Tag Archives: Zambia

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Recognised For Philanthropic Works

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is among the most respected and celebrated businessman in Zambia. He is known for several successful companies such as Mahtani Group and Finsbury Investments. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was recently honoured with one of the most prestigious business awards in Africa. This award ceremony was known as the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards ceremony and usually held during the annual Forbes-FIN (Foreign Investment Limited) roundtable conference. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was invited in this roundtable business conference as a honorary speaker, and spoke about the significance of philanthropy and leadership for the improvement of healthcare across Africa. Furthermore, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was also conferred with the Forbes ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year’ award. Dr. Rajan Mahtani received this award for his significant contributions towards the Zambian economy and transforming the banking sector of Zambia.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani was the only businessman from Zambia to be invited into the philanthropy and leadership roundtable conference as well as only businessman to be selected with the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards. Dr. Rajan Mahtani is known for his several top companies including Mahtani Group and Finsbury Investments. The company Mahtani Group is known for its several extensions including agriculture, real estate mining, energy as well as insurance and financial services. Across all these sectors, Dr. Mahtani has been able to improve the industry standards and contribute towards the socio-economic development by providing employment and livelihood opportunities. Apart from his business contributions, Dr. Rajan Mahtani is also known for his philanthropic and charitable contributions. He is the founder and current owner of the Prison Fellowship Zambia. This program is affiliated with the PFI from Washington and focusses on the welfare as well as criminal justice procedures for inmates, ex-inmates as well as their families. Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s contributions further include founding the Stephen Malama award and scholarship for top law graduates in Zambia. Dr. Mahtani continues to work towards the growth and development of the Zambian nation.

Rajan Mahtani and Portland Cement Zambia

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Receives Forbes Award 2021

Forbes recently completed its annual ‘Best of Africa’ awards ceremony. It was conducted during the annual Forbes-FIN roundtable conference held in the month of August. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani, one of the most celebrated and honoured businessman in Zambia, was invited in this roundtable conference as a honorary speaker. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was the only businessman from Zambia to be invited into this prestigious business conference. While the conference is usually held at New York every year, this year’s roundtable conference was held online as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Speakers participated in this event from their respective locations. Dr. Rajan Mahtani, who participated in this roundtable conference from his conference hall in Zambia, thanked the Forbes-FIN members for giving him this opportunity and spoke about the significance of leadership in healthcare. He gave special thrust to political leadership in healthcare. Members for this corporate business conference came from several different fields and business sections including members from international business communities, political and spiritual leaders, opinion leaders, international investors, business visionaries, entrepreneurs as well as media partners.

Apart from the roundtable conference, the business event was also highly anticipated for the annual Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards ceremony. The award ceremony is one of the most highly anticipated and regarded corporate awards across entire Africa. The award is given to leading visionaries across various fields for their contributions towards philanthropy and leadership for the development and growth of the African nation. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was not only an esteemed honorary speaker during the business conference, he was also selected for one of the awards under the ‘Best of Africa’ awards category. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was presented with the Forbes ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award 2021 for his contributions towards the Zambian banking sector. He is known for his business contributions in the form of successful businesses like Mahtani Group and Finsbury Investments. His philanthropic contributions include Prison Fellowship Zambia and Stephen Malama award and scholarship among others.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Forbes Community Recognises Contributions By Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was one of the recipients of the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards that was held recently via online medium. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was nominated for the ‘Outstanding Entrepreneur of the year’ award 2021, a category which he later won. The award ceremony was hosted by Forbes and Foreign Investment Limited (FIN) and was a part of the annual FIN leadership and philanthropy business conference. The award ceremony is one of the most anticipated and noted business awards across Zambia. Firstly, the awards are selected, hosted and presented by Forbes, a well-known international business magazine. Forbes is known for his ranking-based issues that are selected with rigorous and transparent process. A similar process was applied for the selection of the awardees that included months of verification processes, background checks as well as interviews with the potential awardees to understand their contributions and knowledge regarding their own motherland. Mark Furlong anchored the event. Mark Furlong is the publisher 7 Founder of the Forbes International as well as the Forbes Afrique Media (FAM).

