Gov’t to take steps to boost public sector savings: VP Yılmaz

ANKARA

The government is working on measures to increase public sector savings, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz has said.

The Finance Ministry and the presidency of strategy and budget authority are carrying out studies on public sector savings, with more than 15 articles being worked upon, and they will be implemented, Yılmaz told reporters after the cabinet meeting earlier this week.

"Most of the upcoming Economy Coordination Board [EKK] meetings will focus on structural transformation, improving efficiency in the public sector and savings in the public sector,” he said.

"What we mean by savings is it is not only about reducing expenditures, but also making existing public expenditures more efficient, prioritizing them, and making public expenditures contribute more to the competitiveness and efficiency of the economy, as well as social welfare," Yılmaz added.

Progress has already been made and work on those issues will be finalized after Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek returns to Türkiye, according to Yılmaz.

Şimşek has traveled to the U.S. to attend the International Monetary Fund-World Bank spring meetings.

“Some of those measures require making laws, but for others, issuing circulars and administrative decisions will be enough,” Yılmaz said.

Speaking after the cabinet meeting on April 16, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that steps will be taken to strengthen the medium-term economic program.

“For the strengthening of the program, the three main priorities are to increase public savings, prioritize investments and accelerate structural reforms,” Erdoğan said.