He said 'austerity' after the election economy ended: Şimşek's 'savings' report card is out

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, following the Presidential and Parliamentary elections and the March 31 Local Elections, had announced 'austerity measures' instead of an election economy.

However, it has emerged that Minister Şimşek is using a Mercedes S400 official vehicle worth 16 million lira and that his 4 deputies are also receiving double salaries.

According to the report by Yavuz Alatan from Sözcü;  Almost all high-level bureaucrats are also receiving double salaries through their board memberships. 

AN ARMY OF BUREAUCRATS WITH DOUBLE SALARIES

In addition to their double salaries, deputy ministers and individuals serving on the boards of certain companies are also paid annual profit shares. 

Şimşek's deputy ministers with double salaries are as follows:

- Abdullah Erdem Cantimur: Deputy Minister, Member of the Board of Directors of Ziraat Bank.

- İsmail İlhan Hatipoğlu: Deputy Minister, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Türk Telekom.

- Osman Çelik: Deputy Minister, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Türk Eximbank.

- Zekeriya Kaya: Deputy Minister, Member of the Board of Directors of TÜPRAŞ.

- Selçuk Sevinç: Vice President of the Tax Inspection Board, Member of the Board of Directors of the State Supply Office.

- Mustafa Koç: Head of Strategy Development, Member of the Board of Directors of the State Supply Office.

- Mert Özarar: General Manager of Information Technologies, Member of the Board of Directors of Turkish Maritime Enterprises.

- Fatih Altınkayık: General Manager of Personnel, Member of the Board of Directors of Türkşeker.

- Bahar Özgün Yılmaz: General Manager of Economic Programs and Research, Member of the Board of Directors of Türk Eximbank.

- Serdar Ülker: Deputy General Manager of Financial Markets and Foreign Exchange, Member of the Board of Directors of the Credit Guarantee Fund.

- Kerem Dönmez: General Manager of Foreign Economic Relations, Member of the Board of Directors of Katılım Finans Kefalet A.Ş., Member of the Board of Directors of the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey.

- Muhammet Faruk Aykut: General Manager of Public Capital Organizations and Enterprises, Member of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Petroleum Corporation.

- Ömer Karademir: General Manager of Public Finance, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Development and Investment Bank of Turkey.

- Nazmi Zarifi Gürkan: General Manager of Accounting at the Ministry of Finance, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Maritime Organization.

- Bekir Bayrakdar: Head of the Revenue Administration, Member of the Central Bank Supervisory Board, Member of the Board of Directors of ASELSAN.

- Faruk Gözübüyük: Vice President of the Revenue Administration, Member of the Supervisory Board of Iller Bank.  

- Mehmet Arabacı: Vice President of the Revenue Administration, Member of the Board of Directors of the Central Securities Depository of Turkey (MKK).

8 TOGGS ARE BEING PURCHASED

The armored model of the S400 vehicle that Minister Şimşek rides in is valued at 30 million lira. Furthermore, with the current price of Minister Şimşek's 16 million lira Mercedes S400 automobile, 8 TOGG can be purchased. 

RESPONSE FROM THE MINISTRY

In a statement made from the Treasury and Finance Ministry's social media account, "Only the highest offices of our state use armored vehicles for 'security reasons.' In the austerity circular, the official vehicles of the highest-level state personnel, namely our ministers, have been kept outside the scope due to the aforementioned mandatory reasons." the statement said.

The following was noted in the statement:

"The headline in Sözcü newspaper today targeting our Minister and his bureaucrats is neither information nor news; it is a deception far from seriousness, constructed with political concerns.

In terms of providing information to our public with state seriousness;

Only the highest offices of our state use armored vehicles for 'security reasons.' In the austerity circular, the official vehicles of the highest-level state personnel, namely our ministers, have been kept outside the scope due to the aforementioned mandatory reasons.

Furthermore, only the high-level, qualified bureaucrats of our Ministry, who have been appointed to State Economic Enterprises (KİT) to perform management and oversight on behalf of the public by taking on additional responsibilities with the authority granted by law since the 1960s, are fulfilling these duties properly and worthily. The situation the newspaper calls 'Double Salary' is actually due to Double Responsibility and Double Duty.

We have previously announced to the public that a legal ceiling will soon be introduced for the salaries they receive from a single source in return for this important duty and responsibility.

Therefore, it is important not to give credence to such unserious, daily sensationalist headlines that continue persistently in order to confuse our citizens."

RESPONSE FROM MINISTER ŞİMŞEK TO SÖZCÜ NEWSPAPER: 'I MIGHT CONSIDER RIDING A BICYCLE'

Quoting the Ministry's statement, Minister Şimşek, "I might consider riding a bicycle to please Sözcü Newspaper"used the expressions.

Şimşek also stated the following:

"Against this artificial agenda that is being deliberately created, we will continue with determination to implement our program, which we have put into effect to establish macro-financial stability, achieve sustainable high growth, and ensure a fairer income distribution. 

Our nation should rest assured. 

- We are establishing discipline in the budget.

- We have brought the current account deficit to a sustainable level.

- We have removed foreign exchange reserves as a source of concern.

- We are successfully reducing the currency-protected deposit scheme.

- Inflation will soon enter a very rapid decline process.

Our country has very high potential. We are working tirelessly with a team spirit to reach this potential, and we will succeed."

News Source: 12punto