Two Municipalities' 100-day wait for an appointment from PM

       Head of Kocaeli Municipality Sefa Sirmen and that of Sakarya Municipality Aziz Duran have said they have failed for the last three and a half months to get any kind of response from PM Bulent Ecevit, to whom they have appealed for appointments in order to discuss problems faced by their cities, located in the immediate region of the Aug. 17 earthquake.
       Sirmen pointed out he had not yet given up hope of getting an appointment with Ecevit, and added that his priority in demanding a meeting was to relay to the PM those measures that needed to be taken in Kocaeli.
       Cities' Bank has raised the funds allocated to Koceli by 0.67points. "Officials who had visited the city had reported that the funds for Kocaeli ought to be multiplied by five. Though there has not been any official statment, we think funds have been doubled. This is not enough," said Sirmen.
       Duran, on the other hand, said he had demanded an appointment three times. "I believe that the PM has a very busy schedule. And we try to solve problems by meeting with bureaucrats and Ministers. We have sent in another demand for an appoitment which we hope weill succeed. First of all, our fire department needs enforcement as well as the commute system." Duran also pointed out that funds of Sakarya had been multiplied by 2.5 which he said was not enough under the conditions.