Management change did not help: Diyanet surpassed 5 ministries in January

The Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), which leaves many ministries behind with its budget and has drawn public reaction due to its luxury spending, continues to maintain its high expenditure levels despite a change in management.

Diyanet, where Safi Arpaguş was appointed to replace Ali Erbaş, also started 2026 at a fast pace. The Presidency's January expenditure approached the 20 billion TL threshold.

According to the report revealing the expenditures of public administrations within the scope of the general budget, the high spending trend of the Presidency of Religious Affairs continued in 2026. With the expenditures it made in the first month of the year, the Presidency surpassed many ministries.

According to the report by Birgün, Diyanet, which started 2026 with an appropriation of 373 billion 452 million 610 thousand TL, recorded its January expenditure as 18 billion 794 million 939 thousand TL. This amount exceeded the expenditures made by 30 public administrations within the scope of the general budget during the same period.

SOME MINISTRIES SURPASSED BY DIYANET

• Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources: 3.8 billion TL
• Ministry of Culture and Tourism: 8.1 billion TL
• Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change: 2.8 billion TL
• Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry: 16.7 billion TL
• Ministry of Trade: 5.2 billion TL

HOW MUCH DID DIYANET SPEND IN 2025?

The expenditure data of the Presidency of Religious Affairs from the previous year also drew attention. While the Presidency spent 91 billion 824 million 805 thousand TL in 2024, its total expenditure for 2025 rose to 130 billion 119 million 153 thousand TL.

News Source: 12punto