‘We cannot prevent rising prices’

PRICES will go on rising as long as the slump in the value of the Turkish lira continues, Prime Minister Tufan Erhürman said, admitting: “We cannot prevent it.”

He told an interviewer on state broadcaster Bayrak on Monday the financial crisis had so far cost the country 597 million TL in lost purchasing power and rising cost of living, with those on a low income the worst hit.

He said the government was making an “extraordinary effort” to avoid a further rise in electricity prices — indexed to both the dollar and global oil prices, and already up 52 per cent this year — but there was “no possibility” of intervening to prevent a hike in the cost of fuel.

Dr Erhürman said the impact of the crisis had been set out during his meeting last week with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara, confirming an earlier statement by Economy and Energy Minister Özdil Nami that the issue, and the question of “compensating for the loss”, had been the major topic of disussion.

The Premier, who said on his return from Ankara last week that there was “no light at the end of the tunnel”, explained: “I meant the TRNC, together with Turkey, have entered a tunnel due to the loss in the value of the Turkish lira and it’s not yet possible to envisage our future in these dire straits.

“We did avert a fuel price hike four times on and a power hike once, and have subsidised milk prices. We hoped to bring some stability through these measures . . . but have realised there is no light at the end of the tunnel.”

He said the government was continuing to negotiate with the banks about “other measures” which needed very careful handling, and these would be revealed to the public “when the time comes”.

He added that incentives for agriculture, husbandry, tourism and higher education would be discussed, but “restructuring” of the sectors was required.