CHP Tekirdag Deputy Dr. Candan Yüceer reacted to the law proposal that extended the privatization period of 18 ports without tender to 49 years. Yüceer said, “Ports are the stronghold of our country. The privatization period of our ports, which we are also against privatization, is being tried to be extended for 49 years. For which public interest is the government donating our ports to private companies? said.
The Draft Law Amending the Electricity Market Law, Some Laws and the Decree Law No. 375 was accepted by the Parliamentary Committee on Industry, Commerce, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology. CHP PM Member, Tekirdağ Deputy Dr. Candan Yüceer reacted to the law proposal that extended the term of 18 ports operated by Qataris to 49 years without a tender. The same regulation, which had been enacted before, was annulled by the Constitutional Court (AYM). Three months later, a bag was presented to the Parliament as a bill, and the relevant article was withdrawn during the commission meetings.
CONSTITUTIONAL COURT CANCELED
Recalling the decisions of the Constitutional Court, Dr. Yüceer said, “The same regulation was submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 2021 and was accepted in January 2022. The regulation, which was canceled by the Constitutional Court in August 2022 with our party’s application to the Constitutional Court, was brought back to the Parliament 3 months later, in October 2022, with another bag of bills. In the meetings held at the Plan and Budget Commission, the relevant article was removed from the proposal for ‘re-examination’ upon the objections of the opposition. Insisting on this unconstitutional proposal is a constitutional crime. The AKP government continues not to respect the decisions of the Constitutional Court and not to act in accordance with these decisions,” he said.
“WHICH PUBLIC BENEFIT IS THE GOVERNMENT PURCHASING OUR PORTS TO PRIVATE COMPANIES?”
Dr. Yüceer said, “Ports are the stronghold of our country. The privatization period of our ports, which we are also against privatization, is being tried to be extended for 49 years. For which public benefit does the government donate our ports to private companies? With this article, Hopa, Giresun, Sinop and Rize, which belong to the Maritime Enterprises and whose transfer year started in 1997, Antalya started in 1998, Alanya started in 2000, Marmaris started in 2001, Çeşme, Kuşadası, Dikili, started in 2003, The lease contracts of Trabzon ports will be extended for 19 years. The contract of Galataport, which was leased in 2014, will be for 30 years, the contract of Tekirdağ port, which was leased in 2018, for 36 years, and the contract of Taşucu port, which was leased in 2022, will be extended for 40 years. Again, with this arrangement, the contract period of Mersin, which is owned by the State Railways and leased in 2007, Samsun and Bandırma, which is leased in 2010, will be extended for 13 years, and the contract period of Derince Port, which is leased in 2015, will be extended for 10 years.
“WE WILL HAVE 85 MILLION CITIZENS LOSE”
Stating that port privatizations are done for 25-30 years in the world, Dr. Yüceer said, “Today, the AKP government wants to increase these periods to 49 years. The reason for this is to provide hot money to the country to reduce the effects of the economic crisis of the AKP government. The government does not have time to wait for the contracts to expire, they want to sell these ports, which are on their side, because they know that they will go in the first election. However, when the contracts were over, the companies that wanted could participate in the tender. With the regulation, an agreement will be made between the operating companies and the audit institutions on the present value. Both companies and the AKP government will benefit from this arrangement. The government will have reached the hot money that will be received much later, and the companies will have already taken the tenders that they can get more expensive when the contract dates expire, at a more affordable price, without giving any opportunity to their competitors. The loser will be 85 million citizens of our country,” he said.
“IN TEKIRDAG, THE PORT MANAGEMENT IGNORE THE COURT DECISION”
Reminding that Tekirdağ port is among the ports whose contract period has been extended, Dr. Yüceer said, “The port operated by Ceyport in Tekirdağ, which is my area of choice, is among the ports whose contract term has been extended. Ceyport has prepared a ‘port capacity increase’ project in Tekirdağ. The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change gave an ‘EIA positive’ decision for this project. In the lawsuit filed by TMMOB Tekirdağ Representative Office, the court gave an annulment decision. In the court’s decision, it was revealed that cumulative calculations were not made for solid waste and liquid waste amounts and disposal, therefore, incomplete operations were established, this aspect was not appropriate in terms of the relevant legislation, and the damages it could cause on the environment and human health were uncertain. However, this decision is also not implemented, the port operator ignores the court decision.
