HARARE
–
Sydney
Gata,
the
executive
chairman
of
ZESA,
has
died.
He
was
79.
Gata
was
admitted
to
a
private
hospital
in
Harare
on
Monday
complaining
of
chest
pains,
ZimLive
heard.
“He
sadly
passed
away
late
on
Thursday
night,”
a
family
friend
said.
ZESA
said
it
would
be
issuing
a
statement
on
Friday.
A
mechanical
and
aeronautical
engineer,
Gata
taught
at
several
universities
before
joining
ZESA’s
forerunner,
the
Electricity
Supply
Company,
as
its
first
black
general
manager
between
1981
and
1985.
After
the
company
was
renamed
to
ZESA,
Gata
became
CEO
from
1986
to
1991.
In
that
time,
he
championed
the
development
of
Hwange
Power
Station
Project
Stage
One
of
480MW
and
Stage
Two
of
440MW
and
the
development
of
the
Main
330kV
HV-AC
Transmission
System
and
Regional
Interconnectors.
Following
his
exit
in
1991,
Gata
would
be
reappointed
CEO
in
2000,
and
executive
chairman
from
2003
until
2006
during
which
he
oversaw
the
unbundling
of
ZESA
into
several
subsidiaries
–
Zimbabwe
Power
Company
(ZPC),
Zimbabwe
Electricity
Transmission
and
Distribution
Company
(ZETDC),
ZESA
Enterprises
and
PowerTel
Communication.
He
left
the
utility
under
a
cloud
of
corruption
allegations
in
2006.
In
2018,
he
took
ZESA
to
court
demanding
$10
million
more
on
his
original
severance
package
but
before
the
matter
was
decided
by
a
court
he
was
reappointed
executive
chairman
in
November
2019.
In
2020,
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
suspended
the
entire
ZESA
board
on
allegations
of
corruption
but
Gata
survived
to
lead
the
utility
until
the
time
of
his
death.
He
oversaw
the
commissioning
of
Hwange
power
generation
units
7
and
8
which
added
a
combined
600
MW
to
the
grid.