AK Party Gemlik Mayor Candidate Refik Yılmaz was the guest of the agenda program titled "Everybody Hear", moderated by Aylin Tekir, with the evaluations of Journalist Writer Mesut Demir and Journalist Writer Mehmet Ali Ekmekçi.
“GEMLİK IS A VIBRANT CITY, IT CANNOT BE STABLE”
AK Party Gemlik Mayor Candidate Refik Yılmaz stated that although he has been away from politics for 5 years, he has ideas about the city because he lives in Gemlik and said, “Of course, we have ideas about Gemlike and the future of Gemlik. When we go out on the streets, people ask about Gemlik and the future of Gemlik. He says, 'Why are the services not being provided?' In 2018, there was a groundbreaking ceremony or opening ceremony every Friday. The people of Gemlik were also used to this. Citizens ask, 'What will happen to Gemlik's interregnum after such an intense pace?' they ask. Because Gemlik is a dynamic city, it cannot be stable,” he said.
“WE DID NOT AVOID DUTY”
Refik Yılmaz, who said that he worked in the public sector after his presidential term, but always went to Gemlik because his family was in Gemlik, said: "When we go to the market, people ask, 'Do you have any thoughts?' they asked. We were saying 'Kismet'. We were blessed with luck. We had many candidate friends, and as fate would have it, the burden was placed on our shoulders again. "We did not shirk our duty," he said.
Yılmaz, who said that he has been in politics for 19 years, continued his speech as follows:
“Our youth passed along this line. We have always been in politics since the age of 19, we worked in every election. If there is a duty somewhere, we do not have the chance to say 'I am not here'. We cannot escape duty if the party and the city need it. Hopefully, if our nation appreciates it, we aim to serve as president for another 5 years. We had an 8-year presidency. Before that, we had 7 years of council membership. Therefore, after approximately 15 years of experience, we are asking our people for authority for this task for another 5 years for the future of Gemlik,” he said.
“GEMLİK REALLY HAD LOST YEARS”
Evaluating the last 5 years of Gemlik, Refik Yılmaz said that Gemlik should be prepared for the earthquake. Yılmaz said, “While the people of Gemlik are used to a groundbreaking ceremony or opening every week, neither a foundation has been laid nor an opening has been held in 60 months. There were truly lost years for Gemlik. When you look at it, you wonder, 'What is left over from 5 years?' If you ask, everyone will say, 'There is only one Keloğlan statue.' People wonder what Keloğlan has to do with Gemlik. Citizens ask us, 'Are you going to remove this?' And we say, 'No, it will stay there, it will remain there as a symbol of this period.' We want people to remember this period. This situation is truly sad. Togg's headquarters is Gemlik. Gemlik should have been prepared for Togg with its infrastructure, new housing areas and new houses. We live in an earthquake zone, earthquake-resistant houses should have been produced. If we were in office, we would request it from our President on the day the foundation of Togg was laid. 5 thousand people will work here and there will be a housing shortage for these people. By special law, we converted 2 areas of forest into land. 600 thousand houses could be built here. If we had been there as mayor on the day when the foundation of Togg was laid, we would have asked our President for this. He would also give instructions to TOKİ and the foundations of the houses would be laid simultaneously with Togg. There were no Kahramanmaraş or Izmir earthquakes at that time. Therefore, Gemlik's housing problem would be solved by building TOKİ with 8-8 thousand houses at once. "Gemlik lost a lot, years were wasted," he said.
“HE DID NOT PUT A SINGLE NAIL”
Stating that they built 792 houses with municipal resources and without TOKİ during his term as mayor, Yılmaz said, “Most of them are occupied by our citizens. 95 percent of some parts and 75 percent of others are finished. But the current municipal administration did not hammer even a single nail into the remaining parts and did not attempt to finish them. Since some flats did not have windows, they received rain, the paint was damaged, electrical cables were stolen and public property was damaged. When the earthquake hit 15 days ago, everyone evacuated their homes and waited on the streets. Because especially houses built with sea sand are not safe, there is a very serious risk. There are approximately 350 flats waiting to be completed in the residences I mentioned. If these flats were completed, they would have placed 350 families in a safe place. This loss is the city's loss. So what happens if there is an earthquake? People will lose their lives. This is how the consequences of the current administration's negligence and lack of interest in the project will be severe. In this respect, no second of our friends on duty should be wasted. "It was necessary to be much more sensitive and diligent, especially regarding earthquake precautions," he said.
“INACTIVITY OF THIS MUNICIPALITY IS A LOSS”
Stating that they carried out many projects during his time, Yılmaz said, “We also built a school, the internal plaster and rough construction of the school was completed, only the external plaster and windows were to be installed. If this school was completed, 750 students would study there. But since this school has not been completed, those students have been struggling to go to distant schools for 5 years. Citizens see this too. It is said that 'Not even a brick was laid on what Refik Yılmaz did.' This being the case, we became a sought-after name. Because we built 6 gyms for schools during our period. Not even one was made this term. We had built 1 health centers, but not even one was added. Without these, the city lost. A city like Gemlik needed to prepare itself for the future much more actively. It needs to work hard, especially in terms of seismicity. If the 5 decare sea view land given by the state had been utilized, houses for middle-income citizens would have been built where houses worth 1-2 million would be located, as a result of its location. When we build 600 thousand houses in Gemlik, we solve the earthquake problem. "This municipality's inaction and unfortunately not taking a step forward was a loss," he said.
“WE WILL OFFER EVERY BRANCH OF SPORTS TO YOUTH”
Touching on the innovations and projects they will bring to Gemlik, Yılmaz said, “The biggest of our projects is the 10 thousand new residences I mentioned. Hopefully, we will have completed this project with both TOKİ and the Metropolitan Municipality. Apart from this, one of our biggest projects is to make Gemlik the center of sports tourism. We have built motocross tracks before, especially in the Şahin Tepe region, and organized the European Championship twice. Now we will add new sports centers to those tracks. We will build football fields where people from different parts of the country or other countries can come and football teams can camp. "We will take the cable car to our young people and offer them every branch of sports, from bowling alleys to equestrian sports clubs," he said.
“WE WILL TAKE MOUNTAIN TOURISM AND SPORTS TOURISM TO THE BEST POINT”
Talking about the demands conveyed to him by young people, Refik Yılmaz said, "Especially our young people say, 'Our entertainment venues and social areas are insufficient, we should not have to go to Bursa for these.' We said, 'You will meet these needs and pleasures in the most beautiful place of the Gulf.' We will take Gemlik's mountain tourism and sports tourism to the best point. "We have held sailing races at sea in the past, we will revive them again," he said.
“WE WILL WORK TO MAKE OUR OLIVES BECOME A BRAND”
Mentioning that one of Gemlik's greatest values is olives, Yılmaz said, “We will work to make our olives a brand by making olive festivals much more enthusiastic. "We attach importance to festivals so that they can be sold at higher prices in the world markets and bring more profit to the producers," he said.
“WE WILL MAKE WOMEN'S WORK EASIER”
Stating that they will increase the opportunities for women living in Gemlik, Refik Yılmaz said, "We aim to help our female sisters to be more active in social life and to help them in employment, and to make their daily life easier."
CITY HALLS WILL BE ALLOCATED FREE OF CHARGE
Refik Yılmaz also stated that the municipality will allocate all wedding halls free of charge for the weddings of newlyweds.
