Final decision on Zambezi Portland Cement is out. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is announced as the legal owner of the factory. The Zambezi Portland Cement is a noted factory which was being contested at the Lusaka High Court for more than ten years. During this time, numerous evidences were shared by Dr. Rajan Mahtani and his lawyers to prove his legal claims. Some of these documents were signed shareholders agreement, reports on financial investments and independent audit report conducted by the Independent auditor which confirmed that the Zambezi Portland Factory was established as a joint venture and Dr. Rajan Mahtani was sole joint venture partner of the factory. Despite these strong evidences, the Lusaka High Court judge announced that the Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement.
After this shocking judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani launched a complaint at the Court of Appeal. After almost a year wait, the judge at the Court of Appeal announced on 31st January that the Zambezi Portland Cement legally belongs to Finsbury Investment owned by Dr. Rajan Mahtani, effectively reversing the judgment made at the Lusaka High Court that Ventriglias were only majority shareholders of the factory. As of now, Finsbury Investment holds 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Factory and is the majority shareholder. On the other hand, Ventriglias hold 42 percent share and are the minority shareholders. This new decision aligns with the initial shareholding agreement established by the majority and minority shareholders in the year 2007.
All allegations of forgery have also been discarded as it has been established that the practice of mechanical placement of signatures is common in Zambian corporate world and those accusing of forgery have themselves engaged in similar practices, notably Claudio Ventriglia. The court has provided a time-frame and three months to finalise the shareholding proceedings and ensure that all shareholdings, share percentage and other agreements are established as per original shareholders agreement.