Mustafa Aysun, the Chairman of the Board with Romanian state owned operator CFR Marfa - Railways Freight has resigned less than two months after taking on the role, according to company sources quoted by local news agency Mediafax. He took up the position in February when transport minister Relu Fenechiu announced that CFR Marfa would be privatized.

Former banker and economist Aysun was part of a so called technocrat team, intended to manage the Romanian railways freight division CFR Marfa in the run up to a privatization attempt. Although the management team were never meant to handle the privatization itself, the transport minister said they would have to “fix what can be fixed” ahead of the sale of a 51 percent stake in the state-controlled company.

Mustafa Aysun and the rest of the management team installed are part of a wider plan to install private sector management in state-owned companies, with many of them also scheduled for privatization. News of his departure from the post comes shortly after Cypriot Dimitris Sophocleous resigned as a general manager of CFR following the dismissal of his management plan by the company’s board. The Romanian state – owned railways operator CFR appointed a new general manager, Romanian George Micu, a former manager of sister company CFR Marfa.

CFR workers also called a went on strike without warning over unpaid salaries earlier this week. Employees had previously been told they would receive the money on Monday (April 15 ); then a one-day delay was announced, and eventually on Wednesday news came that the company had wired the money, but the banks had frozen their accounts.

editor@romania-insider.com