Iran's rich and powerful state Foundation for the Disinherited has decided to cut 114 of its top posts in order to improve its management and avoid bureaucracy, newspapers reported Sunday.
"This decision was made by the director of the foundation, Mohammad Forouzandeh, and is part of a restructuring aimed at centralising the management of the various sectors of the foundation," the Hamshahri paper reported.
The powerful foundation controls the extensive holdings of the former shah who was deposed in the 1979 revolution that brought the Islamic clergy to power and is direct responsible to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The foundation owns some 1,000 enterprises and accounts for about 7-10 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) according to western sources in Tehran.
Its interests include hotels such as the former Hilton, agriculture and food production, international transport, and a financial institution. It provides more than 20 percent of the country's sugar production.
Last week, the foundation's announcement that it was looking to negotiate for a contract to help develop the giant South Pars gas fields in the Gulf was opposed by the oil minsitry which said it cannot sign deals with firms that have no experience in the sector.
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
