The year 2020 has not been great. Perhaps, it can be said that the year has been the worst in the past 100 years due to the ongoing global pandemic that has not only claimed millions of life but has brought the global economy to a standstill. Almost every nation across this globe has suffered and Zambia could not escape this pandemic. While the blow has not been as severe as some of the more developed nations, it still resulted in significant loss of life and life savings for many. In terms of businesses too, many companies suffered due to economic volatility and loss of international trade. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is a noted businessman and philanthropist in Zambia with several successful businesses such as Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Portland Cement Zambia. Even he faced issues due to this global pandemic which resulted in loss of revenues and profitability for his organizations and ventures.
However, one of the positive aspects which happened to Dr. Rajan Mahtani during the later part of the year was a surprise move from his arch enemies the Ventriglias. It is a known fact that Dr. Rajan Mahtani, who now owns the Portland Cement Zambia factory, fought for the legal ownership of the factory for more than a decade. First it was Lusaka High Court given a misdirected decision, then higher Court of Appeal reversing the decision from the higher Court of Appeal and giving majority shareholding and legal ownership to Dr. Rajan Mahtani. After more than a year of the Court of Appeal decision, the Ventriglias approached the Supreme Court with a new claim challenging the Court of Appeal’s decision. However, the Supreme Court Zambia effectively rejected this appeal as according to law any appeal against a previous court decision must be made within 14 days of the judgement. Since the Ventriglias were more than a year late, the Supreme Court Zambia rejected their appeal and announced that the factory belongs to Dr. Rajan Mahtani only.
