'Erdoğan' intervention in municipalities is imminent
Regulations that will reshape the powers and expenditures of municipalities were presented to President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the AKP Central Executive Board (MYK). A "service hierarchy" model, which envisions the central administration stepping in if services are disrupted, has come to the fore.
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Regulations regarding the powers of municipalities, which President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been voicing for a long time, were discussed at the AKP Central Executive Board (MYK) meeting chaired by Erdoğan. A comprehensive presentation was made as part of the changes described by the public as a "scalpel" to municipal powers.
DEBATE ON AUTHORITY AND FINANCIAL SPACE
The distribution of duties and powers of local governments was laid on the table at the meeting. The view was expressed that the wide financial room for maneuver of municipalities creates various risks and that new regulations are therefore needed.
In the presentation, the budget management and borrowing practices of municipalities were evaluated in detail. It was argued that some municipalities use loans exceeding their budgets during election periods, which leads to financial problems in subsequent periods. For this reason, the option of introducing time and amount limits on borrowing was brought to the agenda.
It was stated that despite existing restrictions on personnel recruitment, hiring continues through municipal subsidiaries. It was conveyed at the AKP meeting that steps are being planned to bring the financial structure of municipalities under discipline and to clarify service priorities.
The presentation also included various proposals to increase transparency in municipal administrations. Topics such as municipal mayors declaring the assets they acquire during their terms, regularly announcing tender and contract information to the public, and limiting the appointment of relatives were discussed.
Measures aimed at ensuring municipalities pay their social security premium debts regularly and preventing the accumulation of debt were also among the proposals.
SERVICE HIERARCHY MODEL ON THE TABLE
According to the report by the pro-government newspaper Türkiye, a "service hierarchy" system aimed at ensuring municipalities prioritize basic services is planned as part of the new regulation regarding local governments. Options such as the central administration being able to intervene if basic services are disrupted and imposing sanctions on municipalities that do not fulfill their duties are being evaluated.
Introducing heavier sanctions for zoning practices that violate legislation, strengthening audit mechanisms, and establishing a new audit structure to monitor the effectiveness of municipal expenditures were also brought to the agenda. The possibility of implementing different budget practices in tourism regions according to the population increase in summer months was also discussed at the meeting.
It was learned that a topic regarding the transfer of new powers to governors and district governors did not come to the agenda at the meeting. The proposals are expected to be discussed in detail at intra-party strategy meetings and transformed into concrete regulations.
On the other hand, it was reported that President Erdoğan held a meeting with Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB), at the Presidential Complex.