Main opposition CHP vows to reshape economic structure

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

Kılıçdaroğlu said that if the CHP came to power, they would follow a different economic policy. DHA Photo

Turkish main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said if his party came to power it would establish a new ministry to collect all the country’s income of the country, adding that they would follow an entirely different economy policy to that of the government.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has been ruling the country with hot money for 11 years and they were susceptible to global developments without creating their own economy policies, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader told reporters during a press meeting yesterday. Kılıçdaroğlu stressed that Turkey couldn’t become one of the 10 biggest economies in the world by 2023. “Sure, Turkey grew but we are also face to face with a ‘growth story’,” he said, adding that Turkey’s average growth rate was 5.1 percent before the AKP rule but it fell to 5 percent during their rule.

Kılıçdaroğlu said that if the CHP came to power, they would follow a different economic policy. He criticized that the Central Bank had lost its independence, stressing that they would absolutely protect the Bank’s independence if they came to power and assure its guarantee to the world. They would also safeguard the independence of all institutions that made supervision and regulation.

Kılıçdaroğlu said they would establish a “Ministry of Income” to collect all the state’s revenue under one institution. This would save the economy from a multi-headed management, he said.

He said that they also planned to apply an incentive program on high added-value products. The exports in Turkey surged but the high added-value products should make a bigger part of the exports, if Turkey bid to take place among the 10 largest economies, he said. These products’ share in exports fell from 6.2 percent in 2002 to 2.8 percent in 2011, he said, adding that in production this process was managed by debts. “Turkey has a ‘debt story’ in the last 11 years. While the total amount of loan was $130 billion during the period before AKP government, it rose to $350 billion during only AKP rule,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu added that they would create a new tax policy to raise domestic savings and reduce the tax rate on the minimum wage to 1 percent. He pointed out that the distribution of national income was unfair in Turkey.

The opposition leader said the government couldn’t find a solution on oil prices because of the tax burden on oil, but he claimed that removing the special consumption tax in agriculture and diesel would be a coverable burden.