32 Trillion Toman Discrepancy in Tehran Municipality Debts

ILNA news agency reported based on a financial report released by Tehran Municipality and statements from the mayor about a "32 trillion toman discrepancy in the debts of Tehran Municipality." It noted that "only 68% of cash revenues have been deposited into the treasury" and that "the municipality's personnel exceed the reported figures by 5,000." The report indicated that the municipality has debts amounting to 52 trillion tomans and stated that its expenses have exceeded its revenues by more than 1 trillion tomans. On Saturday, October 7, ILNA announced that according to the financial report on the municipality's income and expenses for the first six months of the year, the municipality's expenses were 7,926 billion tomans while its revenues were 6,766 billion tomans. Thus, the municipality's expenses during this period exceeded its revenues by 1,160 billion tomans. Meanwhile, Mahmoud Mirloohi, a city council member, reported that Mohammad Ali Najafi, the mayor of Tehran, announced the municipality's debts to be 52,500 billion tomans, of which 30,000 billion tomans is "definitive debt." He added, "The actual debt is even higher, as based on the statutes, affiliated companies of the municipality can take loans, and if all of these are aggregated and combined, it is likely that this amount will increase." Mr. Mirloohi also mentioned that about 68,300 people are employed by Tehran Municipality. Mohammad Ali Najafi stated on Tuesday, August 25, that this institution has debts exceeding 1.7 times the budget of 1996, which is about 30 trillion tomans. According to Mr. Najafi, Tehran Municipality owes "over 16 trillion tomans to banks (mainly Bank Shahr), 9 trillion tomans to contractors, and 5 trillion tomans for open projects." The information published by ILNA pertains to a report by Mohammad Ali Najafi, the new mayor of Tehran, to the city council members. According to Article 71, Clause 10 of the Council Law, the municipality is required to submit a report on its income and expenditure every six months to the city council. Some current and former members of the Tehran city council have stated that Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf did not comply with this law during his tenure as mayor. The reformists, who currently control the municipality and city council of Tehran, have criticized Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf's actions, believing that he created an unfavorable financial situation in this institution during his 12 years as mayor. "Lack of financial discipline and increased municipal expenses," "excessive sale of density," "increase in Tehran Municipality staff," and "widespread corruption" are among the criticisms of the reformists regarding Mr. Qalibaf's management. In recent years, the case of transferring municipal properties and hiring "about 4,200 people related to clerics and military and governmental officials" has also made headlines. However, Mr. Qalibaf has denied all reports related to corruption in the municipality, stating that there has not been a single case of "organized violation" in this institution.