Industrialists are raising their voices for extensive reform to Turkey's slow-working bureaucratic system, as Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) Chairman Erdal Bahçıvan stated, "The tenure of bureaucrats who retain their seats after they commit errors must end. In the scope of project-based reform, those officials who keep pace with the economy must be promoted."
Members of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) held a meeting with journalists, where ICI Chairman Bahçıvan said that the most important factor that must be solved in structural reform is bureaucratic rigidity. Listing Turkey's main three partners as politicians, the private sector and bureaucracy, Bahçıvan said that politicians must work for Turkey's growth and the enrichment and prosperity of the country, noting that if they do not, their political terms will be terminated.
Bahçıvan highlighted the fact that the greatest structural reform is transforming bureaucratic performance. He further stressed the necessity for long-term rental for industrial lands as this will reinforce the commitment of industrialists to the land on which they establish their business. Bahçıvan noted that a consensus on economic policies must be reached, adding that the first step in this regard should be to launch reform of the president's Cabinet after the congress to be held by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). ICI General Assembly Chair and Kale Group Chairwoman Zeynep Bodur Okyay and Çanakkale Chamber of Commerce and Industry General Assembly Chairman Osman Okyay also pointed out that administrators were not signing off on projects in order to prevent making possible mistakes, adding that the subsequent long waiting times were a waste of applicants' time.
The problem of overwhelming and suffocating bureaucracy was the most widely discussed issue prior to the April 16 referendum and the new presidential system of governance pledges to overrule all the bureaucratic procedures that bog down the otherwise swift and efficient business operations.
Now, members of the business world are waiting for the delivery of that promise.
