Where does the debt of CHP municipalities come from?... The inherited municipalities are listed

Republican People's Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Gökhan Zeybek, in a press conference he held, claimed that the government has been exerting pressure on CHP-run municipalities through Social Security Institution (SGK) and tax debts following the local elections. Zeybek stated that the government's SGK move is intended to "hide the shame of keeping the lowest pension at 12,500 TL."

CHP Deputy Chairman Gökhan Zeybek stated that the government bringing up the SGK's receivables from municipalities after the March 31, 2024 local elections was done "to hide the shame of keeping the lowest pension at 12,500 TL."

'SGK'S RECEIVABLES FROM MUNICIPALITIES ARE 96 BILLION TL'

Zeybek said that the SGK's receivables from municipalities amount to 96 billion lira, and that this figure corresponds to only 3% of the SGK's total revenue budget and 2% of its expenditure budget.

Gökhan Zeybek claimed that the government's goal is more about hindering the services of CHP municipalities than collecting the SGK's receivables. Stating that the SGK's total receivables reached 540 billion lira at the end of 2023 and 750 billion lira in recent months, Zeybek expressed that it is significant that the government is focusing only on the debts of municipalities.

'ANKARA METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY'S DEBT REDUCED TO 1 BILLION DOLLARS'

CHP's Zeybek also announced the debts of some metropolitan municipalities under CHP administration and the debt amounts inherited from the AKP or MHP. Stating that the total debt the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality inherited from Melih Gökçek was 2 billion dollars, Zeybek noted that the debt has been reduced to the 1 billion dollar level.

Expressing that the debt inherited at the Adana Metropolitan Municipality was 1 billion 18 million dollars, Zeybek emphasized that the debt has been reduced to 362 million dollars. It was reported that the debt of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, which was inherited from the AKP with a debt of 535 million dollars, has been kept at the 548 million dollar level despite major metro investments.

CHP Deputy Chairman Zeybek also announced the debt amounts of the municipalities that passed to the CHP in the March 31 elections. According to the statement, the debt status of the municipalities that passed to the Republican People's Party is as follows:

Underlining that the municipality inherited with the largest debt is the Keçiören Municipality, which was taken over from AKP's Turgut Altınok, Zeybek listed the most indebted municipalities inherited and their debt amounts as follows:

Keçiören Municipality: 1 billion 398 million TL

Sancaktepe Municipality: 1 billion 346 million TL

Alanya Municipality: 1 billion 52 million TL

Gaziosmanpaşa Municipality: 962 million TL

Beykoz Municipality: 702 million TL

Eyüpsultan Municipality: 676 million TL

Beyoğlu Municipality: 649 million TL

Üsküdar Municipality: 648 million TL

Mamak Municipality: 591 million TL and Ortahisar Municipality: 498 million TL

'LET COMPANIES WITH SGK DEBTS BE ANNOUNCED'

Gökhan Zeybek demanded that the government "announce the companies that have SGK debts." Noting that the SGK's total receivables reached 750 billion TL as of the end of 2023, he said, "Moreover, this debt was incurred despite the Court of Accounts' warning to 'start collection'."

Stating that the announced debts are not the debts of the municipalities themselves, but of the municipal subsidiaries, Zeybek said, "We want the SGK to announce all public institutions and companies that have debts above a certain amount. We understand that the government still cannot digest the fact that the CHP won in the March 31, 2024 Local Elections. The government has begun preparing a legal regulation to tie the hands of CHP municipalities," he said.