Ali Asghar Mounesan, head of Iran's cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, which is set be converted to a ministry, believes the new structure should involve separate divisions for policymaking and administrative affairs.
"My proposal, which has yet to go through expert review, is that the new ministry be composed of a head office and an administrative department, like other ministries," the CHTN quoted Mounesan as saying on Sunday.
"The ministry should only serve as the headquarters and not double as the administrative center. There need to be three separate administrative arms to aid it in the form of the cultural heritage department, handicrafts department and tourism department," he said.
The bill to convert ICHHTO to a ministry was recently approved by the Parliament.
It stipulates the duties of the new entity will be like that of the former ICHHTO until the government submits proposed modifications to the Majlis for approval within a maximum time frame of one year.
Expert Studies
Mounesan said expert work on those modifications is already underway.
"We have started the work, but the group of experts assigned to the task will be expanded soon to ensure the efficiency of the new organizational structure."
"ICHHTO's current structure is not robust. The top positions in the organizational chart might be acceptable but there are some further down the chart that even the managers themselves are unsure what their exact duties are," he acknowledged. Mounesan said the conversion is aimed at streamlining interactions among all parts of the prospective ministry.
"The previous merger of the cultural heritage, handicrafts and tourism organizations was not carried out properly… because it should have led to an improved synergy and minimized conflict of interest between the three. We are seeking to achieve a desirable level of synergy under the new structure," he added.
Under the conversion plan, the ICHHTO will turn into a ministry with all its current duties and authorities with no expansion in its administrative structure and workforce.
Any possible costs arising from the change will be covered by savings in government expenses.
The legislation requires all the property and human resources of the organization to be handed over to the new ministry.
The law bans any increase in the workforce, facilities and expenses of the ministry while the Sixth Development Plan (2016-21) is in effect.
