Türkiye is set to announce a package of savings measures on Monday, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said Friday, as the government seeks to curb nonessential public spending as it focuses on fighting elevated inflation.
Speaking at an event in Istanbul, Şimşek stressed that Ankara would do everything necessary to bring inflation down to single digits.
The inflation is currently running at nearly 70% and is estimated to peak this month after which a disinflation trend will take hold alongside cooling domestic demand.
"We will announce the savings package together with our vice president on Monday," Şimşek during a live broadcast, highlighting the imperative for prudent resource management amidst fiscal constraints.
"We pursue an economy of efficiency; we seek savings," Şimşek affirmed.
Last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said measures aimed at increasing public savings would be among the steps the government will announce soon to strengthen its economic program.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said a monitoring system will be established for the effective implementation of the savings measures.
Yılmaz revealed that they were meticulously evaluating everything from vehicle usage to the utilization of public buildings, document printing and the conduct of ceremonies and educational activities.
The savings plan will include slowing some early-phase infrastructure projects and stopping new ones unless they are considered essential for the next three years, a report by Bloomberg News said on Friday, citing an official document.
Şimşek emphasized the importance of enhancing competitiveness and efficiency to gain a larger share of global markets.
"We cannot reach our goals through currency subsidies or interest subsidies. We haven't achieved the desired results in the past," he noted.
Şimşek also said Türkiye's credit rating would rise further after rating agency S&P last week upgraded its rating, citing improved coordination among policies and external rebalancing.
He said the government's medium-term economic program was working very well and there were no issues accessing global finance, adding that income tax would not be raised.
"Our most important goal is to reduce inflation to single digits, we will do whatever is necessary for this," Şimşek said.
Türkiye's central bank nudged its year-end inflation forecast to 38% on Thursday and its governor said annual inflation will peak this month at 75-76%.
Data on Friday showed Türkiye's unemployment rate fell 0.1 percentage points month-on-month to 8.6% in March, back to the decade low that it touched in October last year and down 1.4 percentage points from a year earlier.
Separate data showed the country's industrial production fell by 0.3% month-over-month in March on a seasonal and calendar-adjusted basis, with output up 4.3% year-over-year.
