Harmancı: Nicosia Municipality Is Owed More Than 250 Million TL by Government

Harmancı said the municipality would prioritise infrastructure projects before turning its attention to superstructure investments designed to make daily life easier. He added that he aimed to increase support for sports, culture and the arts. Stressing that the government owed LTB more than 250 million TL, Harmancı said Nicosia and its residents were paying the price for what he described as unlawful and unjust treatment.

CTP Nicosia MP Sami Özuslu also attended Harmancı’s visit to Yenicami Ağdelen Sports Club. TDP and CTP candidates for the municipal council were present during the visits.

Emphasising the municipality’s approach to governance, Harmancı said transparency and accountability were central to its recruitment and procurement processes.

“LTB is no longer a municipality that recruits people at someone’s urging. Nicosia will no longer be sacrificed for the internal congress calculations of certain people. We are moving forward with an understanding based on rights, the rule of law and justice. Among the 18 municipalities, we are the one that puts the most projects out to tender,” he said.

Harmancı noted that the municipality’s tenders reflected both the scale of its investments and its commitment to public interest, accountability and fairness. He described this approach as a source of pride for Nicosia and its administration.

Saying that he planned to expand the municipality’s work in sports, Harmancı said new steps would be taken based on clubs’ needs and consultation with relevant stakeholders. He added that the municipality aimed to allocate approximately 100 million TL from its budget to sports next year.

During the visit to GÖÇTAŞ, association officials said they struggled to attend events abroad because they did not receive sufficient financial support from central government bodies. In response, Harmancı said the municipality could allocate funding in its budget for the overseas expenses of cultural and arts associations, allowing each association to receive support once a year.

Harmancı also said the municipality had sought to increase its revenue and reduce the cost of living in the city by requesting that 3–4 euros from the monthly insurance fee collected at the Metehan Crossing Point be transferred to LTB, as revenues from airports and seaports were allocated to some other municipalities. However, he said the request had not been met. He added that revenues generated from traffic-related sources had also not been paid to the municipality for two years.

Reiterating that the government owed LTB more than 250 million TL, Harmancı said he would fight to protect the municipality’s achievements and prevent them from being sacrificed once again for the interests of certain groups.

Harmancı also highlighted cooperation with CTP, noting that CTP municipal council members worked alongside his team. He stressed the importance of continuing the partnership, saying its positive results had been clearly demonstrated in the presidential election through coordinated action by the two parties. He said the cooperation should continue at both central and local government levels.