Tributes pour in after Patel’s death

Dar es Salaam. Business leaders, organisations and government officials paid tribute to Tanzanian tycoon Subhash Patel, who died on Monday night at the age of 62.

Details about the cause of the death of a prominent leader within Tanzania and East Africa’s business community were scanty but The Citizen understands that he had been unwell for some time.

He died at his home in Dar es Salaam where medical doctors have been attending to him.

He was the founder and managing director of Motisun Group of Companies which is a multimillion-dollar business that straddles the Tanzanian manufacturing sector.

“Mr Patel was known for his exceptional business, charitable and religious leadership, philanthropy and social work,” reads in part the statement issued by the management of the Motisun Group of companies.

The statement went further expounding that the deceased would always be remembered for his benevolence and enormous contribution to the growth of community and nation at large.

People will pay their last respects on Thursday (tomorrow) at Makumbusho Hindu Cremation site, Kijitonyama at 2pm, according to the statement.

Mr Patel was also the Chairman of the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI).

CEO RoundTable Chairman Sanjay Rughani said Mr Patel was a courageous and very distinguished businessman who also contributed well to the development of the nation.

Mr Rughani who doubles as the Standard Chartered Bank CEO said the deceased impacted and inspired many youth, leaders and community members.

“He stood as a firm pillar to the private sector struggles and growth over decades in Tanzania and will be significantly missed,” he noted.

“It is with a deep sense of regret that we have received sad news of the loss of our friend Subhash Patel.

“In this moment of great sorrow our thoughts go out to his family, friends and staff of his companies and the various other organizations he represented.”

The Tanzania Private Sector Foundation (TPSF) was deeply saddened by the news of the demise of Mr Patel, who was the member of TPSF’s Board of Directors.

“Patel left us when we needed him the most as we strive to strengthen the private sector as the engine of the economy and prosperity,” stated the private sector body. The former TPSF executive director Godfrey Simbeye said Mr Patel was a “visionary and one of the pillars of the country’s economy.

“I knew Subhash Patel for many years for him being a really entrepreneur. He believed in entrepreneurship. The country has lost one of the greatest entrepreneurs in the country,” he said.

Mr Simbeye worked closely with Mr Patel after the latter joined the TPSF board of directors in August 2018 as a representative of industrialists.

“The private sector has lost an entrepreneur, the country has lost an entrepreneur as a person who believed that entrepreneurship is the best thing to do in the country,” he said.

“He was a very humble guy. He used to like jokes before starting meetings on the board. He used to be liked by almost everybody on the board because he was never angry.”

He also described the deceased as a giver, saying he donated so many things to so many people.

Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said Mr Patel had made an immense contribution to the development of the manufacturing sector.

“He was a friend of people from all walks of life. He was helping both rich and poor. He was charming too,” said the premier in a statement availed to The Citizen.

“The nation has lost one of its patriots. May God rest his soul in eternal peace.”

The former CTI chairman, Dr Samuel Nyantahe, recognised Mr Patel’s amazing journey as a true industrialist, respected business leader, and generous philanthropist who used to help a lot of people without talking too much about it.

“The nation has lost the man who made a legacy in the fields of business and entrepreneurship,” noted Dr Nyantahe.

Patel started his entrepreneurial life as a shopkeeper in his father’s shop and later on as a trader selling spices.

He gradually moved into the automobile business and later into manufacturing.

Subhash Patel’s Motisun Group has interests in steel, cement, mining, plastics, paints, beverages, hospitality and in real estate development, working in Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Mozambique and Ghana.

Motisun Group’s MM Integrated Steel Mills Limited is a fast growing multinational and a leading manufacturer of cold rolling sheets, structural steel products and galvanized /aluzinc roofing sheets in east and southern Africa. The group’s Kiboko paints and plastics are a household name in Tanzania and beyond while in Cement, Motisun established the Mamba Cement Company Limited in partnership with other partners. The cement plant – proposed to be located at Tarawanda village, in Bagamoyo district some 110 kilometers away from Dar es Salaam – was estimated to have a capacity of one million tonnes of clinker suitable to produce both ordinary portland cement and portland limestone cement. The group had already acquired about 7000 acres of land with high grade limestone deposits exceeding 175 million tonnes suitable for manufacturing quality cement to satisfy the growing construction needs of Tanzania and its neighbouring countries.

In beverages, Motisun Group owns Sayona Drinks Limited which produces carbonated drinks, juices and packaged drinking water under the brands of Twist and Sayona. In hospitality, Motisun Group owns The White Sands Beach Resort, Sea Cliff Court Luxury Apartments, Sea Cliff Resort & SPA, Zanzibar and Sea Cliff Hotel in Dar es Salaam.

As the CTI chairman Mr Patel had just completed his first two-year term and yesterday the confederation was supposed to hold the Annual General Meeting (AGM) that would give him blessings to lead the other two years, according to the credible source.

However, the AGM had to be put on hold until further notice, to pave a way for the members to mourn Mr Patel.