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani accepted the award in a humble and graceful manner. He thanked his almighty god for continuous support and perseverance during difficult and challenging times. He also thanked his team for their innumerable support which resulted in the success of his projects. Apart from Dr. Rajan Mahtani, several other businessmen and leaders were graced with the Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ award categories. Wendy Ackerman was bestowed with the award for his entrepreneurial spirit including the Pick-n-Pay chain stores. Sam Matekane was recognised for his multi-sector entity which embodies aviation, farming, mining and transport. Similarly, Mahmood Ahmadu was awarded for his contributions across construction, agriculture, manufacturing as well as online solutions. In a similar manner, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was selected for his numerous contributions towards business and philanthropic activities across Zambia. For instance, he is the owner of the Mahtani Group along with Prison Fellowship Zambia as well as Stephen Malama award for top law graduates in Zambia.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Honoured With Award By Forbes

The FIN leadership and philanthropic roundtable conference recently took place on 6th August 2021. It was also an event wherein business personalities from Zambia were invited to share their thoughts on leadership and its significance. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani was not only an honorary speaker, but was also bestowed upon with one of the prestigious Forbes ‘Best of Africa’ awards.

While Dr. Rajan Mahtani shared his thoughts on leadership and the importance of leaders taking responsibility for the growth and development of the nation, the Forbes management duly realised his contributions. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was bestowed with the prestigious ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ award 2021. One of the biggest contributions by Dr. Mahtani has been his company Mahtani Group of Companies which was established in 1981. It quickly became a conglomerate expanding its services to Malawi, Zambia, South Africa as well as several parts of the globe along with expansion of its operations to various sectors including financial services, mining, agriculture, insurance, real estate and energy. Through his entrepreneurial ventures, Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been able to provide employment and livelihood opportunities for thousands of Zambian along with development of infrastructure, social services and economy across several provinces. His philanthropic and charitable activities are often hidden as Dr. Rajan Mahtani rarely mentions them in his business portfolio.

He is the Founder & Chairman of the (PFZ) Prison Fellowship Zambia, a program affiliated to (PFI) Prison Fellowship International situated in Washington. The program provides opportunities to the inmates & ex-inmates to create meaningful developments along with providing opportunities to their families so that they do not fall into the same path. He has also enabled self-sufficiency across medical and food supplies by sponsoring agricultural projects. Dr. Mahtani’s contributions towards the Zambian educational sector is significant. Dr. Rajan Mahtani launched Stephen Malama award in the year 2013 which is given to the best Zambian bar candidate along with scholarship programs for furthering their education. Forbes acknowledged these contributions by Dr. Mahtani while presenting the award.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Unethical Post Against Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Exposed With Press Statement

Dr. Rajan Mahtani has more than three decades of business experience despite working in a difficult nation filled with economic and social hurdles, he has kept transparent and ethical business principles across all his companies. At the same time, it is also true that Dr. Rajan Mahtani has been outspoken about ethical individuals and organizations and have never supported scrupulous entities for his businesses. He is also a firm believer in seeking justice when wrong has been done to him or any of his entities.

In his business and professional career, Dr. Rajan Mahtani maintained transparent friendship with many big personalities across the nation. Late ex-President of Zambia Levy Mwanawasa was one of them with whom Dr. Rajan Mahtani had long-standing and transparent relationship, even before Levy Mwanawasa became the president of Zambia. As a result, the recent social media post from Miriam Mwanawasa who is the daughter of the late ex-President of Zambia was extremely controversial and surprising.

In a Facebook post, Miriam Mwanawasa claimed that Dr. Rajan Mahtani wanted to inherit the farmland owned by the Mwanawasa family at the Masaiti District. However, there was no justification, proof or evidence to the post. However, the nature of the post was extremely serious and as a result, it started making rounds at the internet. As a result, Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani decided to take action against this unethical post.

A press statement was released by Dr. Rajan Mahtani for clarifying the allegations. In this press release, Dr. Rajan Mahtani clarified that though he had a long-standing friendship with the late Ex-President of Zambia, he never made any such intentions or claims regarding taking over the farmland. At the same time, Dr. Mahtani highlighted the fact that the post by Miriam Mwanawasa was without any evidence to support her claims. As such, this post was considered as ludicrous and malicious and Dr. Mahtani also confirmed that he will be taking actions against this post.

