Online Reporter
Nyore Madzianike
NATIONAL hero, Dr Sydney Gata, who is set to be buried at the National Heroes Acre in Harare today, has been described as an energy sector fountain of knowledge and a manager with the welfare of employees and national development at heart.
President Mnangagwa is expected to preside over his burial.
Dr Gata, who was ZESA Holdings executive chairman, died in Harare last Thursday.
Giving testimonies at his memorial service held at ZESA Training Centre in Harare yesterday, speakers described the national hero as an institutional developer, whose dedication to transforming the energy sector will always be remembered.
Energy and Power Development Minister July Moyo thanked President Mnangagwa for honouring Dr Gata with national hero status.
He said while the President recognised Dr Gata’s immense contribution to the nation, the SADC region acknowledged his contribution towards the energy sector in the region.
Minister Moyo said Dr Gata came tops among the 23 people recognised as legends by the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP).
SAPP was created in August 1995 at the SADC summit held in Kempton Park, South Africa, when member governments, excluding Mauritius, signed an Inter-Governmental Memorandum of Understanding for the formation of an electricity power pool in the region.
Minister Moyo told mourners that he was accompanied by Dr Gata to the 1995 summit, where delegates were overwhelmed by his vision for the energy sector.
He implored people from all walks of life to attend his burial in their thousands to get first-hand information from President Mnangagwa when he chronicles the journey travelled by Dr Gata.
“Tomorrow I encourage people to come, including ZESA employees, to hear the President explain why he decided to confer national hero status on Dr Gata,” he said.
Minister Moyo said Dr Gata was the first engineer to identify the shortage of engineers in the country, a development that greatly contributed towards transforming the electricity supply company.
“When Dr Gata came, the first thing he analysed was the shortage of engineers in the country. For example, there were 26 engineers for Bulawayo and four had left. In Harare, there were 32 engineers and six were left.
“Dr Gata managed to tell the Government to go and hunt for other engineers to come and help the country,” he said.
Minister Moyo said Dr Gata was the brains behind the creation of integrating six power generating companies into ZESA Holdings between 1993 and 1994.
“We had a steering committee to combine six companies into ZESA, which we have today. Dr Gata became the first general manager of ZESA. You can only do that if you are an institutional developer and manage to create a single organisation that can deliver the way ZESA has been delivering,” he said.
Minister Moyo added that Dr Gata was also the brains behind electrifying the agricultural sector.
He said Dr Gata remained steadfast with his idea and vision until it was adopted into the national development strategy.
Minister Moyo urged people to record Dr Gata’s history and the vision he had towards transforming the Zimbabwean and regional power sector.
ZESA Board deputy chairman Mr Albert Nduna described Dr Gata as an iconic figure in the energy sector, whose visionary leadership, dedication, and intellect shaped the course of Zimbabwe’s electricity industry.
He said Dr Gata left an indelible mark in the SADC region and beyond.
“Dr Gata was not only passionate about the energy sector, but had a vision to see ZESA develop its human capital as early as the 1980s.
“Dr Gata dedicated his life to advancing energy solutions and infrastructure development. His illustrious career spanned several decades, during which he served as a beacon of hope for the nation and an inspiration to many.
“His leadership at ZESA transformed the organisation. Dr Gata improved service delivery and was passionate about the welfare of the entire ZESA family,” he said.
Mr Nduna said Dr Gata was also concerned about the welfare of ZESA employees.
He said in 2019, when he rejoined ZESA as executive chairman, he focused his energies on how best the welfare of employees could be improved.
“He introduced the welfare section under the stakeholder relations department. Today, ZESA has a robust corporate social responsibility policy that has seen many employees and communities being assisted.
“Throughout his tenure, he maintained an open-door policy and endeavoured to improve the welfare of all ZESA employees and pensioners alike,” he said.
Mutapa Investment chief executive officer Dr John Mangudya described Dr Gata as a reservoir of knowledge.
“He was able to inspire confidence, even in the darkest of times. He believed deeply in the power of innovation and resilience and he never stopped pushing for excellence even when the odds were steep,” he said.
Dr Gata’s daughter, Tanyaradzwa Angela Gumbo, who spoke on behalf of the family, described her father as a man with employees at heart.
“A big part of what he wanted to do was to share the knowledge he had. We used to say that dad is always lecturing, but it was really the heart to share the knowledge so that the whole family of Zimbabweans could contribute to the great cause of pushing our nation forward,” she said.
She said her father was proud of the Zesa family, especially its competence and capabilities.
