The breakfast program held at Zeytinburnu Çırpıcı Facilities was attended by Saadet Party Chairman Temel Karamollaoğlu, Deputy Chairman Mustafa Kaya, Saadet Party general administrative board members, Saadet Party Istanbul Provincial President Ömer Faruk Yazıcı, provincial vice presidents, provincial administrative board members and district governors and hundreds of headmen attended.
In the program, many muhtars took the floor and expressed their views on the problems of the muhtars.
“YOU ARE THE SELECTED PEOPLE”
Temel Karamollaoğlu, who joined the program by teleconference from Saadet Party Headquarters because he was ill due to a cold.
"I am very pleased to be with you. I apologize to each of you for not being able to come to Istanbul due to my health problems. Mukhtar literally means chosen. You are the chosen people who worry about the problems of the neighborhood. As a friend of yours who served as the mayor, I want you to know that I am a person who knows the problems of the headmen very closely. Headmen are involved in solving every problem of the citizens," Karamollaoğlu said.
“OUR MUKHTARS OPPORTUNITIES MUST BE INCREASED”
"If we say, as the state, that we know all the problems of our muhtars and do we make an effort to meet their problems, it is not possible to say that we have fully fulfilled them. Many neighborhoods don't even have a headman's office. It has been quite a while, and I hope that these opportunities may be given to our mukhtars nowadays. But if these opportunities are not available in some of our neighborhoods, this need should be met quickly. In places where the population is very crowded, some opportunities should definitely be given to our headmen. When we say opportunity, it is also in terms of cost, because you do not have an official vehicle, you will use your own vehicle if you are going somewhere. You have to write some problems yourself. You can deal with all these more comprehensively, but only in proportion to the opportunities allocated to you," Karamollaoğlu added.
“OUR MUKHTARS SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH RESOURCES AND STAFF”
"Resources and personnel support should be provided to our mukhtars. If we do not appreciate you, we cannot have the opportunity to worry about the problems of the neighborhood. In a rapidly growing city like Istanbul, the duties of headmen are increasing day by day. It is one thing to monitor the issue from afar, it is another to be close to the headmen and develop solutions to their problems. You are the official communication channel between the citizen and the municipality. In this respect, our headmen should also be included in municipal councils. I would like to thank our provincial organization for organizing this meaningful meeting," Karamollaoğlu stated.
“EACH OF OUR MUKHTAR IS VALUABLE”
"Our headmen, our nerve endings, their troubles are our troubles, they are our people who touch the neighborhood, each of our headmen is worthy of respect. There are valuable contributions that our mukhtars want to offer to the nation with the love of service. I would like to thank Ömer Faruk Yazıcı and his team, Istanbul Provincial Chairman of the Felicity Party, for providing this meaningful unity," Mustafa Kaya, Deputy Chairman of Saadet Party said.
“80% OF ISTANBUL POPULATION IS REPRESENTED”
Addressing the headmen in the opening and greeting speech of the program, Saadet Party Istanbul Provincial President Ömer Faruk Yazıcı said, "First of all, thank you very much for accepting our invitation. We have been meeting with you for years already, district by district. We listen to you and take your opinions. I just got the information from my friends that 80 percent of the population of our Istanbul is represented in this hall. I would like to thank each of you for this meaningful table."
“THE MUKHTAR'S GOODWILL ABUSED”
Ömer Faruk Yazıcı, drawing attention to the problems of the headmen, said, "Mr. President welcomes mukhtars from time to time, but only he speaks, if he gives the headmen the right to speak, he will hear how big problems there are in our streets and neighborhoods. At one point, they even thought of abolishing the office of mukhtar, but they took a step back as they could not find anything to replace it. The muhtars are ignored, they are not included in the projects, they abuse the goodwill of the muhtars. If you make the mukhtars struggle for existence, you will disappear from power. When we come to power in the next term, we will mobilize to solve the problems of the headmen."
“MUHTARS REPRESENT THE STATE AND NATION”
Speaking at the program, the President of the All Istanbul Headmen's Association Selami Aykut said, "We would like to thank Mr. Ömer Faruk Yazıcı for expressing the problems experienced by the headmen in a nice way. Mukhtars represent the state in one aspect and the nation in another aspect. In order to reveal the spirit of unity and solidarity in Istanbul, we are sending your messages to the politicians by accepting the invitations. Each of our mukhtar friends fought day and night during the pandemic process. 14 of our mukhtars died in the line of duty in Istanbul. It was a cause of sadness for us to see that none of our deputies attended the funerals of our deceased mukhtars and their families were not taken care of. Our mukhtars, who distribute coal with their own cars, distribute food until midnight, and try to get an appointment to the citizens who cannot get an appointment from the hospitals, deserve more and more attention."