Speaking at the preliminary workshop of the Democratic Economy Conference, Amed (Diyarbakir) Metropolitan City co-mayor Gültan Kışanak said the local administrations normally have the right of disposal as regards natural resources, adding that “we do not only want political autonomy but at the same time want financial autonomy”.
The preliminary workshop for the Democratic Economy Conference organized jointly by the DTK, DTSO and Metropolitan City Municipalities of Amed, Mardin and Van is continuing in its second day with the discussion of the issues of economic policies of local administrations and economic structuring. The second day of the conference was attended by Amed (Diyarbakir) Metropolitan City co-mayor Gultan Kışanak, the chair of DTSO, Ahmet Sayar, HDP Mus deputy, Demir Celik, representatives from HDP, DBP,
MET-DER, KESK, Mesopotamian Women’s Cooperation, Labour Academy, Tum-Bel-sen, TMMOB, Megam-Der as well people from business circles, academics and lawyers.
Making the opening speech of the workshop on its second day, the Amed co-mayor, Gültan Kışanak, pointed to the importance of discussing the economic aspect in local administrations, adding that a discussion must be organized around how the locals can use their own local public resources.
“Diyarbakir is the biggest city that owns the biggest share of public resources. But a special policy is pursued regarding these public resources. We do not have the control of where the money gained from these resources goes. We have to discuss all this openly”, Kışanak said and noted that it is also important to discuss the socio-economic aspects of local policies and stressed that it is the people in the streets that force these discussions. “I believe that the discussions about eliminating the inequalities between the rich and the poor must be deepened”, she added.
Kışanak said the other important issue to be discussed was the relationship between the central government and the local administrations, adding that the government pursues specific policies on Kurdistan. Kışanak drew attention to the fact that unemployment is worsening in Kurdistan, stressing that the problem is very much related to these specific political and economic policies imposed on Kurdistan.
Recalling that Turkey abstains from signing articles of the convention on the autonomy of local administrations regarding the financial autonomy of local administrations, Kışanak said the relations between the central government and local governments is one of dependence in Turkey.
“We see the local administrations as the building blocks of democracy. In Turkey, it is the opposite, that is, it is the central government that decides what the local administrations should do. In financial issues, we have to discuss the right of disposal, the right to decide, and the right to develop further the financial resources of the local administrations. We do not only want political autonomy but at the same time want financial autonomy”, Kışanak stressed.
Kışanak said it is possible to build alternative life spaces within capitalism in order to be able to breathe, adding that it would be wrong to give all the authority to local administrations as it would again create a centralist mechanism. “The people must pursue this process through communes and cooperatives they build with their own initiative. The local administrations must support these civil initiatives”, she added.
Following the speech of Kışanak, HDP Mus deputy Demir Celik made a presentation entitled “Administrative Control systems in local government and the economic possibilities of local administrations”. Celik said democracy means the self-management of the people and meeting their needs on their own without depending on any other power than themselves, adding that this is why historically the economy was based on communes. Celik stressed that the economy should not be based on monopoly and centralization, but must be based on directly meeting needs.
After the presentation of Celik, Yurdusev Ozsokmenler made a presentation entitled “Participatory budgets in local administrations’. The workshop continued with further presentations and discussions.
Source: Firat News Agency
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