The Press, Broadcasting and Public Relations Department of Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality continues to organise public meetings to enable residents to convey their requests, suggestions and views directly to the municipal administration. At the latest meeting, held in the garden of the Municipality’s main service building, residents raised issues affecting the city and their neighbourhoods.

The well-attended meeting brought together Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayors Serra Bucak and Emin Ay; DEM Party Diyarbakır Co-Chairs Fatime Üzül Levent and Yunus Muratakan; Council Co-Spokesperson Demet Ceylan; Chief Executive Serdar Bakıroğlu; Deputy Chief Executive Muhabbet Erdoğmuş; DBB council members; heads of departments; and numerous residents.

‘Public Meetings Are Extremely Valuable’

In their opening remarks, DEM Party Diyarbakır Co-Chairs stressed the importance of public meetings. They said they were attending as representatives of a political party in which people voiced their own concerns, discussed them face to face and worked together to find solutions. They added that this approach was a key difference between the DEM Party and establishment parties.

Co-Mayor Bucak: We Have Held 32 Public Meetings and 23 Meetings with Mukhtars

Co-Mayor Serra Bucak said she was pleased to meet with residents, describing Diyarbakır as a large, important city with a strong tradition of struggle. Referring to the city’s challenges, growing demand for services and the municipality’s commitment to governing alongside the public, she said:

“Of course, there are many problems, difficulties and challenges that need to be overcome. Our city also faces some disruptions in service delivery and chronic structural problems. It is growing steadily. The districts are expanding, and demand for infrastructure, water and transport is increasing. We are aware of all these issues. Our resources are limited and we face budgetary constraints. But we know that, despite all these problems, difficulties and limitations, we have residents who closely follow our work, scrutinise our projects and the goals we have set, and contribute their ideas. We said that we would govern ourselves and our city together. It has been 30 months since we were elected. During this period, we have held 32 public meetings across our 17 districts and 23 meetings with mukhtars. We have also made 57 visits to businesses and market traders over the past 30 months. We have organised meetings with the press, as well as meetings with women and rural communities.”

‘112,000 Residents of Amed Applied for Jobs Over 30 Months’

Bucak also addressed job applications to the municipality and recruitment, saying:

“Over the past 30 months, 112,000 residents of Amed have applied for jobs at our Metropolitan Municipality. This is a deeply saddening figure because it is a number we simply cannot accommodate through the municipality’s resources, service capacity or budget. You know this even better than we do. We have recruited nearly 1,200 people. I say ‘recruited’, but more than 700 of them were people dismissed during the trustee administration. We reinstated them. The remaining nearly 400 were recruited to meet the needs of our new areas of work and new services. We recruited bus drivers, firefighters and municipal enforcement officers. We have also reorganised these resources in order to deliver municipal services much more effectively. I know that job applications will be an important issue at today’s meeting, and that is why I wanted to address it.”

Co-Mayor Ay: We Will Discuss Issues with Residents and Make Decisions Together

Co-Mayor Emin Ay said residents’ participation in these meetings gave the municipality strength and encouragement. He stressed that they would discuss issues and make decisions together with the public.

Ay said they would discuss how residents viewed the municipality’s work, what had been done and what remained outstanding. He added: “We will look at their suggestions, ideas and views from their perspective. We will discuss these matters and, on that basis, gain a clearer understanding of what we are doing well and where we are falling short. We will also be better able to see the way forward.”

Residents Put Forward Their Demands

Residents who spoke at the meeting raised issues affecting the city and their neighbourhoods directly with the Co-Mayors. Their demands covered a wide range of issues, including infrastructure, transport, the needs of disabled residents and employment.

Particular emphasis was placed on preventing flooding during periods of rainfall in areas where sewerage infrastructure is inadequate. Residents also called for road and transport problems to be addressed and cleaning services to be improved.

Residents also called for school transport services to address travel difficulties faced by pupils in rural areas, the creation of accessible spaces for disabled residents, improved rehabilitation and swimming pool facilities, and better access to education and boarding facilities.

The meeting also heard proposals aimed at supporting women. Participants suggested creating alternative living spaces where women could become more economically and socially empowered and feel safe and free.

Calls for New Jobs and a Bakery for People with Coeliac Disease

Highlighting unemployment as a major concern, residents called for new employment opportunities to be created. They also raised the difficulties faced by people with coeliac disease in accessing suitable food, requesting the establishment of a bakery in Sur district that could produce food suitable for their dietary needs.

Children’s requests were also heard at the meeting. One child said he wanted to become a footballer and asked for help securing a place in Amedspor’s youth academy, as his family lacked the means to support this ambition.

