In the past few years Zambia has been constantly trying to improve its economic independence by way of promoting industries and setting up new plants. However, the case of Zambezi Portland Cement has been going in the wrong direction. Just when every other industry was finding it hard to make an impact, it was Zambezi Portland Cement who made a difference. But at the moment it seems that the factory won’t be able to see 2017.
The year 2014-15 was remarkable for Zambezi Portland Cement. The factory had not only managed to meet its forecasted output, but also managed to make a surplus production of 1,00,000 tonnes of cement for meeting the needs of other projects. Things took a serious turnaround in April 2015 when Ital Terrazzo Limited (ITL) decided to take over the plant by force from the hands of Finsbury Investment. Within a matter of few months it was seen that the factory had incurred huge losses and by the end of 2015 it was observed that the factory was no longer in operative mode.
There were two important things that led to the downfall of Zambezi Portland Cement. First of all, the excessive cash withdrawal from the factory and secondly, termination of the work force. The incident made it obvious that ITL was not interested in running the factory, rather they were only interested in looting the resources. The result of such poor management is that Zambezi Portland Cement factory is no longer in the operating zone. It remains has a monument of broken walls and resources-less premise. ITL is currently trying to push the attention away from ZPC as it can create fresh trouble for them. Meanwhile, the only alternative for them is to defame Dr. Rajan Mahtani and continue with their onslaught in the Ndola factory.