İYİ Party leader criticizes gov’t over privatization moves

ANKARA

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener on July 7 criticized the transformation of the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation’s (MKE) weapons factory into a joint-stock company and the inclusion of the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation (TEİAŞ) in the scope of privatization.

“They are trying to sell everything that belongs to our nation,” Akşener said at the parliamentary group meeting of the İYİ Party.

The publicly owned TEİAŞ made a turnover of 14.9 billion Turkish Liras in 2020, but despite this revenue, the government has stepped up for the privatization of the company, Akşener said.

The control of the company should remain in the hands of the state, she said and called on President Erdoğan, “Before it’s too late, turn from this wrongdoing that could endanger our independence.”

The Law on Machinery and Chemical Industry Joint Stock Company was published in the Official Gazette on July 3. Accordingly, the entire capital of the company will be owned by the Treasury.

TEİAŞ was included in the scope of the country’s privatization process, according to a decision published on Turkey’s Official Gazette on July 3.