Chairman of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Tufan Erhürman, read a court decision to the Assembly revealing that state electricity supplier Kib-Tek had suffered a loss of millions of dollars after being sued by fuel supply company Sidereal for damages, Yeniduzen reports.
Erhürman emphasised that they would appeal to the court under the Good Governance Law, stating, “The law clearly states that those who cause damage to the state must pay for the damage they have caused. This money will be collected“.
Addressing the Assembly, Erhürman pointed out that the UBP-YDP-DP coalition government had made a decision to procure fuel without tender claiming that it would be “cheaper,” but pursuant to this “zeal,” Kib-Tek suffered millions of dollars in losses.
Erhürman explained that instead of the company supplying fuel to Kib-Tek, the institution that made the decision to procure fuel without a tender was sued by the company, and it was revealed that millions of dollars in damages were incurred. Reading the court decision from the podium “for the records of the Assembly“, Erhürman said that Sidereal had filed a compensation lawsuit against Kib-Tek, on the grounds that it had caused financial losses.
He went on to say, “First, the court produces a decision and says, ‘Release the guarantee letter given by the company to Kib-Tek.’ However, the administration rejects this and wants to burn the letter despite the court decision. So what does the court say? It says you can’t do that. The court adds later: Don’t you follow the interim order? Don’t you understand the court’s order? Don’t you know that court orders must be obeyed? Are you acting against the law or rules? Or is it all of them? The court is saying this to those who claim to govern this country“.
Moving on to the second issue, Erhürman stated that the court indicated there was no reasonable basis for any delay in Kib-Tek paying $330,164 in compensation, saying, “In this context, the court ordered Kib-Tek to pay $343,854 to the company“.
Erhürman said, “We are now coming to the most serious part. The administration not only defended itself in this case but went beyond and said, ‘It’s not me; you pay compensation to me.’ The administration claimed that it had suffered damages. The administration, which chose to procure fuel without a tender, claiming it would be very cheap, also disclosed the damages it suffered“.
“Firstly, due to the company not supplying fuel for three months, Kib-Tek paid high prices and incurred a loss of $3,761,882. Kib-Tek admits this in court; it suffers this loss because it insisted on procuring fuel without a tender. Secondly, Kib-Tek paid $8,808,897 for energy from the south at a much higher unit price than the contract stipulated. Why? Because they would procure cheap fuel without a tender. They admit it themselves. Later, Kib-Tek paid an additional energy cost to (Turkish energy company) AKSA: $441,557… We paid $11,820 for sample analyses of fuels obtained from other sources. Then Kib-Tek had to run the gas turbines excessively and spent $2,311,333 on diesel. Consequently, it incurred a loss. Who is stating the millions of dollars in losses suffered by Kib-Tek? Not the court, not the company, but Kib-Tek itself is saying so“, Erhürman concluded.
“This is not a reason to resign once but five times,” Erhürman said.
“There is a law called the Good Governance Law, which I never expected. This law clearly regulates that those who cause damage to the state must pay in proportion to the damage they have caused. You will go to court; if you don’t go, we will go, and this money will be collected“, he said.
Following Erhürman’s speech, former minister responsible for Kib-Tek Erhan Arıklı, and a member of the government coalition, took the podium and recalled that the contract with the relevant company was signed during his tenure. Arıklı claimed that the company had previously supplied “non-compliant fuel” according to the specifications, and a penalty was imposed on the company. He further alleged that the company had threatened the institution by saying it could supply fuel if the penalty was lifted.
Arıklı stated that the Council of Ministers was not aware of the court decision and mentioned that they had not met with the institution. He said, “We will go to the Court of Appeals. I am sure that after going to the Court of Appeals, this decision will be corrected“. Expressing his regret, Arıklı said, “I am very sorry. I am sorry for the sake of the law. It is extremely sad to leave the institution so defenceless“.