‘Central Bank should be more independent’
ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency
Yılmaz, former Central Bank governor, supports the Bank’s independence, but warns against constitutional protection.
The independence of the Central Bank should be strengthened, former head of the Central Bank Durmuş Yılmaz, who is currently chief advisor to President Abdullah Gül, has said. However, Yılmaz has reservations as to whether to include the principle in the constitution.“The issue of whether to include the independence of the Central Bank in the constitution is very important […] It should be thought about very carefully. I personally believe in the necessity of the Central Bank’s independence with all my heart and soul,” Durmuş said.
He noted that the independence of the Central Bank had led the inflation rate coming down to a single digit rate - not in defiance of government policy, but staying within the framework of it. “That is why the independence of the Central Bank should be strengthened. But I have reservations as to whether this should be written into the constitution. We might encounter with something very [unexpected]. We might face situations that may not come to our minds today,” he said.
