Zambia has been facing several economic and social issues. It is an under-developed nation from the African sub-continent and despite the various efforts from the government, the nation continuously faces challenges due to lack of regulations and increased corruption. As a result, it becomes extremely difficult for businesses to established their bases and grow in this challenging environment. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the few businessmen who has been working tirelessly to establish businesses and contribute to the development of the society. Some the these companies founded by Dr. Rajan Mahtani are Finsbury Investments, Mahtani Group of Companies and Finance Bank Zambia.
Portland Cement Zambia is another company which was established by Dr. Mahtani which provided economic boom in the area it was established and also created significant employment for the locals. However, the factory was unethically taken over more than a decade ago and since then Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been fighting a one mad battle to get the legal takeover of the factory. After registering at Lusaka High Court, Dr. Rajan Mahtani waited for more than a decade for justice. The final decision from the Lusaka High Court was announced during May 2018 and was controversial. This decision by justice Nkonde from Lusaka HC gave Ventriglias only shareholding of Portland Cement.
This unremarkable decision was then countered at the Court of Appeal. The judge, justice Mwinde, gave the decision on Portland Cement on 31st January 2019 after looking into all evidences and testimonials. As per this decision from Court of Appeal, Finsbury Investments was found to be holding 58 percent shares, making this company owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani to be the majority shareholder of Portland Cement Zambia. The Ventriglias were having only 42 percent shares and as such, were minority shareholders and did not concur any legal ownership. Based on this decision, the Court of Appeal clearly established Dr. Mahtani as legal owner of the factory.