Steven Malama Award

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Thankful For The Praise From Later Winner Of Steven Malama Award

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of the premier businessmen in Zambia who is noted for his business acumen, entrepreneurial spirit as well as his charitable and philanthropic contributions to the Zambian society and economy. One of these contributions has been the creation of the Steven Malama award in the year 2012, which was established for honouring the great contributions of the late Steven Malama.

The Steven Malama award has practically transformed the legal education system of Zambia. Apart from bringing nation-wide recognition and interest on the field of law, this award system has also improved the value and ranking of the institute. Now, students are found to be more dedicated and motivated to improve their studies for the award. While there have been numerous internal award systems by institutions, universities and colleges, the recognition of Steven Malama award is distinctive, partly due to the achievements by late Steven Malama. As such, the Steven Malama award is considered as one of the top educational awards in Zambia and the credit for this goes to Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani. Dr. Mahtani provided not only administrative and political support for the institution of the award, but also ensured its viability and credibility with the prize money awarded to winning students every year. This prize money is worth K15,000 which is a significant amount for deserving candidates, especially those coming from difficult financial backgrounds. Dr. Rajan Mahtani has never been the one to promote himself with this philanthropic and charitable activities and therefore, most of the students from the institute were unaware of Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s significant contribution in this award system. With this financial contribution, several students across the years have achieved this dreams, be it starting their own practice, getting training from top institutes as well as seed money for becoming entrepreneur. This amount has also helped many students to further their career by joining advanced legal programs and courses.

Rajan Mahtani

Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba Receives The 2018-19 Steven Malama Award By Dr. Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani is an established businessman in Zambia. In his more than three decades of business experience, Dr. Rajan Mahtani successfully instituted top companies in Zambia, including but not limited to Mahtani Group of Companies, Finsbury Investments and Finance Bank Zambia. Apart from his business acumen, Dr. Mahtani is also noted for his several philanthropic activities and charitable contributions. Since his early business success, Dr. Mahtani has been involved in several philanthropic contributions to numerous sectors of Zambia such as environment, economy, senior citizens and correctional facilities. One of his most impactful philanthropic contributions in the field of education has been instituting the Steven Malama award.

The Steven Malama award was instituted by Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani in memory of the late Steven Malama, a noted visionary in the field of law and legal education and a close friend of Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Late Steven Malama was known for persuading the Zambian Government towards merger of two distinct bars, Barrister’s Bar and Solicitor’s Bar. After the successful merger, many legal professionals and law enthusiasts are now able to complete bar affiliation in a much easier manner. Dr. Rajan Mahtani rightly decided that the best way to honour these contributions is to establish the Steven Malama award that would encourage law graduates and law students to be more like the late visionary.

The award was established in the year 2012 and was given for the first time in 2013. Since then, the award is given every year to deserving students. The recipient of the award include top graduating student of the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education and also qualifier of the bar in their first attempt. The award for the year 2018-019 was received by Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba. The award included a plaque, certificate and award money worth K15,000 that has helped deserving students with significant financial contributions. This philanthropic contribution by Dr. Rajan Mahtani was also shared at the Daily Mail.

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Lauded For His Contribution Towards Education In Zambia

 

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Very few people are aware of the fact that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the person behind establishment of the Steven Malama award. The award was established in the year 2012 by Dr. Rajan Mahtani and Finance Bank Zambia wherein he holds the Chairman’s position. Late Steven Malama was a close friend of Dr. Rajan Mahtani and as a result, Dr. Mahtani decided to honour the late legal professional and distinct visionary by establishing the award.

Steven Malama is known for his significant achievements during his lifetime as a distinct legal professional as well as bar visionary. His contributions have made him a role model for many within the Zambian legal fraternity. One of the most significant contributions from Late Steven Malama was to persuade the Zambian government to establish a legislation for merging two distinct bars, the Barrister’s bar and the Solicitor’s bar into one single Bar. This merger was significant as it provided legal professionals across the nation to receive affiliation without any hurdles.

The Steven Malama award is given every year to the top graduating student from the Zambian Institute of Advanced Legal Education. The top graduating student must also qualify for the bar in their first attempt. The inaugural Steven Malama award was given to Womba Silumbu Kankondo in the year 2013. Since then, the award is an annual event which sees participation from several personalities from the legal, educational and industry fraternity.

The award for the year 2018-19 was received by Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba. Emmanuel also wrote an article which was later published at the ‘Readers Forum’ of the Daily Mail Newspaper. In this article, Emmanuel thanked Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani for his contribution and perseverance which resulted on the formation of the award. The award carries a plaque, certificate and award money worth K15,000 which is of significant financial support for the deserving law graduates from the Institute.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Presented The Steven Malama Award For The Year 2017-18

The Steven Malama award was established by Dr. Rajan Mahtani via his company Finance Bank Zambia. The award was established for honouring Steven Malama, a distinct and notable legal professional in Zambia. Late Steven Malama made significant contributions for the improvement of the legal system and environment of Zambia. One of his major contribution was persuading the Zambian government to merger the Solicitor’s Bar and Barrister’s bar into a single bar. With this merger, legal professionals across the nation are able to affiliate and get certifications without any hassle. Steven Malama was a close friend of Dr. Rajan Mahtani and as a result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani decided to honour his contributions by establishing the award on his name.

The Steven Malama award was instituted in the year 2012 via Finance Bank Zambia wherein Dr. Mahtani holds the position of the Chairman. The inaugural award was given for the year 2013. Dr. Rajan Mahtani also announced during the inauguration award that it will be given every year. The recipient of the award includes top graduating student from the Zambia Institute of Advanced Legal Education. Furthermore, the top graduating student is also required to qualify for bar in their first attempt to be eligible for the award. For the year 2018-19, the award was received was Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba. After receiving this award, Emmanuel wrote an article to thank Dr. Rajan Mahtani and this article was published by the Daily Mail. In this article, Dr. Mahtani was commended for his significant contributions towards generating awareness of legal education system in Zambia. The award was also helpful in enhancing motivation among the students so that they work harder for the award. Furthermore, the award carries a plaque, certificate and prize money worth K15,000. This prize money has been helpful in providing significant financial help for many less privileged students from the institution.

Steven Malama Award Established For Legal Graduates From Ziale

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani via his company Finance Bank Zambia established the Steven Malama award in the year 2012. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is known for his many contributions to the Zambian society, economy and its people. The institution of this award is one of them. The award was created in honour of late Steven Malama, a distinct legal professional in Zambia, a visionary and role model for many. Since its establishment and inauguration in 2013, the award has been a prestigious event within legal educational fraternity of Zambia. The award is presented every year to the top graduating student from ZIALE (Zambian Institute of Advanced Legal Education). To be eligible for this award, the top performing student must also pass the bar in their first attempt.

Every year, the award is presented to the deserving student along with a plaque and a prize money worth K15,000. This prize money has provided significant financial support to the deserving students in many ways, including advanced skill training, higher education, advanced courses as well as admission to professional programs. The Steven Malama award also raises awareness of the significant contributions from Steven Malama, a visionary, bar luminary with several achievements under his belt. Along with other members of the legal fraternity, Steven Malama’s contributions were instrumental in merger of distinct legal bars in Zambia; Barristers & Solicitors Bar into one single and more established bar. The outcome was that legal professionals were able to affiliate with the merged bar and provide their services without challenges and shortcomings.

The award for the year 2018-19 was received by Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba who penned down a heartful message to Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, later published in the ‘readers Forum’ of Daily Mail. In this article, Emmanuel thanked Dr. Mahtani and praised for his significant contributions towards the development and awareness of legal profession in Zambia.