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Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority executive chairman died last night.
He was 79.
He was admitted to a private hospital in Harare on Monday complaining of chest pains.
“He sadly passed away late on Thursday night,” a family friend confirmed and ZESA said it would be issuing a statement on today.
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 utili
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