ALL is set for the burial of national hero Sydney Gata today, who died in Harare on Thursday last week.
Gata (79) was the executive chairperson of Zesa, a company he led in different stints since the mid-80s.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is expected to lead thousands of Zimbabweans as the country bids farewell to an illustrious leaders, who was pushing for the country to overcome its power challenges.
Hundreds of people, including Zesa employees, bade farewell to Gata at a service held at the Zesa Training Centre in Harare yesterday.
Speakers paid glowing tributes to Gata, who was described by workers as a father figure whose astute leadership transformed the electricity authority.
Addressing mourners, Energy and Power Development minister July Moyo said Gata was a legend in the power generation and distribution sector in the southern Africa region.
Moyo credited Gata for being part of the “legends” that spearheaded the formation of the Southern Africa Power Pool, which celebrates 30 years of existence.
The minister chronicled the journey he travelled with Gata from his appointment as the general manager of the Electricity Supply Commission in 1982.
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“The first thing he identified was the shortage of engineers. In Bulawayo, we had 36 but only left with four when he joined, while in Harare, instead of 32, we were left with six.
“Gata advised the government to get experts from England, but we had no money to pay them. We went to India and Pakistan, where we found that they were experienced but not as expensive.
“We were advised to look for engineers with 16 and 17 years of experience, but pay them the same as the people in the country. We could have collapsed as a country if we did not have Gata and others who had stayed after independence.”
Moyo applauded Gata for pushing the government to develop irrigation facilities across the country.
“He insisted on electrification for irrigation purposes until his vision was achieved, which facilitated the country to generate more foreign currency,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mutapa Investment Fund chief executive John Mangudya described Gata as a fearless leader, a visionary and a reservoir of knowledge.
“He was a visionary leader in the energy sector whose vision was to see all households, clinics and schools electrified,” Mangudya said.
