
I never imagined I would write this tribute so soon. The passing of Sydney Zikuzo Gata, one of Zimbabwe’s most iconic energy leaders, has left me personally shaken and professionally humbled. His departure marks not only the end of an era, but the passing of a torch. A torch many of us in the engineering and energy space must now carry forward with even more purpose, clarity, and courage.
This is not just a tribute to a man who led Zesa and inspired a nation. This is personal. Gata helped shape the engineer — and leader — I have become.
The first time I heard his name
I was a young engineering student the first time I heard the name Sydney Gata. At the time, all I knew was that he was a man of extraordinary intellect, who had once stood at the helm of Zimbabwe’s entire energy system.
I remember asking my professor: “Is it true he led Zesa during the most difficult post-independence years?” The answer was simple, but profound: “Not only did he lead, he built the foundation.”
That one sentence became a lodestar for me. I told myself: If he did it when the system was raw, we can rebuild it now that it’s wounded.
I began to study his career — not just the high-level decisions, but the way he thought. His speeches, his approach to electrification, and most of all, his refusal to surrender to the narrative that Zimbabwe couldn’t power itself.
Vision beyond wires
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What always fascinated me was that Gata didn’t view electricity as a utility. He saw it as dignity. He often said that the measure of a nation’s development is how it empowers its most remote citizens. He believed electricity wasn’t just about lights, machines, or economic performance. It was about what it did for people — what it meant for the girl who could finally study at night, the clinic that could keep vaccines cold, or the small farmer who could irrigate his field and feed his family.
As the founder and CEO of Power Giants Private Limited, an EPC company specialising in high-voltage generation, I’ve drawn deeply from that vision.
Today, as we install solar farms, refurbish substations, or work on transmission lines in rural and urban Zimbabwe, I always ask: What would this project mean to Gata? Would it move the nation forward or just check a box?
His work taught me that every wire must carry more than voltage — it must carry purpose.
From engineer to statesman
Gata began as an engineer, but over the decades he became something more — a statesman of energy. His technical mind was formidable, but his leadership in navigating institutional decay, political transitions, funding droughts, and public pressure made him a titan in his own right.
He returned to Zesa during one of the darkest periods of our power crisis, and whether people agreed with all his methods or not, he stepped up when others stepped back. That’s leadership. Not perfection — but presence, conviction, and accountability.
He was a man of strong opinions, and that came with its challenges. But if you truly understood his heart, you knew one thing: he was deeply patriotic. Everything he did — whether on a podium, at a power plant, or in a Cabinet meeting — he did for Zimbabwe.
Mentorship from afar
Although I was not directly mentored by him in a formal sense, his leadership mentored me from a distance. I watched how he navigated hostile environments. I studied how he approached regional cooperation and IPP development. I admired his capacity to blend science and diplomacy.
And one day, I had the privilege of speaking with him. It was brief, but in that conversation, he told me something I will never forget:“You young engineers must not just build infrastructure—you must build institutions. Don’t just connect power to the grid—connect it to the future.”
That was Dr Sydney Gata. Every word came with weight.
An inspiration that crossed borders
His legacy is not confined to Zimbabwe’s borders. From Sadc energy forums to international summits, his presence was commanding. He believed Zimbabwe had the intellectual and technical capacity to be a regional energy giant. He fought to have us taken seriously on the global stage, and in doing so, he paved the way for companies like mine to form cross-border partnerships.
He always said: “Africa’s greatest export should not be raw minerals, but refined knowledge.”
That line has stayed with me. It reminds me why Power Giants invests heavily in local engineering talent. Because real transformation begins when we trust ourselves to build, design, and lead.
A legacy we must build upon
Today, we mourn a man who gave his life to public service, but mourning alone is not enough. We must build upon his legacy.
Let us commit to:
Finishing the grid he helped design, through modernised, decentralised, and smart infrastructure.
Expanding renewable energy access, not as a luxury, but as a right.
Training young engineers, not just in technical skills, but in ethics, resilience, and nation-building.
Strengthening public-private partnerships, where government provides vision and policy, and the private sector delivers performance and innovation.
In honouring Gata, we must now ask: What kind of Zimbabwe are we building, and who will carry the wires of hope into tomorrow?
Final words: Rest in power, our father of light
To Gata’s family — your father was more than a leader; he was a lighthouse. May you be comforted by the knowledge that his life inspired thousands.
To the Zesa family — your loss is deep, but so is your responsibility. May his memory strengthen your resolve.
And to my fellow engineers, innovators, dreamers: let us light Zimbabwe not only with energy, but with character, vision, and unity.
Rest in power, Sydney Zikuzo Gata. Your light will never be switched off.
*Dr. Eng. Edzai Kachirekwa is the CEO of Power Giants Private Limited Zimbabwe, an EPC firm pioneering high-voltage and renewable energy infrastructure across Africa.