Prof. Dr. Durusoy: No savings on 'prestige' in the austerity package, sacrifice expected from citizens

Şenol ÇARIK / 12punto.com.tr

Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek has announced the "austerity" package for the public sector. Economist Prof. Dr. Serap Durusoy commented on the 'austerity' package for 12punto.

Durusoy stated, "In my opinion, it looks like it will not go beyond a declaration of intent. It has very major shortcomings. Unfortunately, there is no saving on prestige!"

Durusoy expressed that this package, much like monetary policy, expects sacrifice from the citizens.

Here are Prof. Dr. Serap Durusoy's statements regarding the public sector austerity package...

"IT IS LATE"

"Actually, it is a late package. The biggest handicap of our current economic policy is the delays in the steps taken.

In monetary policy, we started increasing the policy rate at a very late stage, which diverged significantly from the global economy. There has also been a delay in the tight fiscal policy that would support this monetary policy.

'IT LOOKS LIKE IT WILL NOT GO BEYOND A DECLARATION OF INTENT'

A package has been announced, and although its content is welcomed by the business world, in my opinion, it looks like it will not go beyond a declaration of intent. It has very major shortcomings. Unfortunately, there is no saving on prestige!"

She continued to list the negative aspects of the austerity package as follows:

"The fact that it is not comprehensive and is limited to a certain period, 3 years, is a major problem.

The lack of strong belief in the package, the inclusion of local governments in this process, the fact that while there are statements regarding some expenditures on the budget side, there is no detail on how revenue will be strengthened, the fact that no path has been announced regarding the Currency-Protected Deposit (KKM) scheme, which creates a huge burden on the Turkish economy, and the lack of steps or details regarding how to proceed with guaranteed bridges, roads, and airports are the biggest shortcomings we see here."

"SACRIFICE IS EXPECTED FROM THE CITIZENS"

Stating, 'When we examine this package, it has a class-based preference just like monetary policy. Again, sacrifice is expected from the citizens,' Prof. Dr. Durusoy continued:

"It is stated that if all the decisions taken in this package are implemented, a saving of 100 billion TL will be achieved. Considering a budget deficit of over 2.5 trillion TL, 100 billion TL will remain a symbolic figure.

'ITS DURATION IS NARROW'

The austerity package has been announced, but the implementation of its contents will not happen overnight. Decrees need to be issued for each of them. This will also take time. Consequently, although it appears to be 3 years, the implementation period covers a narrow timeframe."