TÜSİAD President emphasizes rule of law: Criticizes economic management

TÜSİAD held its General Assembly Meeting today.

The opening speeches of the meeting were delivered by TÜSİAD High Advisory Council President Ömer Aras and TÜSİAD Board of Directors President Orhan Turan. TÜSİAD Board of Directors President Orhan Turan made criticisms regarding the economic management.

Stating that the fight against inflation must be accelerated, Turan said, "We must get results faster now. Otherwise, stress is accumulating. It is becoming difficult to bear the cost of the fight against inflation. Both for entrepreneurs and for employees."

Turan's speech at the General Assembly Meeting is as follows:

"I chose to make a short speech today. Because in the speeches I have made on various occasions, I address all the issues on our agenda as a country. I explain our solution proposals for all of them.

Before me, other TÜSİAD presidents did the same. We have shared our findings and proposals with the public openly and transparently. We will continue to share them from now on.

We have also shared these findings and proposals with you today in the form of a booklet. This is a study containing the 'priorities' from the perspective of the business world for the year 2025. We have compiled the issues that we, as TÜSİAD, have been voicing. Anyone who wishes can access our proposals on the main topics from this booklet.

Our High Advisory Council President, Mr. Ömer Aras, also addressed all the problems comprehensively in his speech.

"INVESTIGATIONS INTO JOURNALISTIC ACTIVITIES HAVE BECOME VERY FREQUENT"

The agenda is very heavy. Which one should I count?

We are losing many of our citizens in earthquakes, fires, and work accidents. This means that error, abuse, and favoritism are very widespread.

News of investigations opened into critical expressions and journalistic activities has become very frequent.

New investigations are now being opened into events from over 10 years ago.

New ones are constantly being added to the imprisoned members of parliament, political party leaders, and mayors.

Dismissal decisions are being made against lieutenants on the grounds of indiscipline. However, in many events that cause public outrage such as earthquakes, fires, harassment, femicide, and work accidents, either the culprits are not found or they are released in a short time. A conviction is forming in the public conscience that there is a disproportion between crime and punishment.

We are witnessing new examples of public officials, whether elected or appointed, being removed from their duties.

Moreover, with new legal regulations, it is becoming possible for public officials to be removed from office by the State Audit Board and for the TMSF to be appointed as a trustee to companies.

There is no end to the news of corruption, fraud, and black marketeering.

Establishing an organization for the purpose of committing crimes is, I suppose, easier than establishing a company now.

There is no end to femicides or child abuse either.

What is this escalation? Why have we come to this state?

Whichever one we address, it is necessary to talk for days, perhaps even months.

Behind all these problems lies the shaking of trust in the law.

We have always said it. We will always say it. The foundation of a modern state is the rule of law. All citizens are equal before the law. The state is also bound by the law. Management at every level is carried out not arbitrarily, but according to legal rules. If there is a problem here, problems arise everywhere. If there is no trust in the law, insecurity, instability, and uncertainty will spread everywhere. A systemic risk is created. While it may be possible to save the day, the future is put in danger.

"WITHOUT ESTABLISHING THE RULE OF LAW..."

Look, we are industrialists and business people. We are members of TÜSİAD. But above all, we are human beings, we are citizens of this country. We put human values before economic values. We want to leave a better future, not a bigger inheritance, to our children and grandchildren.

We cannot build a better future without trust in the law.

Without immediately and fully establishing the rule of law, problems in the economy, society, or domestic and foreign policy cannot be solved.

Furthermore, the replacement of social polarization with social harmony, softening in politics, and the expansion of the political sphere will certainly facilitate the solution of our problems.

At this point, the permanent elimination of the terror problem is our greatest wish.

However, let us also see this: there is a mutually reinforcing interaction between the success of the process being followed and the improvement of the rule of law and democratic standards. Without one, the other is incomplete.

If we establish the rule of law, we can solve all our problems by talking and with common sense.

REACTION TO ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT

Let me also say a few words about the economy.

Although we support the economic program of Minister Mehmet Şimşek, we cannot say that everything is going well in the economy.

The fight against inflation needs to accelerate. We must get results faster now. Otherwise, stress is accumulating.

It is becoming difficult to bear the cost of the fight against inflation. Both for entrepreneurs and for employees.

The industrialist is struggling greatly. The exporter is bleeding. The attractiveness of imports is increasing.

How can we compete with our rivals in other countries who buy raw materials cheaper, have cheaper access to credit, and have a lower share of energy and labor costs in total costs? What is the mathematics of this? Is the productivity difference enough to close this gap? Well, how will we continue our business today? If we cannot continue, what will happen to our employees?

We are aware that the population growth rate has decreased dramatically. But how aware are we that this requires a much greater increase in productivity?

How will we grow without an increase in the number of employees, without an increase in quality, without an acceleration in productivity, and without an increase in value-added? Is there a theory that explains this?

"WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE NO TIME LEFT"

Both the industrialist and the employees are unhappy. Both large enterprises and SMEs are struggling. Both entrepreneurs in the West and those in the East are complaining. So who is smiling?

Özdemir Asaf said, "We left everything to time, without knowing if we have time..." We know that we have no time left.

For years, we have been saying let's prepare for climate change. We say let's not miss the technological transformation. We say let's take precautions against geostrategic risks. We say let's train our workforce and our youth according to the needs of the age. We say let's first include our women in the workforce to close the labor gap. We say let's prepare for trade wars, let's create an ecosystem where exports, not imports, are attractive. We say let's remember the strategic importance of agriculture and livestock.

While a great change is taking place in the world, we see that there is a leap opportunity in front of us. We say let's take advantage of this. But our energy is being wasted. We cannot catch up with the change in the world.

We can no longer leave anything to time. We have no time left for this.

Let us achieve permanent success in the fight against inflation as soon as possible. Let us support monetary policy with fiscal policy and structural reforms.

The industry must definitely be given room to breathe. Investment, production, and exports must be supported.

As I said, we have stated many times what needs to be done; we have also turned it into a booklet that we shared today.

Because "our hearts do not agree to remain silent." With this sentiment, as I conclude my speech, I greet you all with love and respect on behalf of the TÜSİAD Board of Directors."

News Source: 12punto