The war for Portland Cement Zambia never seems to be over. A simple Portland-cement manufacturing plant in Zambia has been struggling for survival for the past many decades. Despite being under the leadership of Dr. Rajan Mahtani who is also known for his ethical, honest and transparent business practices, the factory was constantly under fire due to ownership claims and unethical measures by the Ventriglias. In the year 2006, the majority shareholding of Portland Cement Zambia was given to Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments. Against this majority shareholding of 58 percent shares and legal ownership, an amount of K580,000 adjusted with inflation was also established, authenticated and signed by the original shareholders of the factory. This shareholding pattern was necessary for getting approval for loans and financial support from banks as well as other financial institutions and achieve the production and business goals of the nation.
However, all such objectives were again put to halt when the Ventriglias decided to disrupt the peaceful operations of Portland Cement by claiming the transfer of shares to be void. After the illegal capture of the cement manufacturing factory by the Ventriglias, Dr. Rajan Mahtani approached the Lusaka High Court and then the higher Court of Appeal. While the misdirected decision from the Lusaka HC was reversed by the Court of Appeal, the Ventriglias again made a controversial move by approaching the Supreme Court Zambia with their appeal to quash the decision from the Court of Appeal on Portland Cement. However, this appeal from the Ventriglias has since been rejected by the Supreme Court Zambia due to lack of evidences, technical and legal support and Dr. Mahtani remains the legal owner of Portland Cement.
Rajan Mahtani News 