With the allegations of rampant corruption at municipalities run by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) under the spotlight, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday addressed the members of Court of Account, on the occasion of top inspection body’s 164th anniversary.
“Just as the defense of national will is a debt of honor for us, we fight for our honor by not turning a blind eye to squandering, abuse of public resources,” he told the event in Ankara.
“Recent scandals in local administration that we watched with shame and in shock cannot be excused,” he said, without openly naming CHP. Erdoğan’s statements were remarkably toned down compared to his past scathing critique of the opposition’s descent into corruption, which surfaced with a string of scandals in the past few years.
The president also underlined that the public sector personnel, regardless of their position, should act sensibly while using the state’s resources. “This is our red line,” he stated.
CHP-run municipalities were rocked by corruption probes, mostly focusing on mayors and municipal bureaucrats who allegedly took bribes to fast-track bureaucratic processes or approve illegal construction, and those accused of rigging public tenders.
Erdoğan recalled Türkiye’s modern history, overshadowed by corruption scandals, some linked to CHP and said they still remembered how a social security institution almost went bankrupt, how private and public banks were embezzled. “Along with the greedy and unskilled officials, public finances were dealt the most blow by those loyal to military tutelage. All anti-democratic interventions cost billions of dollars to this country,” he said, recalling the cost of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt by Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) as more than $350 billion. “Our fight against any type of tutelage is also a fight to unburden Türkiye from such financial costs. When we achieve victory, our economic rise will accelerate,” he said.
“It is our debt to the nation to engage in a legal battle against those who loot what the nation entrusted to them. We are responsible toward 86 million citizens who expect their taxes to be converted into the highest-quality service,” Erdoğan added.
The president called the Court of Accounts to contribute to the government’s vision of “Century of Türkiye.” “We need reports from the Court of Accounts, particularly on drafting national strategies. The Court of Accounts has the ability to simultaneously look into affairs of different agencies, assess different processes and methods. I believe the court will continue to function as a great service to the nation and the state with its value-focused approach based on data and system,” he said.
