Industry and Trade Minister Nihat Ergün, who was on an official visit to Syria, said yesterday in an interview with the Anatolia news agency that the package is a transition and stimulus program to ensure the “survival of craftsmen and artisans in the wake of recent global economic developments and to adapt them to the current system.” The program foresees tax reductions for craftsmen and artisans, for which work is under way in cooperation with the Finance Ministry, Ergün stated. Under the new package access to loans will be made easier, he said, explaining that both the volume and sources of loans will be expanded. Craftsmen and artisans will also be provided with education programs in a bid to pave the way towards innovation and technological development, the minister stated.
Ergün said small businesses would have more power if they acted together. Under the new package they will be working to create awareness among craftsmen and small and medium-sized establishments (SMEs), and then extending the necessary support to enable them to establish organized structures through cooperation. “The current organizational structure lacks order. There are about 3,200 chambers of craftsman, along with 83 unions. This haphazard structure causes the loss of TL 400 million to the sector annually,” he said, stressing the need to change the current system to benefit craftsmen and small businesses. The package also includes possible amendments to the Craftsmen and Artisans Law, the minister said.
The program has been prepared as one of the four “strategic targets” of the Industry and Trade Ministry’s “2004-2010 Strategic Plan,” the details of which are scheduled to be announced to the public on Saturday by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Ergün.
