‘TRNC hit twice as hard as Turkey in lira crisis’

THE devalued Turkish lira is hitting TRNC households and businesses twice as hard as those in Turkey, Prime Minister Tufan Erhürman disclosed as Parliament reopened after the summer recess.

Even though the TL is the official currency of both countries, the rate of inflation over the last eight months has been 24.29 per cent in the TRNC but only 12.29 in Turkey, said Dr Erhürman at Monday’s opening session.

“We are in a difficult period and 2019 will not be an easy year,” he told MPs, saying that it was essential to enact new laws to regulate the “black economy” and reduce the number of illegal workers in order to increase government revenue.

Leader of the main opposition National Unity Party (UBP) Hüseyin Özgürgün claimed the current four-way coalition government had come to power “against the will of the people” as its member parties represented a range of political beliefs and policies.

“It is wrong for [Dr] Erhürman to ascribe all our economic problems to the foreign currency issue,” he said.

“The source of the current problems is the government itself and we will continue to act as an effective opposition to it.”

The exchange came as civil service union Kamu-Sen, backed by the Hür-İş trades union federation, staged a strike and mass demonstration outside the Assembly building to protest at price hikes and the rising cost of living. They called for more checks on shop mark-ups and for a third 2018 evaluation of the minimum wage.

Acting Hür-İş leader Ali Yeltekin said 104,000 people were awaiting an increase in the low-pay threshold and warned the Labour and Social Security Ministry they would “occupy” the relevant unit “if our call is not heeded during this week”.

Protesters who walked out of work at government offices for three hours from 9am had briefly spoken with the parliamentary Speaker Teberrüken Uluçay and Dr Erhürman.

Parliament’s first day back also saw a demonstration by the Independence Path group, which urged MPs to back a Bill outlawing employment without trades union membership and criticising the government for failing to take “effective steps” over prices and the country’s economic difficulties — while at the same time going on summer holiday.

Münür Rahvancıoğlu, the group’s secretarygeneral, called for mass participation in a similar rally to be held in central Lefkoşa’s Selimiye Square on October 26.