Free schoolbooks for students and free coal for heating for the poor have been the two main types of assistance the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has provided for years to lure votes. The link between politics and coal has become the subject of heated debates since May, when 301 miners perished in an accident in a coal mine in Soma. The government is accused of ignoring safety standards in the name of boosting coal production while reducing costs. With the advent of winter, coal distribution has accelerated and problems emerged, because tighter inspections and rules in the wake of deadly mining accidents have resulted in a decrease in coal production.
The issue was highlighted in a parliamentary query submitted this week by Muharrem Isik, a lawmaker for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). “The government’s coal distribution has stumbled amid the closure of mines and the cancelation of mining operation licenses in the wake of the accidents in Soma and Ermenek. The AKP, which distributes about 2 million tons of coal each year, is struggling to find enough coal for distribution ahead of the 2015 elections. To overcome the shortage, it is being compelled to procure low-quality and expensive coal from abroad or on the spot market. Moreover, the buys from the spot market are being secured through a company set up on Aug. 27, 2014, with no experience in the mining sector, which has led to many fresh questions,” Isik said.
It has emerged that the government began to hastily buy coal from the spot market to make up for the shortage and procured 480,000 tons of coal from a company set up only three months ago.
According to a Court of Accounts report, the government has distributed 17 million tons of coal in 11 years. The Zaman daily reported that the treasury had so far paid 3.75 billion Turkish lira ($1.66 billion) only for coal handouts bought from the state-run Turkish Coal Enterprises (TKI) and still owed the company 1.6 billion Turkish lira. “The free coal distribution project, which the government has maintained for 11 years, stirring controversies during election time, has led to a financial crisis due to the lack of adequate budget funds. The TKI was forced to take loans from private banks because its fiscal balance went upside down as it failed to collect money owed by the treasury,” the report said.
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