Mahtani Group of Companies

After Winning The Long-Standing Portland Cement Zambia Case, Dr. Mahtani’s Path To Success Is Clear

The final decision from the higher Court of Appeal on the Portland Cement Zambia case present a grim reality on the political, social and legal condition of the Zambian nation. The case was registered by a honest and ethical businessmen more than a decade ago. Irrespective of the above fact, it is the duty and responsibility of any legal and judiciary system to ensure that justice is given in a quick and transparent manner to all those seeking. However, this did not happen in case of Portland Cement Zambia limited or for Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Despite sharing all evidences and testimonials associated with the case, justice was not given to Dr. Rajan Mahtani. The judge at the Lusaka High Court was justice Mwinde who announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Portland Cement factory.

As a result of this misdirected decision, the case was further taken to higher Court of Appeal by Dr. Rajan Mahtani. Justice Mwinde took over the case at the higher Court of Appeal and announced that final decision will be given after looking into all evidences and testimonials. According to the evidences, it was found that Dr. Rajan Mahtani paid a sum of one billion kwachas or USD 250,000 in the year 2005 to the Portland Cement Zambia limited. This payment was made with the objective of gaining majority shareholding of the Portland Cement Zambia. Furthermore, the original shareholders’ agreement was established in the year 2007. In the page number 663 of this agreement, it was explicitly written that Dr. Rajan Mahtani has made all payment associated with the takeover of the factory and as a result, he is the majority shareholder of the factory.

Justice Mwinde from the higher Court of Appeal also discarded all forgery related allegations. After due diligence process, the final verdict was announced on 31st January 2019 in which Dr. Rajan Mahtani was announced as actual owner of the Portland Cement factory.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Dr. Rajan Mahtani Gets Back Portland Cement Ownership With Patience And Perseverance

Dr. Rajan Mahtani’s journey from Lusaka High Court to higher Court of Appeal has been full of ups and downs. This journey was taken for Portland Cement Zambia, a cement-manufacturing factory which was unethically taken over. The case was initially registered at the Lusaka High Court with a positive hope that the judge will provide quick decision considering the availability of critical evidences and facts. However, more than a decade passed and despite the long and stretched case proceedings, Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not receive justice. In the year 2017, final verdict on the case was announced by judge Nkonde on behalf of the Lusaka High Court. This decision was highly controversial as it announced Ventriglia family as the only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia factory, despite the obvious lack of evidences and testimonials from their end.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani quickly identified the challenges of this court and took the decision of approaching higher Court of Appeal. The case was chaired by Justice Mwinde and the case proceedings were quick. The final decision from the higher Court of Appeal was announced on 31st January 2019, around nine months after the case was registered at the higher Court of Appeal. According to the evidentiary support, justice Mwinde confirmed transfer of one billion kwachas from Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments to the Portland Cement Zambia limited. Furthermore, the excerpts from the original agreement between shareholders established in the year 2007 also confirmed that Dr. Mahtani owned 58 percent shares at the factory and has completed all monetary transactions associated with the exchange. As such, he is not liable for any further bills or dues associated with the factory.

Based on the identified evidences, the judge from the higher Court of Appeal confirmed that Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is the actual owner and majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. The decision from higher Court of Appeal on this case is final and the case is now effectively closed.

Dr Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani

Historic win for Dr. Mahtani despite challenges and shortcomings of Zambian legal system

Dr. Rajan Mahtani is the real owner of PCZ

After a long battle across two courts, Dr. Mahtani is finally the winner of the Portland Cement Zambia case. After the Lusaka High Court failed to provide any decision, the higher Court of Appeal was approached. It is the highest-level justice system in Zambia and expectations were high. The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde and he did not disappoint. Unlike the previous judge, justice Mwinde shared all evidences while declaring his final decision on the case. The most important evidence was that Dr. Mahtani had made a payment of one billion kwachas which equals 250000 US dollars to the Zambezi Portland Cement in exchange for 58 percent shares at the Zambezi Portland Cement factory. This exchange was made in the year 2005 and was further officially written in the original shareholders’ agreement established in the year 2007. Justice Mwinde said that the page number 663, volume-record of appeal of this shareholders’ agreement clearly indicated that Dr. Mahtani has already made the entire payment for the 58 percent shares he owns at the factory and is free from any other charges associated with the case. The details from this original report also indicated that the responsibility of PTT (Property Transfer Tax) was on the transferor and not the transferee.

