State-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) is financially in loss due to the fact that its expenses have been increasing more than its revenue, warns Turkish Court of Accounts.
Generating 86 percent of its income from electricity revenue share and tax labels taken from citizens, TRT, the national public broadcaster of Turkey, was in a loss of 147 million TL at the end of the year 2015.
After investigating the accounts of TRT for 2015 and finding that TRT is financially in loss, Turkish Court of Accounts warned the corporation about the need to economize.
INCREASING BUDGET FOR EXTERNAL PRODUCTIONS
Total purchases made for external productions increased by 49 percent in 2015 compared to 2014. Despite the public criticism regarding the increasing budget for external production, TRT spent 608.785 TL in 2004 and 907.161 TL in 2015. The percentage of external productions constituted more than 50 percent of the total budget. According to İzmir PM of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Atila Sertel, this is the result of TRT’s waste of money collected from the citizens by distributing it to particular people and institutions.
WHO GOT RICH WITH CITIZENS’ MONEY?
It has been claimed for several times that the budget of TRT has been allocated to pro-government corporations that seem to work for TRT. Accordingly, TRT had purchased 87 percent of the broadcasts needed from outer corporations. Since these pro-government production corporations charge TRT with much more than normal payments in the last two years, the corporation entered into a financial loss. This means the obligatory payments and taxes collected from the citizens of Turkey made some pro-government businessmen richer.
