ZESA Makes Leadership Changes After Scrapping Executive Chairman Role

Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) has made a major change in its leadership structure by scrapping the executive chairman position and replacing it with a board chairman position following the death of Executive Chairman Dr. Sydney Gata on 3 July 2025.

It has since appointed Albert Joel Nduna as an interim board chairman, and as part of the structural shift, the role (Executive Chairman) has now been officially dissolved.

This move likely aims to separate the executive functions from the oversight functions of the board, a common governance practice to enhance transparency and accountability.
Additionally, veteran engineer Cletus Nyachowe has been appointed as acting Chief Executive Officer, effective 17 July.

Nyachowe holds a BSc Honours degree in Electronic and Electrical Engineering (1985–1988) and an MBA (1999–2001), both from the University of Zimbabwe. He previously served as the chief executive of Powertel, a key ZESA subsidiary.

In a communication to staff, ZESA’s Executive Director for Human Capital, Fortune Sambo, expressed confidence in the new leadership.

“Nduna and Engineer Nyachowe bring decades of corporate and sectoral expertise. Their leadership will be invaluable as we continue to pursue the government’s vision of achieving total electrification and universal access to power and data by 2030,” he said.