31.01.2025 11:21
The Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, pointed to the high rents in large cities, stating, "We hope to control rents by increasing housing supply through a housing mobilization in the upcoming period and producing more housing."
The Minister of Treasury and Finance, Mehmet Şimşek, stated in his speech at the 7th Ordinary Congress of the Ankara Women's Branch held at the AK Party Headquarters that the goal of the economic program they are implementing is to increase the country's prosperity. Şimşek explained that after starting to implement the program, reserves reached record levels, and they reduced the currency-protected deposits from 144 billion dollars to below 30 billion dollars.
"OUR INFLATION TARGET IS 21 PERCENT"
Indicating that there is a budget deficit due to the earthquake, Şimşek said, "Our budget deficit is still high, but we will control it this year." He noted that they established a tremendous spending discipline in the public sector for 2024, stating that they reduced expenditures by 1.2 trillion lira compared to the last 10 years before 2024. Emphasizing the importance of budget discipline, Şimşek said, "Because we want more resources in our budget to go to education, health, infrastructure, and social assistance, but not to interest." He recalled that they reduced inflation to about 44 percent last year and stated that they aim to decrease it to 21 percent this year.
"WE AIM TO REDUCE INFLATION WITH SUPPLY-SIDE POLICIES"
Pointing out that inflation expectations in the market have declined, Şimşek said, "Our households are looking at it with a bit more skepticism. They still expect inflation to be around 59 percent. However, inflation will decrease. We aim to reduce inflation not only with monetary, fiscal, and revenue policies but also with supply-side policies. For our low-income citizens, the most significant component of the cost of living is rent. This is a major issue, especially in large cities. We hope to control rents by increasing housing supply through a housing mobilization in the upcoming period, producing more housing." he evaluated.
250 THOUSAND HOUSES ARE BEING BUILT THIS YEAR
Şimşek stated that their most important program to increase housing supply is the reconstruction of the earthquake-affected area, reminding that 201 thousand houses have been delivered in the region. He mentioned that they have initiated a social housing mobilization, saying, "With the support we will provide from the budget in 2025, 250 thousand social houses will be built. This is in addition to the earthquake houses."
Şimşek noted that the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change is also preparing for a housing campaign, continuing his remarks: "Especially for low-income groups, for those who do not have housing, we will initiate a project for safe, quality, and earthquake-resistant housing with low-cost, low-down payment, and long-term installment plans. The aim of all these efforts is to prevent the increase in rents, control the most significant component of the cost of living, and ensure that our citizens become homeowners."
"WE WILL MAKE THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN EFFECTIVE"
Şimşek stated that they will prioritize investments such as irrigation and consolidation in food supply, saying, "We will make the food supply chain and logistics effective to ensure that food reaches the final consumer with minimal waste and cost from the field. We will increase the scope and size of organized agricultural regions. We will move to planned agricultural production." he expressed.
Şimşek emphasized that they have provided tremendous support in the energy sector, stating, "As of February, we will remove the subsidy that affects only 3 percent of the population, which is high consumption and largely affects the wealthy, but broadly, the subsidy will continue." he said.
ENERGY SUPPORT FOR NEEDY FAMILIES
Şimşek explained that they provide energy support to needy families, stating that since 2019, 61.5 billion lira of support has been given to 4.1 million households.
Şimşek pointed out that the participation rate of women in the workforce has increased from 21 percent to around 37 percent during the AK Party governments, saying, "This rate is still very low. Because the average in OECD countries is 66 percent. If Turkey catches the OECD average, it will advance to a higher class. If we succeed in this, which we will, then Turkey's national income will increase by 20 percent without doing anything." he stated.
Şimşek emphasized that the Treasury pays 70 percent of the interest on loans used by farmers, stating, "In fact, the state pays the entire interest on farmer loans up to 300 thousand lira. Last year, 990 thousand farmers benefited from this opportunity. Our total support to our farmers from the budget is 706 billion lira. The Treasury covers 50 percent of the interest on loans used by tradesmen. For this, we allocated 60 billion lira from the budget this year. Last year, we provided support to 232 thousand tradesmen of this kind." he evaluated.
133 BILLION LIRA FOR NEW DORMITORIES
Şimşek emphasized that Turkey has transformed into an important production and service hub during the AK Party governments, continuing: "There is tremendous success under the leadership of our President. We prioritized education during this period. We allocated more resources from the budget to education. Currently, 15 percent of the budget goes to education. Thanks to this, we have increased the enrollment rates in preschool education to 70 percent. In higher education, we have exceeded 100 percent. Turkey has made tremendous investments in education. We increased the dormitory capacity from 182 thousand to 994 thousand. Currently, the average monthly fee for staying in dormitories is 690 lira. In the 2025 budget, we allocated 133 billion lira for the dormitory expenses of our youth, the construction of new dormitories, and the improvement of existing ones."
"WE WILL INVEST AT LEAST 200 BILLION DOLLARS IN INFRASTRUCTURE"
Şimşek stated that they have invested 289 billion dollars in infrastructure during the AK Party governments, noting:
"They ask, 'Where do the taxes we collect go?' Look, tremendous investments have been made in infrastructure in Turkey. In the next 25-30 years, we will invest at least 200 billion dollars in infrastructure. Currently, our top priority in infrastructure is railways. In the coming years, we will invest especially 70 billion dollars in infrastructure and railways to ensure the connection of the high-speed train network and especially the ports of industrial zones."