ANKARA SUB-PROVINCES GUARDEDLY OPTIMISTIC ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 001909

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/01/2015
TAGS: ECON SOCI TU
SUBJECT: ANKARA SUB-PROVINCES GUARDEDLY OPTIMISTIC ON
MUNICIPALITIES LAW BENEFITS


Classified By: PolCouns John W. Kunstadter; E.O. 12958, reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (U) Summary: In discussions in five of Ankara's
sub-provincial towns, mayors and other leaders told PolOffs
of the difficulties they face as a result of the recent
Metropolitan Municipalities Law. Cities which have become
part of the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality have yet to see
the benefits of this change in terms of services and
organized zoning decisions. However, they are reserving
their judgment, expecting that things will be better in a
year or two. End Summary.


2. (U) In July of 2004, Turkey's President Sezer signed Law
No. 5216, commonly referred to as the Metropolitan
Municipalities Law (hereafter MML). Among other provisions,
this law set new size guidelines and boundaries for
metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, and modified
guidelines for the administration and functioning of those
municipalities. Provisions of the MML include:
- To establish a metropolitan municipality, the population
should be 750,000, with a minimum of 3 sub-provinces.
- Boundaries of metropolitan municipalities shall be set
according to population (excepting Istanbul and Kocaeli, for
which the province boundary is used): for a population of one
million, the boundary is 20 km radius from the governor's
building; for two million, 30 km radius; for more than 2
million, 50 km radius.
- Sub-provinces within these boundaries shall become
metropolitan sub-provincial municipalities, towns will become
metropolitan first stage municipalities.


3. (SBU) In a series of trips to Ankara's sub-provinces
during the months of February and March 2005 (including
Haymana, Polatli, Cubuk, Akyurt, and Bala),PolOffs heard
many echoes of the effect the MML has had around Ankara.
With a population of over 3 million, Ankara's boundaries as a
metropolitan municipality increased to a 50 km radius of the
governor's building. Several of the neighboring
sub-provinces became part of the Ankara Metropolitan
Municipality (AMM) as a result, while in others only the
villages closest to Ankara did. Of the places we visited,
Cubuk, Akyurt, and Bala became part of the AMM, while Polatli
and Haymana proper remained outside the 50 km radius. The
mayors of these cities all expressed a certain measure of
optimism about the benefits the MML would bring, but pointed
out the difficulties it had brought in the short term.
Mayors were not alone in noting the impact of the MML, as
even the drivers' associations of these cities reported some
negative effects.


4. (C) Haymana, the first city we visited, was the first
place we heard mention of the MML. While the city of Haymana
was outside the 50 km radius, three of its outlying villages
had become part of the AMM. Mayor Bunyamin Adaci noted that
services such as snow removal that were now the
responsibility of the AMM had been slow to arrive. In the
next couple years, however, he felt this would improve.
Contacts in Mamak and Cubuk echoed these sentiments.


5. (C) Akyurt Mayor Gultekin Ayantas expressed greater
optimism on the benefits the MML would bring to Akyurt.
According to him, the MML would provide unity and greater
authority in city planning. He disparaged the development of
"gecekondu" development around cities, saying in Turkey
cities get turned into villages, rather than the other way
around. Ayantas also noted that Akyurt would receive a
larger share of services from Ankara than any of the other
sub-provinces. However, the cost for services like water and
utilities would increase, for which he expected complaints.
In addition, those practicing animal husbandry in the
villages would also be negatively affected by city planning
regulations restricting animal husbandry. He hoped to
counter this negative effect by establishing special zones
where people can continue to practice animal husbandry. One
of Ayantas' other goals was to bring natural gas to Akyurt.
Before the MML, industrialists and businessmen had been
working with Botas to bring natural gas, but following the
MML's implementation, the mayor of Ankara had promised to
bring natural gas himself.


6. (C) Reactions in Bala were similarly mixed. Acting Mayor
Yuksel Yildirim described short-term difficulties, but
expressed long-term optimism over the changes brought about
by the MML. Yildirim and his advisors said that due to the
changes, the Bala municipality is responsible for several
thousand more people (14,000 now, as opposed to 6,500
before). Bala will receive a larger sum of money from the
Provinces Bank according to this increase, but will also have
to give 40% of it to the AMM, leaving Bala taking care of
more people with approximately the same amount of income.
One of the other problems facing Bala is that with its
inclusion in the AMM, authority for zoning decisions now
rests with Ankara. A system for dealing with zoning
questions will be set up within a couple years, but in the
meantime any construction that would require zoning
permission (including that done by the city of Bala) is
illegal. The general attitude in the mayor's office in Bala
is the same as that in the other sub-provinces, though: wait
and see.


7. (U) Aside from the mayors, other parts of the population
have been affected adversely by the MML. In particular, the
drivers' associations in Bala and Akyurt were concerned
because the inclusion of their cities in the AMM produced an
increase in the dues required for membership in the drivers'
association. The levels for dues are standardized and set
based on the size and type of the municipality: before the
MML, driver dues for Akyurt and Bala were 45 YTL (about $33);
now that both cities are considered part of the "metropolitan
municipality," the corresponding dues payment is 122 YTL
(about $90). Ahmet Demirbas of the Akyurt drivers'
association said that this increase represents a great
hardship for their members. Erbal Erdem, president of the
Bala drivers' association, on the other hand, said that most
members didn't pay the dues anyway (only to get loans or
insurance),so it wasn't a big deal.


8. (SBU) Comment: The approach of the mayors and others in
cities of the Ankara province affected by the MML is largely
one of "wait and see." Clearly, the Metropolitan
Municipality of Ankara has a lot of work ahead in order to
measure up to the responsibilities and eventual expectations
of its new citizens. Fortunately for the AMM, they seem
patient so far. End comment.
EDELMAN