Turkish Opposition Lawmaker Criticizes Government's 2022 Budget Proposal

A Turkish opposition lawmaker on Monday criticized the 2022 budget proposed by the government.

"There is no hope for the future in this budget, and there is no happiness for our people," Musavat Dervisoglu, the deputy parliamentary group chair of Good (IYI) Party, told lawmakers on the first day of deliberations to pass a budget bill for the next year.

Dervisoglu also noted that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not attend the sitting. "The owner of this budget is not here either. Mr. President is not coming to present his own budget."

"A president who can't take the trouble of defending his own budget will of course be controversial," he added.

Vice President Fuat Oktay presented the country's 2022 budget proposal to the parliament on Monday.

IYI party's other deputy parliamentary group chair criticized recent references in Turkish politics to the "China model" of development.

"China crushed labor 40 years ago, but they invested wisely. They turned the country into a production base. Our investments are not even half of theirs relative to national income," said Erhan Usta, a lawmaker from the northern province of Samsun.

Usta argued that while China turned itself into an investment and production base, Turkish authorities turned the country "into a pile of concrete."

"They did central planning, and we abolished the State Planning Organization," he added.

The government's budget proposal projects 1.75 trillion liras ($135.4 billion) in expenditures and 1.472 billion liras ($113.9 million) in revenues for next year.

It places the country's deficit at 278 billion liras (nearly $21 billion).

This will be the 20th budget bill under a Justice and Development (AK) Party government, which has been in power for nearly two decades. -