ZESA Holdings Appoints Interim Leadership Following Chairman’s Passing
HARARE – State-owned power utility ZESA Holdings has announced interim leadership changes following the recent death of its executive chairman, Sydney Gata. albert Joel Nduna, the vice chairman, will assume the role of interim board chairman, while veteran engineer Cletus Nyachowe has been appointed acting group chief executive officer.These appointments come as ZESA Holdings,now under the purview of the Mutapa Investment Fund,embarks on a rebundling process. This restructuring will see the abolition of the executive chairman position, with the company transitioning to a structure with a distinct chairman and CEO.
Engineer Nyachowe, an electrical engineer with an MBA from the University of Zimbabwe, officially took on the interim CEO role on July 17th. His extensive career at ZESA, which began in 1988, includes leadership positions at Powertel Communications, the nation’s first data-focused telecommunications provider. He has also held senior operational roles in grid asset management, group operations, and international business development. Furthermore, nyachowe has provided consultancy services for significant renewable energy projects across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and currently serves as a non-executive director on the board of the Procurement Regulatory authority of Zimbabwe.
Nduna, a seasoned business executive with over 35 years of experience in senior management, currently chairs the Insurance and Pensions Commission and holds non-executive director positions on several othre boards.
In a interaction to staff, Fortune Sambo, executive director for human capital, expressed confidence in the appointees, stating, “Nduna and Engineer Nyachowe bring decades of corporate and sectoral expertise. Their leadership will be invaluable as we continue to advance the government’s aspirations of achieving total electrification and universal access to power and data by 2030.”
Sydney Gata’s tenure as executive chairman saw efforts to expand generation capacity, tho power outages have continued to be a challenge. The newly appointed interim leaders are tasked with maintaining progress on critical projects, including upgrades to the national transmission infrastructure and various public-private partnership initiatives.
The search for permanent successors to these key leadership roles is reportedly underway, with further announcements anticipated in the coming months.