State Minister Cevdet Yılmaz, who was in Şanlıurfa on Saturday to attend a conference, shared his assessment of SODES with Today’s Zaman in an interview.
GAP, which is generally known as an agriculture-based economic development project only, is indeed a sophisticated social development project, aiming to address the problems of the region to achieve four main goals: economic development, social development, infrastructural improvement and institutional development, Yılmaz said. He placed emphasis on the success of SODES, which aims to eliminate problems arising from poverty, unemployment and migration from rural to urban areas while enhancing social development and supporting cultural activities such as sports and cultural events. The number of projects rose to 778 last year, up from 398 in 2008 when SODES projects first started to be implemented. Funds allocated for these projects were also up from TL 42 million to TL 92 million during the same period, the minister stated.
GAP, which is generally known as an agriculture-based economic development project only, is indeed a sophisticated social development project, aiming to address the problems of the region to achieve four main goals: economic development, social development, infrastructural improvement and institutional development, Yılmaz said |
“Four thousand, six hundred and fifty people attended vocational education courses [opened under SODES]. One hundred and ninety-five training, arts and cultural centers were established. Approximately 14,000 people have so far had the opportunity to improve their skills by attending arts and culture and sport courses. One thousand and thirty-five students were granted scholarships, while 501 people benefited from microcredit.”
Last year TL 37 million was allocated to the Turkish Employment Organization (İŞKUR) for active employment programs launched under GAP-SODES and of this amount, TL 30 million was used, he said. In addition, İŞKUR also transferred TL 12 million to the budget of the programs from its own funds. Yılmaz stated that some 25,000 people benefited from these employment programs.
SODES education projects
Within the framework of GAP, important investments are being made in education in the region, the minister said, adding that education institutions ranging from kindergartens to universities are being supported with these financial investments. A total of 4,613 classrooms are currently under construction, he noted, saying: “Last year, 1,498 classrooms and five dormitories with the capacity to house 1,500 secondary school students were built, and the construction of 25 kindergartens, 136 elementary schools, 16 boarding houses for secondary school students, 35 secondary schools and 22 vocational schools is happening right now.” Universities in the region are also being improved with additional infrastructure, such as new dorms and research centers, he added.
SODES also envisages the opening of new university hospitals in the region, Yılmaz said. A fund of TL 39 million was allocated for the construction of the Harran, Dicle and Adıyaman University Hospitals, while a total of TL 135 million has been reserved to address health problems in the region in a bid to close the health gap between southeastern provinces and other parts of the country.
