Erkut Şahali Criticizes Government's Decision on Meat Prices: "Prepared Amateurishly"

Erkut Şahali, a Member of Parliament from the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), was a guest on the program 'Sabah Postası' hosted by Gökhan Altıner on Kıbrıs Postası TV.

Şahali made an evaluation regarding the liberalization of imported meat and the price of lamb reaching 550 TL, and the public's inability to access meat.

He stated, "What we have experienced regarding meat is actually a show that has been prepared amateurishly, as if a big task had been accomplished, despite knowing it wouldn't work."

Şahali pointed out that the government did not calculate how much 1 kilogram of lamb meat would cost and evaluated the state subsidy per animal, determined within the scope of the "Ceiling Price Determination Protocol for Small Ruminants" signed between the Livestock Producers and Breeders Union and the Butchers Union, as meaningless.

"DECISIONS SHOULD BE BASED ON SELLABILITY, NOT ON COST"

Şahali noted that the price announced in the North, based on the prices of imported meat from South Cyprus, was 40% below the price announced in the North Cyprus, emphasizing that decisions should be based on sellability, not on cost.

Furthermore, Şahali stated the need to increase the amount of small ruminant milk and emphasized the necessity of developing incentive policies by the government to increase the quantity of small ruminant milk based on animals that are not slaughtered.

Speaking metaphorically, he said, "If you do business like an uncalculated butcher, you will end up embarrassed at the end of the day." Şahali added, "I hoped that there would be no one saying, 'You don't trust anything, but you did the same thing in the past' in order to avoid embarrassment, but the final result was certain."

Regarding the predictions made by the President of the Statistics Institution, İrfan Tansel Demir, about the Cost of Living Index, Şahali discussed the fact that the cost of living for the last three months has reached 16%, stating that they are not in any dispute with the Statistics Institution and that they want the Cost of Living Index to be calculated accurately.

"THE USE OF UPDATED DATA BY THE STATISTICS INSTITUTION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT"

Şahali mentioned that the use of DVP player was not a compulsory necessity and would not affect the cost of living, emphasizing that the use of updated data by the Statistics Institution is extremely important.

He stated that in the Parliamentary Investigative Committee on the Investigation of Whether the Statistics Institution Data Reflects the Reality, it was determined that there were no price changes in nearly 100 items throughout 2023.

Şahali pointed out that they had acknowledged that there were mistakes in calculating the cost of living rates by the Statistics Institution in 2023 and added that their aim was for the Cost of Living Index to be calculated accurately.

Şahali stressed that the living conditions are limiting the people and pointed out that it is beyond the dreams of individuals surviving on the minimum wage to own any investments.

"THE COLLAPSE OF PUBLIC AUTHORITY, WE ARE EXPERIENCING HEART-WRENCHING EVENTS"

In addition, he spoke about the fatal accidents in the country lately, saying, "The collapse of public authority. We are experiencing heart-wrenching events."

Şahali stated that the fixed radars were not operational, saying, "They blew up a system that was working."

He emphasized that Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment, and Democratic Party (DP) Leader Fikri Ataoğlu and National Unity Party (UBP) Deputy Emrah Yeşilırmak must eliminate the suspicions regarding their diplomas.

Furthermore, Şahali mentioned that there were egregious allegations regarding one of the diplomas of Minister of Public Works and Transport Erhan Arıklı, saying, "If a minister, whom I have entrusted with a part of my life, has committed fraud in his own life, this is a matter that should not be hidden."