US embassy cable - 05ANKARA1909

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