Looking to snitch on your neighbors? Turkey will pay you for the info
The Turkish government has hiked the pay of some elected leaders for providing intelligence about people in their neighborhoods.
Mukhtars are moving up in the world. Since President Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved to his controversial palace outside Ankara in November 2014, the mukhtars — elected heads of villages and towns — have become his prominent guests. They were the first group to be invited to the fancy palace, and Erdogan continues to receive groups of 300-400 mukhtars at a time.
There are about 53,000 mukhtars in Turkey. Erdogan plans to meet with all of them.
At the palace, mukhtars first hear a motivational speech by the president while their excited applause and standing ovations are generously carried live on television. After lunch, they return to their villages or city districts.
Why this sudden interest in mukhtars? Until August 2015, mukhtars were paid for simply drawing up documents about citizens’ residences and identities and then putting an official stamp on them.
