Meeting between İmamoğlu and Minister Işıkhan on 'SGK debts': We reached a preliminary agreement.

The Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, met with the Minister of Labor and Social Security, Vedat Işıkhan, along with the Mayor of Izmir, Cemil Tugay, the Mayor of Adana, Zeydan Karalar, and the Mayor of Balıkesir, Ahmet Akın.

"WE SHARED AND LISTED ITEMS LIKE THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS WITH THEM"

After a meeting that lasted about 1 hour, İmamoğlu made statements to the press, saying, "We met with our Minister of Labor and Social Security. We had decided to meet regarding the deductions made about SGK premium debts and the related applications in previous meetings. With the delegation we formed, we discussed how we can create opportunities for all municipalities in Turkey, as we are public institutions. How can a public institution pay its premium debts to SGK, which is another public institution? We shared and listed items such as how we can describe a process, medium-term borrowing, and reasonable descriptions of the process."

İmamoğlu used the following expressions:

"A TABLE ON 'HOW CAN WE ACHIEVE CONSENSUS' WILL BE SET UP HERE BY NEXT MONDAY"

"Thanks to our Minister, we were welcomed by a serious delegation that included the Deputy Minister, the President of SGK, and other executives. We exchanged views mutually. A delegation, which will include our TBB Secretary General and some expert friends we will reinforce from various municipalities, will likely set up a table on 'How can we achieve consensus' here by next Monday. A study will be conducted. It is not possible to pay off the accumulated debts at once, regardless of political party or identity, and the premium debts that will exist from now on - which will rise significantly with the newly increased figures - will put pressure on the budget balance of municipalities. We expressed that it would be good to conduct discussions with an understanding that includes 'What steps can be taken' to overcome this economically challenging period of the next 1-1.5 years, and that a reasonable time should be given for municipalities to apply, and that at least a framework should be presented to municipalities by us, and announced to encourage them.

"I HOPE IT WILL RESULT IN A PAYABLE INSTALLMENT PLAN"

In this regard, we reached a consensus. I hope that the work starting on Monday will yield healthy results. If these results occur, we have reached a preliminary agreement with them. If they are agreeable, we can meet again. I hope it will result in a very healthy, payable installment plan, and we will fulfill our responsibility to announce this to both the media and the municipality. Together, we will tackle this issue collaboratively. Different arguments and instruments can also be developed according to the municipalities' capabilities. We expressed that the smallest towns need to be protected differently, that districts need to be protected differently, and that the issue should be approached with a payable level in the budget scale. We sincerely thank our valuable Minister of Labor and Social Security for the establishment of this broad and goodwill table, on behalf of TBB and our delegation here, and we hope it yields results."

HE INDICATED THE NEXT WEEK

In response to a question, İmamoğlu stated that the meetings would begin on Monday and that he expected them to conclude next week. In response to another question, he said that they conducted the meeting on behalf of all municipalities.