Minister Göktaş: “The AK Party, under the leadership of our President, has signed a historic transformation that changes the fate of Turkey.”

The Minister of Family and Social Services, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, stated that during their 23 years in power, the AK Party has acted with a human-centered approach and has produced policies accordingly, saying, “Under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the AK Party has signed a historic transformation and development that changed Turkey’s destiny.”

Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş attended the ‘AK Party Mersin Provincial and District Organizations Meeting’ program in Mersin. Starting her speech by conveying President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s greetings at the meeting held at the Provincial Headquarters, Minister Göktaş expressed her great happiness to be together with the comrades who are devoted to the organization and work hard for the AK Party in Mersin.

Emphasizing that during their 23 years in power, the AK Party has operated with a human-centered understanding and produced policies in this direction, Minister Göktaş stated, “The service politics said that it provided services to all 81 provinces of our country in a way that meets the demands and expectations of our citizens without discrimination. The work politics said that it brought works that will increase the quality of life of 85 million citizens across Turkey with the investments it has implemented. The AK Party, under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has signed a historic transformation and development that changed Turkey’s destiny. With the strength derived from our civilizational values dating back centuries, we have taken successful steps towards the great goals we have set. From Edirne to Kars, from Sinop to Mersin, we have virtually carried out a development mobilization in all 81 provinces across 7 regions. In this process, as the AK Party, we have achieved unforgettable successes together,” she said.

“We have made an investment of 210 billion 408 million lira for Mersin so far”

Stating that Mersin has also taken its share from this success as one of the leading production and tourism centers of the country, Minister Göktaş said, “Today, we are in an effective position on the Mediterranean trade routes with the Mersin Port, one of our international ports. In this sense, we have made an investment of 210 billion 408 million lira for Mersin, which carries an indispensable value for Turkey. In this context, we have provided an investment and support of 25 billion lira in the field of family and social services. As a ministry, we have carried out our social policies with an understanding that embraces everyone, protecting and empowering women, children, families, the disabled, the elderly, veterans, and the families of martyrs, and we continue to do so,” she said.

“We have increased women’s participation in social, political, and economic life”

Emphasizing that they operate with the belief that ‘strong women, strong society, strong Turkey’ in all activities they conduct, Minister Göktaş continued as follows: “We have addressed the equality of women and men as a critical issue in terms of our country’s development and the welfare of our citizens. With the regulations we have made, we have increased the participation of women in social, political, and economic life. We have implemented projects that support the social, physical, and emotional development of the children under our protection, and we are running programs. We have established strong and exemplary systems from our social and economic supports to our foster family services. We have developed both our home care services and opened new generation social institutions for the care and rehabilitation of the elderly and disabled. We have never forgotten the great sacrifices of our veterans and the families of martyrs. With our supports that facilitate their lives, we have always prioritized them in our work.”

Works carried out in Mersin

Stating that they have created a wide service network covering all of Turkey, especially Mersin, with these strong steps, Minister Göktaş said, “In this context, we have made all our services accessible under a single roof with our 9 social service centers in Mersin. With our centers, we have reached a total of 279,293 households since 2017, and we have worked to see and meet the needs of our citizens on-site. We have developed service models for establishing families on a stronger foundation. Since 2013, we have educated 28,456 people with our pre-marriage education program and 145,346 people with our family education program. We have provided family counseling services to 2,530 citizens. We have improved the institutional care services we offer for children. We continue to protect 159 of our children in 25 children’s houses and 113 of our children in 2 children’s house sites in Mersin. Today, we inaugurated another children’s house site that we have brought to Mersin together. With this new living space we have created for our children, we will ensure that 50 more of our children grow up in a warmer environment,” she said.

Minister Göktaş stated that they have allocated approximately 521.5 million lira in funding for the children in institutional care since 2012, saying, “We have facilitated the establishment of 16 women’s cooperatives to encourage women’s production. We have increased our service diversity with institutional and home care options for the elderly and disabled. In this context, we provide support that facilitates the lives of 150 elderly individuals in 2 nursing homes and elderly care and rehabilitation centers, and 285 elderly individuals in 6 private nursing homes. We serve 90 disabled individuals in 1 care and rehabilitation center and 820 disabled individuals in 10 special care centers. Along with our institutional care services, we ensure that 17,482 people benefit from home care assistance. Additionally, through our 14 Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundations in our city, we stand by our citizens in need. With our social assistance, we have allocated 4.68 billion lira for 146,862 households only between January and July of this year. We have transferred approximately 20.75 billion lira in social assistance resources to Mersin between 2003-2024. Currently, we are working for the quality of life of the people of Mersin with a total of 70 institutions, including social service centers, children’s houses, children’s sites, elderly care and rehabilitation centers, and barrier-free living centers,” she said.

Minister Göktaş also provided information that the tender process for 1 nursing home elderly care and rehabilitation center in Mersin is ongoing, indicating that the elderly care and rehabilitation centers in Toroslar and Tarsus and the barrier-free living care and rehabilitation center in Erdemli are in the study-project phase.

“Together with unity and solidarity, we will reach our Turkey Century goals one by one”

Saying that the AK Party has worked with great sincerity and effort to serve its citizens with all its teams from youth branches to women’s branches, from local government units to central organizations, Minister Göktaş concluded her speech as follows: “I would like to thank all my comrades who take responsibility in this long service journey, who share the troubles of our citizens, and who develop solutions. As the AK Party, we have a new congress process ahead of us. This new term will be a period in which we will act with a brand new management and service understanding worthy of the ‘Turkey Century’ with a more visionary and forward-looking approach, above all else. Hopefully, together with you, we will achieve many more successes. Together with unity and solidarity, we will reach our Turkey Century goals one by one. We will do everything we can to further elevate the potential possessed by Mersin. We will do this together with you, our esteemed comrades, and each member of our organization.