adminMany people from different walks of life graced the colourful occasion, which was spiced with entertainment from a local disco and a live band, Beat Jazz Ensemble, that played jazz renditions of local, regional and international musicians.
Guests were later treated to some snacks which were provided courtesy of the Czech Embassy, the country of origin of Mr Thomas Bata, the founding director of the giant shoe company.
Addressing guests, Czech Republic’s Director of African Affairs, Mr Pavel Rezae said the venue for the occasion to mark Bata’s seven decades of success in Zimbabwe was ideal as it was the military that launched Bata Shoes to prosperity.
He said Mr Bata, the founding director of the now global giant shoe company, was a man of action who had a clear vision as to what he wanted to achieve in life.
“Thomas Bata, the founder of the company, was not just a profit-seeking industrialist. He managed to build a prosperous global company, but his vision was much more far-reaching. With his vast social programmes for his workers, he founded a completely new tradition of industrial development.
“Architects and city planners on Bata’s pay roll planned entire cities smartly combining industrial activities with a wide range of services for their residents. In addition to Zlin in the Czech Republic, the historical industrial hub of the company, you would find such Bata savvy towns and villages all around the World, from France to Canada, USA, Pakistan, India and Brazil,” he said.
Mr Rezae said the city of Gweru did not fit into the category described above as it was founded before the first Bata people came to Zimbabwe.
He, however, said the few Czechs that came to this country certainly left their imprint in Gweru.
“A few Zimbabweans still bear Czech names such as Kozacek, Senar or Jakubec,” said Mr Rezae.
The Wednesday exhibition, which showed the humble origins of the giant shoe company in 1894, tracing its growth to the present modern company, was held at a military museum to emphasise the company’s strong ties with the military.
Mr Rezae said Bata grew to what it is today mainly because of the military shoes that it manufactured and sold to different armies of the world.
“Some of you might wonder why we opened an exhibition on Bata Shoes in a military museum. First of all, this is not the first time the Czech Embassy in Harare organised an exhibition here. Let me recall the successful exhibition on Ndebele tales accompanying a book called Kolobeja, which was on display here and which is still to be seen in Kwekwe. But in addition to the successful co-operation with this museum, there is another peculiar connection between Bata shoes and the military,” said Mr Rezae.
He said Thomas Bata was a man of action and who knew how to turn even very challenging economic situation into profit.
“While still a small company in the outbreak of the First World War, the first thing which came into his mind was the massive demand for military boots. He immediately left for Vienna, then capital of the Austro-
Hungarian Empire, to persuade the Army General Staff to sign a huge contract for the military boots. Within months after this contract had been sealed, Bata supplied half of the needs of the Austro-Hungarian military in terms of shoes. Some can say that the success of Bata’s shoes owes largely to military. There has definitely been a strong connection between the two.”
Other speakers spoke about the high quality of Bata products that include school wear.
The successful exhibition was graced by the director of National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, Dr Godfrey Mahachi, the Military Museum board members and top Bata management that included the managing director of the Gweru factory, Mr Louis Pinto.
Online Reporter