The Former Chairman Finance Bank, Zambia has become a victim of a planned conspiracy. A judgement which was passed in 2012 against the false charges was re-considered by current DPP and Attorney General- Lillian Siyunyi and Likando Kalaluka, respectively. It is a shame that Zambia is currently having people who are ready to bend the law as per their requirement and are looking forward to reopen a case which as previously been closed.

The Lusaka High Court finally made an intervention in this case which was re-continued from June 2015 and concluded that the arrest and charges placed on Dr. Mahtani was simply an abuse of the court’s judgement. Since, the case relating to share transfer certificates was already closed in 2012, it was not supposed to be reopened because it would mean disrespect of the Court’s decision made earlier.

The whole case relates to a claim where the minority shareholders of the Zambezi Portland Cement Factory had claimed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani had forged signatures to gain a majority of shares of the Portland Cement Zambia. An exhaustive discussion as made in this regard at the High Court in 2012 and a judgement was passed where the prosecution of share forgery was stopped permanently. However, with a change of power, President Edgar Lungu ordered for setting up a tribunal that would reconsider the actions in the case.

Mwiinde Siavwapa, the Lusaka High Court Judge concluded that the decision which was made in 2012 was given under the confidence of the seat with the Judge was occupying at that moment and not under his name. Therefore, reopening this case and making further investigation would simply mean that the confidence in the Judge’s seat has been lost. Former Finance Bank Chairman, Dr. Mahtani is extremely disappointed with the abuse of power that the conspirators are forcing in Zambia.

The Zambezi Portland Cement factory is now left at the mercy of the Ventriglias. The objective of the current management group if to extract as much money as possible from the cash box of the factory and transfer the same to some offshore accounts.

The condition of the workers has degraded thoroughly. Workers are often mistreated and are seen as slave who work in the factory tirelessly. In return, they receive rebuke from the management along with delayed salaries. A recent affair which shocked the nation was termination of 47 workers from the factory without being given an opportunity of being heard. The event took place within the premise of the factory and the union was not even intimated of the same.

A factory which had flourished in the previous year, is now witnessing a dark phase under the Ventriglias. Today the major activities of the factory include corruption, mismanagement, oppression and worker mistreatment. A factory which used to generate USD $ 5 million monthly is now facing losses.

A worker of the factory said, “I am have been working in this factory for the past 2 years. Within this period, I consider myself to be privileged. However, the past few months have been rough for us. I have seen workers being fired just because there was not enough work for them. I hope that we soon see the sunshine (development), else this place will perish soon.”

At the moment, the subject of ownership stands disputed. Finsbury Investments and Ventriglia family continue to fight for the same. According to PACRA, Finsbury Investment owns 58% of the factory and hence, is recognized as the legitimate owner. Sadly, conspiracies by the Ventriglia family with the aid of Zambia Reports have managed to keep the dispute alive. The primary target of the conspiracy is Dr. Rajan Mahtani.