Money for early retirement, wage hike ready, says Nebati

The government is prepared for the financial burden of the new retirement scheme and the hike in the wages of civil servants and retirees, Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati has said.

"I held a meeting with the bureaucrats of the ministry last May, and I stated that an election period will be entered in which the demands of the society increase, and EYT [early retirement scheme] will come first. I have instructed them to be prepared," Nebati told Ankara bureau chiefs of media outlets.

"The cost of 1 point improvement to the wages of the retirees and civil servants is 19 billion Turkish Liras, a cost close to 15 points has added 270 billion liras," he said.

"We have taken very strict measures for the 2023 budget for the EYT regulation. We have calculated the cost of EYT to the budget as 255 billion liras for this year. So, 255 billion liras for EYT and 270 billion liras for pensioners and civil servants are ready, sitting in the safe."

Nebati stated that Türkiye did not deserve the exchange rate attacks until Dec. 20, 2022, and none of the macroeconomic indicators provided an infrastructure that would require Türkiye to fall into that situation.

When asked if he saw any risk of economic operations that will affect the upcoming elections, Nebati said the country's economic infrastructure was strong.

"Türkiye's macroeconomic indicators are not open to any operation, the operations carried out will not yield any results," said the minister.

"We sought debt in January and we borrowed $2.75 billion. We continue our borrowings. Our Central Bank reserves are very strong. We do not have a problem with macroeconomic indicators. There is no area where they can operate in monetary terms."

Nebati, on questions...