Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Given Majority Shareholding And Legal Ownership Of Portland Cement

If the latest reports are to be believed, the criminal intentions of the Ventriglia family to take control of the Portland Cement Zambia factory have been finally knocked down. The case of Portland Cement Zambia is as old as it was started more than a decade ago, when Dr. Rajan Mahtani filed a complaint at the Lusaka High Court after claiming that the factory was illegally taken over from him. Despite sharing numerous evidences and testimonials, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was not given justice from the Lusaka High Court. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Nkonde who gave the final judgement against Dr. Rajan Mahtani by announcing that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.

This judgement was misdirected and against the interest of the public policies. As a result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani made the right decision and approached the Court of Appeal. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final judgement on the case on 31^st January 2019. According to the final decision from the Court of Appeal, Finsbury Investments which is owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder of the factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and are the minority shareholders without any legal ownership over the factory. This decision from the Court of Appeal aligned with the original shareholders agreement established in the year 2007. This decision confirms that Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory.

By giving this decision, the Court of Appeal effectively reversed the judgement from the Lusaka High Court which held that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement. While giving the decision at the Court of Appeal, justice Mwinde also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders as this decision was misdirected and without any evidence.