CHP Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay asked Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, while the 2027 Budget was being discussed in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Planning and Budget Commission, "What are the sources of receivables arising from the loan of the Treasury-guaranteed foreign debt?" he asked.
A written response to the question came from Vice President Yılmaz. According to the response, payments made from the risk account on behalf of debtor institutions in foreign loans provided within the scope of Treasury repayment guarantees were 21.9 million dollars, 19.9 million dollars and 10.7 million dollars, respectively, as of 2024, 2025 and September 2026. According to the response, all risk account payments were made on behalf of local administrations.
THE MOST DEBT MUNICIPALITY IS SAMSUN
Considering the payments made from the risk account, the most indebted municipality was Samsun Metropolitan Municipality under the AKP administration. Payments made from the risk account on behalf of Samsun Metropolitan Municipality amounted to 10 million 992 thousand dollars in 2024 and 10 million 953 thousand dollars in 2025. As of September 30 this year, the payment made from the risk account amounted to 7.1 million dollars. On behalf of Samsun Water and Sewerage Administration, 2.6 million dollars were paid from the risk account as of 2024 and 2.7 million dollars were paid as of 2025. As of September this year, the payment made from the risk account was 2.8 million dollars.
For Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, which passed to AKP with the deputy mayor election held after the arrest of Mayor Mustafa Bozbey, 6.5 million dollars were paid from the risk account in 2024 and 4.9 million dollars were paid in 2025. As of this year, no payment has been made from the risk account on behalf of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality.
On behalf of Zonguldak Municipality, which switched from CHP to NEW Party, 1.5 million dollars were paid from the risk account in 2024 and 1.2 million dollars in 2025. As of August this year, the payment made from the risk account on behalf of this municipality decreased to 879 thousand dollars.
TOTAL 52.5 MILLION DOLLARS
Evaluating the response, CHP Karabük Deputy Cevdet Akay emphasized that the payments made from Treasury resources for the debts of municipalities reveal a picture that should be carefully evaluated in terms of public finance. Pointing out that a total of 52.5 million dollars was paid from the Treasury risk account for the external debts of municipalities in the first nine months of 2024, 2025 and 2026, Akay said:
"In other words, the cost of the problems experienced in the repayment of loans used by municipalities is also reflected in the central budget. Here, it is especially necessary to draw attention to the difference between the debt payment performances of the municipalities. While the payments made by the Treasury on behalf of Zonguldak Municipality, managed by the opposition, decreased from 2024 to 2026, the payments made on behalf of SASKİ, managed by the government, increased in the same period. Payments made on behalf of Samsun Metropolitan Municipality, on the other hand, remain at high levels."
'REASONS SHOULD BE EXPLAINED'
Akay pointed out that this situation requires questioning the financial management and borrowing policies of municipalities without any political discrimination. "The reasons for the difference between one municipality's progress towards reducing its debts and the increase in Treasury payments for the debts of another should be explained," said Akay, adding:
"Treasury guarantee does not mean that the debts of municipalities can be transferred to the central budget without compensation. For which projects were these loans used, why were the debts not paid? Were the payments made by the Treasury collected from the relevant municipalities? All of these should be clarified. After all, the resource used by the Treasury is the nation's taxes. The borrowing decisions of the municipalities and the repayment of these debts should also be accounted for. It is for the citizen to know how public resources are used, which municipality borrowed how much, how much the Treasury paid and how much it collected." "It is his right."
