewed means to me that the fire department report has also been renewed."

INSPECTION LIES WITH THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE AND TOURISM

Bolu Provincial Special Administration Secretary General Sırrı Köstereli issued a statement in response to Minister Ersoy. Köstereli emphasized that the hotel is a tourism-certified business and that, according to the regulations, the inspection of such establishments belongs to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. "The Provincial Special Administration does not have a duty such as inspection. The party responsible here is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism," he said.

Köstereli stated that the license renewal carried out in 2015 was merely an update regarding the hotel's change of address and that no changes were made to the document itself. "No document is requested due to a change of address. Only the address on the document is changed," he said, providing information about the nature of the transaction.

HOTEL OWNER HAD ALSO HELD THE MINISTRY RESPONSIBLE

Hotel owner Halit Ergül also stated that the hotel's last inspection was conducted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and that no deficiencies related to the fire were detected. Ergül said, "The necessary inspections have been carried out. The last inspection was conducted on December 15. In this inspection, deficiencies regarding the doors of the accessible rooms were found. No deficiencies related to the fire were detected."