Harare– President Cde, Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangangwa has challenged Zimbabweans to be patriotic and remain committed to national development.
He was speaking at the burial of the late Dr Sydney Gata at the National Heroes Acre in Harare today.
“I challenge more of our people from across the social strata to be inspired by the traits of patriots, such as the late Dr Gata. No matter what you achieve in life, no matter how educated you may be, no matter how successful you are, whether here at home or abroad, never forget that you are a Zimbabwean, you are an African.
“We all have a responsibility to build our country and continent. Our individual and collective bricks, sector by sector, will build the Zimbabwe we all want,” said President Mnangagwa.
The President further described the late National Hero as a loyal cadre who served the country wholeheartedly, despite being well-educated.
“On the political front, the late Dr Gata was a loyal cadre of the revolutionary mass party, ZANU PF. He rose within the party ranks, serving in the positions of Provincial Secretary for Economic Affairs and later Provincial Secretary for Transport and Welfare.
“He never carried his academic or engineering pedigree with a sense of superiority. He always deemed himself as part of the people, he wholeheartedly served all his life. He was an active member of the Chipinge community development initiatives,” he said.
Dr Gata was also described as a pillar in the Zimbabwe’s energy sector.
“As the first black General Manager, at the then Electricity Supply Commission (ESC), he advanced the establishment of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA). This led to the realisation of key national objectives in the post independence Zimbabwe, with regards to the expansion of the energy sector, such as access to power for more communities, in growth points and rural areas.
“He superintended over the construction of Hwange Power Station stages 1 and 2. The project added 600 Megawatts to the national grid, the Main 330KV Transmission System as well as Regional Interconnectors. The Rural Electrification Programme was also initiated under his leadership,” said the President, adding that Dr Gata also worked for the revival and expansion of the country’ power generation and distribution capacity which resulted in the completion of Hwange units 7 and 8.
The late National Hero was also a great advocate of renewable energy who always emphasized the importance of gradually transitioning the country’s energy mix from fossil fuels, according to H.E President Mnangagwa.
As an educationist, he also played an important role in the education sector.
“He was part of the core team which coordinated the establishment of the National Training Centre and polytechnics countrywide.
“Thus, after independence, he returned home and taught in the faculty of Engineering at the University of Zimbabwe. He was indeed an engineer par excellence, as well as an educationist and practitioner,” the President highlighted.
At the time of his passing, he held the position of ZESA Executive Chairman, having previously occupied several other notable positions both in the country and the region.
Just a week before his passing, he was honored for his immense contributions to the energy discourse in the region by the Southern African Power Pool during the organization’s 30th anniversary commemorations.
