Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay delivered a presentation on the Konya Model of Municipal Governance at the meeting held in Sakarya.
The Regional Meeting of the AK Party Local Governments Directorate was held under the auspices of Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality, with the participation of municipalities from the Marmara region, AK Party provincial heads, and the heads of youth and women’s branches.
In the session moderated by Sakarya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Yusuf Alemdar, and attended by AK Party Deputy Chairman and Head of Local Governments Mustafa Demir, as well as AK Party Deputy Chairman and Head of Election Affairs Ali İhsan Yavuz, Konya Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay shared his 17 years of experience and expertise in municipal governance.
Highlighting that municipalities have recently been struggling with drought and water scarcity, Mayor Altay stated, “We are facing a major problem. We are all experiencing the effects of global warming quite intensely. These effects have put immense pressure on our cities. In Konya, we are going through severe drought, while in the Black Sea region, sudden heavy rainfall is occurring. Therefore, I believe one of the most pressing issues for all mayors today is to make our cities more resilient and to take measures that will protect them against the impacts of climate change.”
Mayor Altay emphasized that one of the most important agenda items during this period is efficiency. He pointed out the necessity of collaborating with national and international companies to make every employee productive, stating, “We must experience a period where both employee satisfaction and efficiency increase by boosting productivity. We all need smart cities in today’s technological world. Whether it is a district municipality, a town municipality, or a metropolitan municipality, we must use technology effectively. Smart City applications should be one of our key priorities during this period. Going even further, we need to start providing artificial intelligence training to our personnel. I believe this will greatly benefit efficiency.”
Mayor Altay stated that the “Konya Model of Municipal Governance” has become a recognized brand in Turkey, saying, “Konya’s municipal culture has been built on solid foundations from the past to the present. We owe our success in municipal governance to institutional continuity. Every mayor who has taken office has contributed something new, and I would like to thank all the mayors who have served from past to present. Our goal is to make Konya not only one of Turkey’s leading cities but also one of the world’s prominent cities.” He concluded his remarks with these words.
