Waste in the public sector continues: 8 billion TL paid to consultants!

Following the public austerity package announced by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, public spending has come under scrutiny. 

However, the public sector's spending on "consultancy services" has drawn significant attention. It has emerged that a total of 7 billion 988 million 447 thousand TL was paid by public institutions for consultancy services between January 2021 and June 2024.

MAJOR INCREASE IN CONSULTANCY EXPENSES

According to a report by Mustafa Bildirici from BirGün, Public Procurement Monitoring reports reveal the increase in consultancy service purchases made on behalf of the public.

The expenditure, which was 624 million 571 thousand TL in 2021, rose to 1 billion 561 million 738 thousand TL in 2022, and to 3 billion 742 million 880 thousand TL in 2023. This rate of increase reached a striking level of 499.2 percent compared to 2021.

SPENDING CONTINUES

Despite calls for austerity, consultancy spending did not slow down in 2024. In the first half of the year, the total amount paid by the public sector for consultancy services was recorded as 2 billion 59 million 447 thousand TL. This picture reveals the billions of liras the public sector spends on consultancy services.

The question of how the presidential austerity package will affect, in particular, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects and consultancy services continues to be a subject of curiosity.

News Source: 12punto