The case of Portland Cement Zambia is a prime example of how limitations and challenges of government can result in damage to an organisation. Portland Cement Zambia is a manufacturing factory in Zambia which was established by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, a noted businessman and philanthropist. The factory was illegally taken over and since then, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been fighting a case at the Lusaka High Court court. It has been almost ten years and no judgment has been made till now.
During this trial period, Dr. Rajan Mahtani and his lawyers submitted numerous documents and evidences to support his claim as the legal owner of the factory. While numerous critical documents were shared, some of the important documents were signed shareholder’s agreement, testimonials from important members of the cement factory, financial and investment exhibits which showcases investment of more than USD 12 million for the development of the factory. Another critical document shared was the independent audit report conducted by an independent auditor. This report indicated that the factory was established as a joint venture establishment and the Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the sole joint venture partner of the factory. These evidences were more than enough to prove that Dr. Mahtani is the sole joint venture owner of Portland Cement.
Few months bank, the judge overseeing the case made a positive announcement that case hearing was closed. As per this announcement, both parties were requested to share their evidences and based on these evidences, final judgment was to be made. While it was extremely positive news for Dr. Mahtani as evidences were pointing in his direction, the final announcement was surprising to say the least.
The judgment was given against Dr. Mahtani’s claims and it was clear that all evidences and testimonials were ignored by the judge. Considering this as a case of misdirected judgment, Dr. Mahtani has now appealed to the higher court of appeal in Zambia.
