The professional family of Mr. Marcel ZADI KESSY did organize on Thursday, January 28, a ceremony to pay tribute to the man who devoted a good part of his life to the development of the water and electricity sector in Côte d'Ivoire.

This ceremony took place on SODECI-CIE’s headquarters esplanade, in presence of several officials, namely Hon. Laurent TCHAGBA, Minister of Hydraulics, and Hon.  Ms. Anne Désirée OULOTTO, Minister of Health, Environment and Development.

Many other Ivorian high-ranking personalities participated in this solemn ceremony around the mortal remains of Mr. ZADI who was praised by all for his hard work, integrity and altruism in regard of his noble causes.

 AfWA’s Executive Director, Mr. Sylvain USHER who spoke on behalf of the Pan-African Association, for his part, bowed down before '' this great visionary who wanted to create cooperation between water and sanitation operators, because like a seer, he had already glimpsed the challenges of access to water on the continent, and the difficulties that would be faced by drinking water suppliers to provide quality services to the population. Mr. ZADI had also seen how Utilities could help each other to improve their performance, without having a considerable impact on their budgets. He therefore, with his peers from other African countries, created the African Union of Water Distributors in 1980''. He is the Nostradamus of our time," said AfWA’s Executive Director, who was also pleased to have been able to pay tribute to this founder, at the occasion of AfWA’s 40^th anniversary celebration in Kampala -Uganda, during the 20th Congress in February 2020.  

Mr. Usher also recalled the deceased's attachment to the gender dimension, another of his visions of the time that is being realized today. President Zadi has always believed in the competence of women, so that wherever he has gone, he has worked to give value to women, to propel them to the ranks they deserve''. He said.

To dwell on the qualities of President Zadi, continued Mr. Sylvain Usher, would lead us to spend many days here. There is so much to say about him. Then, in a voice full of emotion, he addressed the deceased in these terms: ''Your passing reminds us, as if it were obvious, that we are ultimately very few things, and that we must take advantage of every second, every minute here below ... We are all happy to have known you. We are all proud to have been part of your life. It has been a great honor to have worked with you, to have learned from you, you who knew how to do so much with so little, you who knew how to cultivate love and friendship''. Finally, as if to commit himself to the perpetuation of his works, he concluded his speech with this quote from the French philosopher and writer, Jean d'Ormesson, ''The dead live, as long as only one living person still carries them in his heart''; and I can say with certainty that there is much more than one living person who carries you in his heart.

Died on October 13, 2020, President Marcel ZADI KESSY was buried on Saturday, January 30 in Yacolidabouo, his home village.