Government prioritizes 'palace, war and capital' in 2021 budget, says opposition

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Vice President Fuat Oktay presented Turkey's 2021 budget at the parliament last night (October 21).

The budget is part of the government's efforts to "bounce back from the Covid-19 fallout" and Turkey "will begin to strongly rebound, separating us from OECD and EU averages, even though big economies were deeply impacted," Oktay told the parliament's Planning and Budget Committee.

"The size of the steps taken [in Turkey] to reinvigorate the economy amid the Covid-19 outbreak reached 371.1 billion Turkish liras [$47.4 billion], excluding loan deferrals," Oktay said.

This budget comes to Turkey's "rescue despite the coronavirus outbreak having halted life, production, and transportation around the globe," he added.

The committee will debate the budget until November 24 and the debate will continue in the General Assembly in early December, where heated exchanges are expected.

The lack of transparency

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) members of the budget committee, Erol Katırcıoğlu and Necdet İpekyüz, held a press conference at the parliament today, saying that the budget was prepared "in favor of the palace, war and the capital."

This was not a budget that would bring the country out of the economic crisis, Katırcıoğlu said, noting that a significant chunk of the budget was allocated to defense and security.

"We see that the budget is allocated to internal security and external security issues, not items that the people need. This budget is not a budget that the peoples of Turkey expected," he remarked.

İpekyüz noted the lack of transparency of the budget talks, saying that the public has the right to know what is being negotiated.

Advisors, journalists, MPs and NGOs were not allowed in the talks due to the coronavirus measures, he said, suggesting that the negotiations could be broadcast online.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) also made a similar request today.

What is in the budget proposal?

The vice president said that the government will allocate "the lion's share" of the budget – fully 15 percent – to education with 211.4 billion Turkish lira (26.5 billion US dollars).

Budget expenditures were projected at 1.346 trillion liras ($169.6 billion). Also, non-interest expenses come to 1.166 trillion liras ($147 billion).

Budget revenues were projected at 1.101 billion liras ($138.8 million) and tax revenues at 922.7 billion liras ($116.3 billion). The budget deficit for next year was predicted at 245 billion liras (nearly $31 billion).

The budget for 2021 will be the 19th budget of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party government, which first came to power in fall 2002. (HA/VK)