Levent Özadam writes..."We Won't Be Able to Afford Bread, Let Alone Meat!"

The government has set the price of lamb meat at 550 Turkish Liras per kilogram in an attempt to control the rising prices. However, was the goal of providing cheap meat successful?

First of all, we have to admit that even 550 TL is expensive.

So, is anyone among you happy with the government's price of 550 TL?

Consumers are not satisfied, and neither are the butchers.

Butchers say, "How can we sell the meat at 550 TL when it costs that much to us?"

Some butchers are trying to increase the price by adding a service fee of 100 TL per kilo.

Some butchers say they will sell what they have, and won't get any more.

Some butchers have stopped selling lamb meat, and the counters are empty.

Consumers are frustrated and angry with the butchers.

Some people think that butchers are making high profits.

Some say they will go to the south to buy meat because prices there are much lower than the government's set price.

In South Cyprus, where prices are determined in euros, farmers raise animals and butchers sell meat in euros, but it's cheaper than ours.

While there are incentives here, prices are soaring.

The government and butchers cannot agree on selling meat at 550 TL, which is much higher than the price in South Cyprus.

The blame is being placed on butchers by the government, and the government is being blamed by the butchers; meanwhile, the public is just left to suffer.

High meat prices are also making things difficult for restaurants, and some are even closing down.

Moreover, high meat prices are increasing incidents of smuggling and the use of low-quality meat.

In the past, the TRNC was much more affordable in terms of meat prices. People could easily have barbecues.

Now it's a luxury.

Going to a restaurant with the family has become a dream.

Lack of planning, lack of programs, and incompetence have brought us to this point.

Everyone blames each other, but ultimately, we are the ones to blame.

We keep electing those who do this to us.

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Healthcare system inconsistency led to the prescription scandal, and education's lack of control resulted in the fraudulent diploma scandal.

Because of negligence, incompetence, and irresponsibility, we lose people in traffic accidents.

We never seem to learn.

We've come to this point with the "every man for himself" mentality.

If we want cheap meat, if we want our healthcare system to improve, if we want our universities to be real universities, then when we go to the polls, we must think about the interests of society rather than individual promises.

Our representatives in Parliament, our own deputies, have been the same bunch for years, more or less.

They long for the seat so much that when they lose it, they cling to it like a leech and consider it their duty to feed on public property.

Of course, there are those among them who have not tasted forbidden fruit, but we have no choice but to weed them out and choose new, trustworthy faces.

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Look, even a party that has stamped the last 20 years of Turkey's history received a heavy blow in the last local elections from its own stronghold.

The public finally showed its reaction, albeit late.

Now it's the turn of the Turkish Cypriots!

It's time to stop complaining, stop whimpering, stop crying, and stand up.

Since we complain, since our path is not a path, let's stop waiting for a savior and stop hoping for our children to be employed.

We must save our children and grandchildren from this spiral of trouble.

Let our holidays be beautiful. Let our barbecues smoke, and let our people not die on the roads. Let competence come.

Let's overcome the prejudice that "it's always been like this."

If we can't overcome it, one day it will be our turn on the broken roads, and we won't be able to find bread, let alone meat. We won't be able to find a place to live because of the uncontrolled movement of students. We won't even be able to step into our historical hospitals. We won't be able to find a place due to lack of merit.

The Turkish Cypriot must be the master of these lands.

Otherwise, we will disappear!