adminTafadzwa Ndlovu Herald Reporter
Acting principal director in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Mr Sydney Gozho Mhishi who died on Saturday was yesterday laid to rest at Glen Forest Memorial Park in Harare.
Mr Mhishi (59) succumbed to a chest infection.
Government officials, friends and relatives thronged the cemetery to pay their last respects.
Speaking at the funeral, Acting Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Cde Walter Chidhakwa said Mr Mhishi lived an exemplary life.
“Yes, death is a sentence given to man by God, but the sentence is always painful. As we bid farewell to an exemplary senior servant, allow me Mrs Mhishi to express sincere condolences on behalf of the Government that Sydney served so faithfully up to his last breath,” he said.
As director Social Services, Mr Mhishi played an integral and pivotal role in the running of Social Protection Programmes.
In recognition of his immeasurable talents, in November 2013, he was appointed the acting principal director, responsible for overall supervision of all the technical departments in the ministry, a post he held until his death.
He was responsible for the national co-ordination of the Social Dimension of Adjustment Programme which entailed formulation and co-ordinating the implementation of Social Safety Nets to cushion vulnerable population groups against the adverse effects of economic and social reforms brought by the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme.
He was a member of the Africa Group working on the Africa position regarding the transition from the Millennium Development Goals towards the anticipated Sustainable Development Goals and Post 2015 Agenda.
He is survived by his wife and three children.
Online Reporter