Turkish opposition DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan said on Wednesday said that the country was on the verge of total bankruptcy, T24 news site reported.
Babacan criticized the Turkish government for its stewardship of the economy at a weekly evaluation meeting held at the party's headquarters in Ankara.
“Today, I want to say that we are on the verge of bankruptcy as a country and call on the government to do its duties immediately,” he said.
“I am worried because the default risk of our country, namely the risk of bankruptcy, has reached an unprecedented level. The future of our children is at stake. We are faced with a matter of economic and financial survival. Turkey's credit rating has dropped to the worst level in history,” Babacan said.
“What is default for Turkey, what is bankruptcy? It means that the Republic of Turkey cannot pay for the natural gas and oil it imports. Bankruptcy means that basic needs such as gas and diesel cannot be met even with money. You have money, you can't get more than half a gas tank, or you wait in a queue for 3 hours. That is bankruptcy,” Babacan said.
“Bankruptcy means widespread and long-lasting power cuts throughout the country. Imagine that electricity is out for six hours, 10 hours per day. That's the danger. They don't know. Bankruptcy means total economic and financial collapse. Bankruptcy means chaos.”
Babacan called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to change the economy and finance management of the country.
“Make up your mind immediately. Do what is necessary for the management of economy and finance based on reason and science. Appoint qualified staff to the Central Bank and the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) immediately and do not intervene in these independent institutions," Babacan said.
