Public enterprises 7.5 times deeper in debt
The debt of State Economic Enterprises (KİTs), which the government has increasingly used as a propaganda tool, especially during election periods, reached 932 billion 675 million lira in 2024. Total debt of SEEs increased 7.5 times in the 2020-2024 period.
Throughout the AKP rule, State Economic Enterprises (KİTs), which were labelled as "inefficient" or a "burden" and subsequently privatised, have been left drowning in debt. Institutions originally tasked with producing for the public good and meeting the country’s needs in strategic sectors have been turned into tools for masking the economic crisis and securing votes for the government. This shift in function has led to a continual rise in both the debts and operational losses of KİTs.
According to a report by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance covering 22 KİTs, including major institutions such as ÇAYKUR, BOTAŞ, EÜAŞ and TMO, total debt rose from 798 billion 294 million lira in 2023 to 932 billion 675 million lira in the last quarter of 2024. These institutions' foreign debt soared from 32 billion 657 million lira in 2020 to 214 billion 629 million lira. Of this, 116 billion 448 million lira stemmed from Treasury-guaranteed loans.
The total debt of KİTs, which have been turned into government propaganda tools particularly during election periods, increased by a factor of 7.5 between 2020 and 2024.
OPERATIONAL LOSSES MULTIPLIED
The report lays bare the public cost of the election economy. Operational losses stemming from election promises and efforts to mask inflation also skyrocketed. These losses reached 449 billion 590 million lira in 2024, up from 337 billion 418 million lira in 2023. Among the institutions whose financial balances were disrupted by government economic policies, BOTAŞ recorded the highest expenditure related to government mandates at 222.3 billion lira. BOTAŞ was followed by EÜAŞ with 209.1 billion lira and TMO with 10.3 billion lira.
Note: This text has been translated from the original Turkish version titled Kamu işletmeleri 7 kat borca battı, published in BirGün newspaper on April 11, 2025.
