TRNC mayors give their views on debt restructuring plans
GOVERNMENT plans to give municipalities an extra two years to pay back their debts were described by town hall chiefs as a “temporary” measure this week, with calls to cut interest rates and raise revenues.
Deputy Prime Minister Kudret Özersay unveiled the debt restructuring plans last week in a bid to help 19 out of 28 councils who owe a combined total of 338 million TL in unpaid social security, Provident Fund and taxes.
Lefkoşa Mayor Mehmet Harmancı said the government’s move “did not solve” the municipalities’ problems but “merely postponed” them. He said that while his administration “did not have any new debts”, it was still “paying back the old ones every month”.
However Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü said he supported the ministers’ move, adding that his council owed 20 million TL in unpaid taxes, which “dated back to the time before” he became mayor in 2014.
Mr Güngördü called on the government to increase local property tax rates, which he said had “not been updated for the last 15 years”, as a way for local authorities to boost their coffers.
He also demanded a new census, claiming central government grants were based on Girne’s official population “of 32,400”, a figure that he estimated had now “exceeded 50,000”.
Lapta Mayor Fuat Namsoy said the decision was “good news for the municipalities that owe money but not for the ones that don’t”. He said half of Lapta’s six million TL in debts was made up of interest.
Güzelyurt Mayor Mahmut Özçınar said fines for late payments to the government were “higher than interest rates charged by the banks”. He called for longer repayment plans with lower interest rates.
İnönü counterpart Ali Öncü said the government plan was a “temporary reprieve” which didn’t address the issue of interest payments, which had become “more than our actual debt”.
Yeniboğaziçi’s Katip Demir, who admitted his council owed six million TL, said the government decision was “partially right”, while Vadili’s Mehmet Adahan described it as “unacceptable”.
Mr Adahan said giving municipalities extra time to pay the money back would not help “increase their revenues”.
Değirmenlik Mayor Osman Işısal said local government had been left in limbo because state assistance for 2018 had yet to be approved due to last month’s general election.
Dipkarpaz Mayor Suphi Coşkun judged that Dr Özersay’s announcement had provided “comfort for rural municipalities”.