Birkan BULUT
Ankara

In the 2022 national budget prepared by the Presidency and submitted to Parliament, billions of liras are transferred to private capital in the funding of city hospitals and road construction projects, while President Erdogan’s salary will increase to about 35 times the minimum wage, or 100,750 TL. Funding for the Space Agency, which the government says will “make a hard landing on the moon in 2023,” is less than the promotional expenses of the Presidential Palace. Meanwhile, as the tax burden and cost of living rises, the “real hard landing” will be on the budget of the working class.

The 2022 budget of a Turkey impoverished by rising exchange rates, endless price increases and low wages has been announced. Vice President Fuat Oktay’s budget, presented to Parliament, pits 1.472 trillion TL in revenue against 1.750 trillion TL in expenses. The projected budget deficit stands at 278 billion TL. The budget’s 9-month interest payments for 2021 increased by 32 percent when compared to the same period of the previous year, while the total share of budget expenses going towards interest payments increased from 12.3 percent to 13.5 percent.

PRESIDENT’S RAISE: EQUAL TO 35 MINIMUM WAGE SALARIES

Despite the budget deficit, neither the expenses of the Presidential Palace nor the resources being transferred to public-private partnership projects have been abandoned. While the budget allocation to the Palace has decreased, there have been increases in many items, most notably the President’s salary. There was a proposal to reduce the presidential budget from 4.039 billion TL in 2021 to 3.89 billion TL in 2022. However, the President’s salary increased by 14.4 percent from 88,000 TL to 100,750 TL. In Turkey, where the minimum wage is 2,825 TL, President Erdogan is projected to receive 35 times the minimum wage each month: 2 billion TL were allocated for the purchase of goods and services for the presidency while representational and promotional expenses were recorded as 64 million TL. For 2022, the share allocated for presidential duty expenses is 1.508 billion TL. The presidential budget for the purchase of goods and materials intended for consumption has been increased to 335 million TL. Additionally, funds were allocated for the purchase of 25 passenger cars, 2 minibuses and 2 panel trucks. The budget of the Communications Directorate increased by 61 percent from 422 million TL to 680 million TL.

SPACE AGENCY’S BUDGET IS LESS THAN THAT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL PALACE

The project, of which President Erdogan said in 2023, “We will reach the moon and make a hard landing,” is now all but a dream. It was recorded that the Turkish Space Agency’s budget in 2022 will be 61.3 million TL, whereas its budget in 2023 will only be 67 million TL. Funding for the space project has fallen behind even the President’s representational and promotional expenses this year.

THE BUDGET CAN’T BEAR RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS

The Ministry of Religious Affairs received 16.1 billion TL in the 2022 budget after requesting additional funds the previous year on the grounds that most of its 13 billion TL budget was being allocated to personnel expenses. Religious Affairs, whose funding has exceeded seven out of the seventeen ministries included in the budget, has surpassed even the Interior Ministry in funding. The Ministry of Religious Affairs’ funding proposal exceeded all 26 administrative departments included in the general budget.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs has more funding than all but two of the nearly 200 specially funded administrations, most of which are universities. The two institutions that receive more funding than the Ministry of Religious Affairs are the General Directorate of Highways and the State Water Works Directorate.

EDUCATION FUNDING REMAINS LIMITED TO PERSONNEL EXPENSES

The Ministry of National Education, which is denoted as having the largest share of budgetary expenses, will receive 189 billion TL. However, 132 billion TL of the budget allocated for education comprises personnel expenses while 20 billion TL comprises social security premiums. While Vice President Fuat Oktay announced a 35% increase in investment, 15.2 billion TL of that increase is classified as “Procurement of Goods and Services.” Consequently, educational funding remains largely limited to personnel expenses.

BILLIONS IN HEALTH SPENDING AGAIN GO TO CITY HOSPITALS

Since 2020, the budget to be allocated to the Ministry of Health on account of the pandemic has been eagerly awaited. A total budget of 116 billion TL was allocated to the Ministry of Health, 54.6 billion TL of which was allocated for treatment services and 19 billion TL for preventative health services. The largest expenditure in health care is the grants given to city hospitals under the scope of public-private partnerships. According to the budget, a total of 21.5 billion TL was allocated to city hospitals in 2022, including 7.47 billion TL for service procurement and 14.1 billion TL for usage costs. This expenditure is projected to be 24.2 billion TL in 2023. A fifth of the Ministry of Health’s budget is allocated to city hospitals. However, according to the Court of Cassation’s reports, city hospitals are receiving unlawful and excessive payments in many cases, replacing unsuitable or inadequate equipment with equipment taken from closed hospitals.

ROADS LEAD TO A GANG OF 5

Billions of liras in guaranteed income will flow this year to partisan firms who monopolize public contracts. Despite the Ministry of Transport stating that guarantee and contribution payments for projects under the scope of public-private partnerships would be reduced, these payments have increased. As in 2021, the 540 million TL allocation in 2022 was projected to be 308 million TL. For this reason, the 2023 estimate of 228 million TL in guarantee payments is expected to increase alongside other “inaccurate estimates.”

However, the lion’s share to be allocated to these projects is included in the budget for the General Directorate of Highways. Funding for the General Directorate of Highways in 2022 will be 45 billion TL. However, the funds to be transferred from the General Directorate of Highways to Build-Operate-Transfer projects have increased from 14 billion TL to 20 billion TL in 2022. This amount is estimated at 23 billion TL in 2023 and 26 billion TL in 2024.