Mustafa Bildircin
In Turkey, the number of extremely poor households has reached 3.6 million, whilst the number of people in need of social assistance has reached 20 million. The deepening economic crisis has pushed all sections of society, from the youngest to the oldest, into the grip of poverty.
Pensioners were among the groups hardest hit by the deep economic crisis. Whilst young people struggle with unemployment, pensioners have been reduced to a state where they cannot even meet their most basic needs due to their low monthly pensions. Pensioners trying to survive on low pensions have been forced to live in cheap hotels because they cannot afford to pay their rent.
‘CHEAP HOTEL A CHOICE’
The Minister for Family and Social Services, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, commented on pensioners living in hotel rooms costing 200 TL a day—rooms lacking even a shower or toilet—stating: “It is with great sadness that we have observed how, despite all the resources our state provides, individual choices have been deliberately misrepresented as a societal crisis in an attempt to mislead our citizens.” Minister Göktaş’s statement regarding pensioners living in dire poverty has drawn attention to the expenditure of the Ministry of Family and Social Services.
Whilst millions of citizens in Turkey cannot even meet their most basic needs, it has been revealed that the Ministry of Family and Social Services has allocated funds to “Special Office services” on a staggering scale. It has been established that the ministry’s high expenditure on special office services, which BirGün brought to light in December 2025, has increased further in 2026.
A 59% INCREASE
Minister Göktaş utilised a total of 46,192,953 TL in the January–April 2026 period for her work programme, as well as for protocol and ceremonial duties. The 46.1 million TL spent on special secretariat services during the January–April 2026 period represents a 44% increase compared to the 32 million TL spent during the January–April 2025 period.
The Ministry of Family’s expenditure on special account services for the January–April periods of 2024, 2025 and 2026, by year, is as follows:
2024: 21,646,000 TL2025: 32,011,000 TL2026: 46,192,000 TL
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled Ülke aynı manzara farklı: Emekliye otel odası, Bakan’a milyonlarca lira özel kalem harcaması, published in BirGün newspaper on June 4, 2026.
