Romania: private managers for national businesses

Until now, the
authorities appointed the managers of national businesses. Because of
disastrous results in most of these companies - in 2010, the 35 biggest State
firms made €10
billion in sales but lost 500 million - business secretary Ion Ariton
suggested, at the beginning of the year, replacing these managers - often
appointed through friendship or interest - by managers coming from the private
sector. The aim is to improve internal operations, stop financial losses and
find the best way to deal with the private privatization of some of these
companies, planned by the government as part of the preventive agreement signed
with the IMF and the European Central Bank last spring.

Promise to the IMF. The head of the Romanian State approved this proposal,
and so did the International Monetary Fund which is "monitoring"
Romania as part of the preventive agreement signed last year. It was added to
the Romanian State's obligations contained in this agreement.

The headhunters who are going to start working in a few weeks have to recruit,
at first, 5-10 private managers who already have a lot of experience in the
private sector.  These managers are going
to take the reins of several State businesses: the Romanian post, Tarom
(airline), CFR Merchandise (railway), CFR Electrification (railway
maintenance), Hidroelectrica (electricity), Oltenia – the national TV company,
and then Electrica Furnizare, Romarm and Oltchim.