Three senior officials at state-run electricity authority KIB-TEK have been dismissed by the Minister of Economy and Energy Erhan Arıklı.
The three officials, who have not been named in the Kibris Postasi report, were under investigation for corruption.
Minister Arıklı stated that some party members advised him “do not fight with the business world” which he said was regrettable. “If we are not going to address this corruption, why did we establish this party? The public is behind me. I will crush the business circles that engage in corruption, profiteering and theft“, he warned
The energy minister also noted that government partners backed him fully, Arıklı said, “There has not been anybody who has said ‘stop’, so far. I will not back down”, he said.
The energy minister went on to say that KIB-TEK would not be privatised, adding that now it was neither possible nor necessary to do so.
Arıklı stated that KIB-TEK will receive 120 million TL in repayment of electricity debts owed by government departments. KIB-TEK borrows at high interest rates due to the inability to collect this money, and the high interest is reflected in energy bills as a cost, “Therefore, the electricity of large companies and government offices with electricity debt will be cut off from today”, he said.