Home

The fate of Zambezi Portland Cement is still unclear and rightful owners take action

When Zambezi Portland Cement was launched, there was only one big cement manufacturing company. The establishment of this factory not only dissolved the monopoly within the cement industry but also provided relief to common people who had to buy cement for extremely high prices due to this monopoly. After its establishment, Zambezi Portland Cement quickly became one of the biggest producers of cement within Zambia, thanks to the charismatic leadership and ownership of Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. Dr. Mahtani launched the factory with the objective of providing good quality and affordable cement to the common citizens. At the same time, his was able to provide employment as well as career opportunities to several employees. During the time when Dr. Rajan Mahtani successfully carried out his leadership, the factory flourished and gave surplus production. This surplus production and the resultant profitability came back to the employees in the form of above industry average salaries and wages. The cement factory quickly became a preferred supplier for not only domestic demands, but also for international supplies especially to neighboring countries.

However, everything changes after the factory was illegally taken over from Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Even though Dr. Mahtani registered a complaint and case at the Lusaka High Court regarding this illegal takeover, claims were made that Dr. Mahtani was not the actual owner of the factory. To refute these claims, Dr. Mahtani’s lawyers submitted numerous evidences such as signed shareholder’s agreement, financial reports and auditor’s report which were sufficient enough to prove his worthy claim over the factory. Even after these evidences, the final judgment was given against the claims made by Dr. Rajan Mahtani.

While Dr. Mahtani has launched another appeal to the ‘higher court of Zambia’ against the judgment at the Lusaka High Court, the fate of the Zambezi Portland Factory hangs in balance we only hope that the factory gets its deserving leadership and fate.