The Turkish government will provide additional financial resources to the provinces where population has increased after Syrian refugees took asylum in Turkey due to the Syrian civil war. The economy administration will use the central budget to support relevant provinces, taking the growth in population into consideration, particularly in cities such as Şanlıurfa, Istanbul, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kilis, Mardin and Şırnak, within the scope of local administration reform.
Stating that the reform will relieve the burden of these provinces, Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek said: “They carry a huge load but do not receive any revenue from the central budget in return. We worked on a formula taking this situation into consideration.” The government is preparing a reform package to enhance the financial structure of municipalities and reorganize their authorization in the fields of zoning, real estate and expropriation in the new term.
As the number of metropolitan municipalities across Turkey has increased by 30, and 519 municipalities became metropolitan sub-provincial municipalities, their financial structure is being re-evaluated. It is also expected that the shares allocated from the government budget for municipalities, where the population has surged, will be increased with new refugees coming in from various countries, particularly Syria.
Pointing out that the refugees are affecting municipal services, Turkey’s Union of Municipalities called for additional resources for effected cities.
Stating that the refugees have a considerable impact on provinces, “We will minimize this situation. Our priority is infrastructure,” Deputy Prime Minister Şimşek said.
The government, while prioritizing the municipalities’ infrastructure works in the provinces where 3 million refugees are hosted in Turkey, also takes measures in health and education services. Şimşek had earlier stated that the government is planning on taking a step toward a more just distribution of revenue to these provinces.