‘I Believe We Can Address Many of These Problems’

Speaking after residents had put forward their demands, Fatime Üzül Levent, DEM Party Diyarbakır Co-Chair, said it was valuable and important to take part in the meeting and hear people’s requests, suggestions and complaints. She said:

“The fact that people once again see this as the place where solutions can be found shows just how valuable this platform is to all of us. People’s demands can often exceed the resources available. But being able to respond within the limits of what is possible gives us hope that these problems will gradually diminish. I believe that, going forward, we will be able to address as many of these issues as possible, together.”

Clarifying Responsibilities for Road Maintenance and Cleaning Services

Responding to residents’ demands, Co-Mayor Serra Bucak recalled that special provincial administrations had been abolished in 2014. Under the legislation introduced at the time, the Metropolitan Municipality became responsible for group roads serving multiple villages across the 17 districts, previously maintained by the Special Provincial Administration, as well as roads wider than 30 metres in urban areas.

Bucak explained that the municipality’s responsibility for cleaning services also covered roads wider than 30 metres and main thoroughfares in urban areas. Nevertheless, she said, the Metropolitan Municipality provided support to district municipalities within the limits of its available resources.

Emphasis on Merit in Recruitment

Responding to requests for employment raised at the public meeting, Co-Mayor Serra Bucak said the Metropolitan Municipality employed around 5,000 staff, while DİSKİ had more than 1,000 employees. She explained that the municipality did not have the capacity to recruit another 5,000 people.

Bucak stressed that recruitment was conducted through advertised vacancies, applications and interviews, and that neither the Co-Mayors nor council members instructed the administration to hire particular individuals. She added that there was no mechanism for explaining individually to the thousands of unsuccessful applicants why they had not been selected following interviews.

Bucak said recruitment was carried out without discrimination and noted that, alongside merit, the municipality also took care to ensure that candidates did not have first-degree relatives already working at the institution.

Bus Routes Being Reviewed in Response to Transport Requests

Responding to concerns about public transport, Co-Mayor Bucak said:

“We have received a large number of complaints about transport, and we are passing all of them on. We hear these concerns during visits to businesses and when we meet people elsewhere, too. The Department of Transportation is gradually revising routes, shortening journey routes and increasing the number of stops. We have compiled a list of all these issues. We believe we can improve services further with your suggestions.”

Emphasis on Joint Efforts to Develop the City

Addressing proposals for the city’s development, Co-Mayor Bucak stressed the need to implement projects that would create jobs by making use of local resources in agriculture and livestock farming. She said:

“These efforts cannot be carried out by the municipality alone. To develop this city, attract economic investment and make our own investments, we need to implement projects as soon as possible that will increase employment opportunities by drawing on our own land, water, capabilities and resources, from agriculture to livestock farming.

“Our Department of Rural Services is working on these issues, as is our Department of Women’s Policies. This summer, women grew and harvested produce in the gardens, making a contribution to their household budgets. We will expand these gardens and increase the areas under cultivation. We will make them available for public use and establish cooperatives. Preparatory work for all these initiatives is under way. We began implementing some of these projects on a limited scale this summer.”

Updates on Infrastructure, Roads and Agricultural Irrigation

Providing further information on infrastructure and roadworks, Co-Mayor Bucak said:

“Since taking office, we have carried out substantial infrastructure and roadworks. These infrastructure projects range from sewer cleaning to work on our drinking water transmission mains. This summer, DİSKİ drilled boreholes in all 17 districts and is continuing to do so. It will also step up its work in rural neighbourhoods during the autumn.

“We have resolved sewerage problems in nearly 30 villages in Sur. We are progressing with all these projects gradually. DİSKİ has drinking water, stormwater and wastewater projects in Silvan and Ergani, and tenders for all of them have been completed. Work on these projects will begin in the autumn and winter. Next summer, we will all be able to see the benefits of these infrastructure improvements more clearly.

“We have carried out extensive work in rural areas, although some roads remain unfinished. We promise to complete them all before the heavy rains set in. We have carried out patching work at 30 locations in Hani. Believe me, we are doing everything we can.

“In Hani, our Department of Rural Development has also launched an agricultural irrigation project. We will implement this project at two locations in the district in cooperation with the GAP Regional Development Administration.”

‘All Requests Will Be Reviewed and Assessed Individually’

Speaking again, Co-Mayor Emin Ay said:

“Some requests were raised and criticisms were voiced during the meeting. These contributions, together with the responsibilities we share, our criticisms and our suggestions, have given us strength and encouragement. All the requests put forward have been recorded. Each one will be reviewed and assessed individually.”