The Invitation for Co-operation (Draft)
The governmental approach in our country is not sufficient enough in meeting the societal needs and giving hope for the future yet. Under these circumstances, this bears a considerable difficulty impeding Turkey’s integration with the civilised world.
As for us, it is required that the necessary laws on local governments (the laws on municipalities, provincial laws, and etc.) that have aimed to be amended for a long time should be realised on the basis of these insufficiencies, while meeting our needs qualitatively and quantitatively.
On that ground, “Habitat and Local Agenda 21” has become a text for mutual understanding, while it was also a platform for discussions and evaluations on the amendments regarding governmental laws on the basis of improving participatory actions. For achieving this, hundreds of local and regional organisations and institutions involved in this platform. The societal dynamics of our country necessitates giving preference to localities, and the participation of NGO’s in the governmental mechanisms.
- “The Bill on Local Governments” proposal that was presented to the Turkish National Assembly is underdeveloped compared with the needs of our country. We find it necessary to mention that the bill should not become legal unless it includes the basic characteristics mentioned below:
- It should be built upon the participation of NGO’s;
- It should be built upon the district-based principle that “the problems could only be dissolved who experience them”. Furthermore, formation of local councils should become a priority as well;
- The local governments should be vested with authority regarding the local problems;
- On that ground, the central administration should be responsible for the co-ordination functions, while protecting and monitoring the balanced developments on a nation-scale;
- NGO’s, together with the heads of a village or neighbourhood and local representatives of the central administration should take part in the local assemblies;
- The control of the citizens and transparency in actions should be strictly sustained;
- The local governments should be in the position of allocation of local incomes appropriate to their local opportunities;
- The local governments should be re-structured on the basis of a way facilitating decision making process and allowing regional planing and implementations.