ZAMBIA: Zambezi Portland Cement confusion continues

Consfusion has continued at Zambezi Portland Cement with Italian Ventriglia brothers who are claiming ownership of the cement factory awarding workers a 10 per cent basic salary increment across the board. 

This is in stark contrast with Mahtani Group’s Finsbury Investments, which, as late as last week, ran advertisements with names of recognised board of directors of the cement company. 

According to the notice signed by Zambezi Portland corporate secretary, the recognised board of directors for the cement company include Dr Rajan Mahtani as chairman, Dumisani Tembo, Susan I. Wambulawae, Joan Craven, Peter Kanaganayam as chief executive officer and managing director, and Bishop John Mambo.

“To this effect, the board of ZPC has not passed any resolutions appointing any alternative management to the above. ZPC will not be held liable for any dealings other than with those stated above,” read the notice published on May 2. 

But during the collective agreement signing at Mukuba Hotel in Ndola on Friday, Antonio Ventriglia, who signed on behalf of the company, assured the workers of job security. 

He advised the gathering, which comprised union leaders, to ignore all adverts in the media, saying they were illegal. “We are the legitimate owners of Zambezi Portland Cement and not anybody else. We have always been and always will be. All those adverts are fraudulent and illegal. 

I built that factory from scratch. We have to trust our judiciary because the court found the deportation baseless. So go back to work with a peace of mind, in unity, together we stand. I wanted to assure you of security. We stand for our rights and the law will protect us,” said Ventriglia. 

Earlier, Mineworkers Union of Zambia general secretary Joseph Chewe urged Zambezi Portland management to work in harmony with its workers. “There have been a lot of speculations and workers are anxious to know what is happening. 

There is a lot of speculation. We urge you to handle your issues quickly so that we can move forward. We would also urge your management to be tolerant and guarantee respect for workers. It is important that you work in harmony with the workers,” said Chewe. 

And Collins Chansa, who spoke on behalf of the United Mineworkers Union of Zambia, implored Zambezi Portland management to adhere to safety, health and environmental regulations by ensuring that they were of high standard. “Safety, health and environmental standards have to be of high levels. 

That will also enhance productivity. Let’s also ensure that we adhere to what we are going to sign in here,” said Chansa. But Bishop Maambo on Friday said the government had failed to protect the interests of Zambians at Zambezi Portland Cement Limited because of political interference. Bishop Mambo also said the body searches conducted on workers by the company’s Italian management is racist and shows lack of respect for Zambians. 

A bitter share dispute engulfed the cement company for a large part of 2009 until 2011 between the Ventriglias and Dr Mahtani, who has a 58 per cent ownership through Finsbury Investment, leaving the Ventriglia family with the remaining 42 per cent.