158 Other Public Services
 
Other Public Services 159  
 
   
 
 
  
  
  Public Finance  
 
Turkey has 81 provinces and the legal basis of the current provincial system is the “Provincial Administration Law” of 1949. This law organizes the central administration in the provinces in line with the provincial system introduced by the Constitution of 1924 and a system has been formed which envisages the administration of the provinces according to the principle of devolution of wider powers.
 
The expenditures incurred by the public sector in Turkey are divided into three main categories. These categories include the “Expenditures for General Administrative Services” which consist of administration, representation, legislation, security, judicial and defense expenditures; the “Expenditures for Services Providing Welfare” which aim at directly meeting the needs of citizens such as education, health, social security and housing and the “Expenditures for Services with Economic Attributes” which cover the agricultural, industrial and service sectors and investments made for infrastructure and are aimed at offering direct or indirect benefits to companies operating in the market rather than providing direct benefits to the citizens.
 

Ministry of Finance - ANKARA
  
   

 
The “Central Public Administration” is only one part of the public administration which consists of three main groups from the standpoint of legality and administration. The other groups include “Local Administrations” and “State Economic Enterprises” (SEEs).
 
The central public administration is composed of the administrations included in the general budget and those included in the supplementary budget. Local administrations consist of the provincial special administrations, municipalities and villages. State economic enterprises include the state economic establishments and certain organizations which have public functions and authorities.
 
The central administration performs public services to meet the nationwide needs of the society. Local administrations are elected into office in areas determined by the central government. In small towns, people elect their own administrators such as mayors and members of the municipal councils and in villages and districts they elect their own headmen and councils. General Provincial Council elections are held in the provinces.
 
SEEs were established in 1925 by the law or the authority provided by the law in order to fulfill the entrepreneurial functions of the state. These organizations have separate juristic entities.