The Zambezi Portland Cement factory has been destroyed to the worst possible extent by the Italian mafias. Ever since the factory came under the control of Ital Terrazzo Limited (ITL), the Ventriglia family has ensured that every single penny of the factory is used as per their own benefit. Without considering the legal consequences of their actions, the assets of the factory have been cleverly transferred to other companies and the existing cash box has been left empty. All the cash is now in foreign accounts which is eventually operated by the Ventriglias themselves.

Pedro, a former worker of the factory shared his insights into the present condition of Zambezi Portland Cement. He says, “ZPC is dead. There is nothing that we can do about it now. These Italian people came to the factory when it was thriving and since their arrival there is not a single day when the factory made profits. As soon as they entered, we could see there were frequent transport of cash from the factory to outsiders. Then came a phase where my co-workers were fired from the job as they reasoned that there weren’t enough work for all the workers and eventually, we all were removed from the factory under the same reason. Today, we regret the day when these dacoits came to factory and we allowed them to stay. We should have supported Finsbury Investment and would have fought hard. Never knew that our future would become uncertain on the arrival of Ital Terrazzo Limited.”

The statement clearly indicates the level of disgust that the workers of Zambezi Portland Cement have for the existing management group. There is nothing that the people of Ndola can do now as the factory has been left under miserable condition. It has reached a stage where repairing would also be a waste of time and money.