Furthermore, justice Mwinde also cleared the air around the issue of forgery and fraud in the factory. According to the judge, electronic affixing of signatures was common and acceptable practice at Zambezi Portland Cement for conducting business transactions. As such, all fraud or forgery related appeals were then and there discarded. These details were shared on 31st January 2019 and on this date only the final decision on the Zambezi Portland Cement was announced. While giving this crucial judgement, justice Mwinde also condemned the judge from the lower court for their inability to provide justice despite having all evidences and facts to prove Dr. Mahtani’s innocence and legal ownership over the factory.

Dr. Rajan Mahtani

Long-Pending Portland Cement Zambia Case Finalised At Court Of Appeal On 31st January 2019

Portland Cement Zambia

Organisations grow when they are nurtured and the management ensures that the policies, protocols and practices are followed. However, when businesses are faced with difficulties, many of them turn to unethical and corrupt practices. Lack of economic boom and the challenges of corruption and crisis makes it easier for businesses to escape legal processes and evade justice. As a result, there are only a few businesses and businessmen who are known to follow a path towards justice and transparency. Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani is one of these businessmen who despite the various challenges and adversities has been following a transparent, honest and ethical path for all of his businesses. It can also be said that this transparency and ethical compliance is the reason for the long-term success of his organisations. The case of Portland Cement Zambia is a prime example which showcases the power of honest and ethical business practices. Despite his factory, Portland Cement Zambia, being illegally taken over, Dr. Rajan Mahtani did not resort to unethical practices which would have helped him in getting his business back. Instead, a legal battle was followed by registering a case at the Portland Cement Zambia.

Even after the Lusaka High Court failed to provide relevant judgement, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was patient enough to re-appeal to a higher court. The Court of Appeal was then approached with all evidences, facts and testimonials which were controversially ignored by the previous judge. It was on 31st January 2019 that the final decision on this long-pending case arrived. It was given by justice Mwinde on behalf of the Court of Appeal. According to this final decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was announced as majority shareholder and legal owner of the Portland Cement Zambia factory as he possessed 58 percent shares of the factory.

While it took more than a decade, Dr. Rajan Mahtani finally received justice and a final one.

Zambia News

Dr. Rajan Lekhraj Mahtani Finally Receives Justice, Portland Cement Zambia Case Decision Announced

The path of transparency and honesty might e difficult, but it surely leads to success and achievement in the long run. This holds true in case of Portland Cement Zambia case. Dr. Rajan Mahtani had registered a case at the Lusaka High Court almost a decade ago. This case was launched for legal takeover of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. Reports have clearly indicated that Dr. Rajan Mahtani had all evidences, testimonials and facts to support his claim. Despite this, it took more than a decade for the Lusaka High Court to announce the final judgement. The judge at the Lusaka High Court was justice Nkonde who announced that Ventriglias were only shareholders of the Portland Cement Zambia. It was clear that this decision was misdirected and as a result, Dr. Rajan Mahtani rightfully approached the Court of Appeal.

The judge at the Court of Appeal was justice Mwinde who gave the final decision on 31st January 2019. This decision was given around nine months after the case was initially registered there. This clearly indicates a sharp difference between the judgement processes of the two courts. The judge at the Court of Appeal announced the judgement after looking into all evidences and testimonials associated with the case. As per this final decision, Dr. Rajan Mahtani owned Finsbury Investments holds 58 percent shares at the factory and is the majority shareholder of the Portland Cement Zambia factory. On the other hand, Ventriglias owned Ital Terrazzo Limited holds just 42 percent shares at the factory and are the minority shareholders without any legal ownership over the factory. This decision from the Court of Appeal also aligned with the original shareholders agreement and clearly confirmed that Dr. Mahtani is the actual owner of the factory. Furthermore, the judge from the Court of Appeal also said that the judge below him was wrong in declaring Ventriglias as only shareholders as this decision was misdirected.