Each and every person I talk to tells me about the problems as well as the solutions in their minds. Some of the solutions obviously call for a ‘site clearance’ and then implementation. Some, on the other hand, rather recommend us to “make up as we go along”.
Let’s take a quick look at the matters requiring urgent attention:
- Turkey has been struggling with a severe problem since it has turned its face to the East whereas it should be directly looking at the U.S. and Europe: its misperception by the outside world, for which I think Turkey can’t be the only one to blame; because both Europe and the U.S. have made mistakes. However, Turkey should use a more diplomatic tone when addressing to the world.
- Turkey’s present economic model is simply outdated. It has already turned into a burden for sectors that did not start their digital transformation yet. And the fact that it causes public sector to spend/invest more and more every day does not go unnoticed either. This economic model may never be able to restore confidence in terms of the effective utilization of funds.
- Everyone seems concerned whether the Economy Administration has the freedom to act independently. Investors as well as international financial institutions declare that they’re concerned about the fact that the economic decisions are being made by a central authority.
- Turkey is falling overwhelmingly behind on rule of law and human rights issues, education, sports as well as technology. People are asking, “Isn’t there a single thing that is going well in this country?” It almost looks as if buildings have become more important humans.
- When making decisions, top officials serving in key positions are persistently insisting on using twentieth century paradigms that threaten the progress and development in the twenty-first century. There is a severe lack of coordination but plenty of impulsive decision making when it comes to handling interest rates, exchange rates, trade regime and taxation.
“New problems…”
In addition to those mentioned above, we have a new wave of problems we face today:
- Decision-making process and the role of committees and ministers in the New Model remain almost incomprehensible. We urgently need a clear explanation.
- Contradictory decisions by CBRT, BRSA, CMB and other regulatory authorities create ambiguity and disrupt the perception of Turkey. Maybe they are having trouble adapting to the new system. Another issue that requires urgent response…
I can almost hear you ask, “But, where is the solution to all of this?” I think you will find out the solutions to the above-mentioned problems while reading each item one by one. To solve it all, we may need to do the exact opposite of what we have been doing or never repeat the same mistakes again.
