ZAMBIA: Zambezi Portland Cement Doesn’t Owe Dangote

A new legal dispute has come before the Lusaka courts as two of the top cement producers clash over a purchase deal.

Dangote Industries Zambia Ltd., a newcomer to Zambia owned by the Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, has filed suit against Zambezi Portland Cement Ltd. (ZPC) seeking to back out of a paid transaction for the construction of their plant. ZPC has conversely filed a counter suit against Dangote Industries disputing their claim and pointing to the rights of the contract.

One year ago, as Dangote Industries was building its cement plant, the company entered into an agreement to purchase 990 tonnes of cement from ZPC – although this deal had been made under the previous illegal management of Rajan Mahtani, who has since been removed from the management. Now, according to the suit, the Nigerians want more than 800 ,000 kwacha to be returned to them instead of taking the cement they already bought.

According to the counter-suit, Zambezi Portland has nevertheless fully honoured its past contractual commitments and supplied all the cement to Dangote Industries that was paid for, and are awaiting collection of the product.

Zambezi Portland is in the business of selling cement, not investment banking, said one source at the courts with knowledge of the dispute. Dangote Industries must come collect the product they have paid for, he said, otherwise they don’t have a case to stand on.

ZAMBIA: Zambezi Portland Cement introduces cheaper cement

WITH the rising competition in the cement industry, Zambezi Portland Cement (ZPC) has taken steps to reposition itself on the market by introducing a new brand that is comparatively cheaper.

The price of cement has since fallen to K51 from over K70 early this year before the multi-million Dangote Industries started offloading its commodity on the market from its Masaiti-based plant.

The ZPC launch gives consumers a competitive brand of cement, specifically tailored for block making, road construction and light construction. The commodity is pegged at K51.

Speaking during the launch of Eagle Cement in Ndola on Saturday, ZPC marketing director Valerio Ventriglia said the new product is highly sought by block makers, bricklayers and the entire construction industry.

Zambia: Cement Price Reduction Welcome

Is it not interesting to note that while prices of a good number of commodities are said to be going up, the price of cement, which is one of the most important materials in construction, is going down?

The aforesaid situation has been compelled by Government's prudent measures set to create an environment where competition ultimately benefits local buyers.

Not only has production of cement among the three cement producing companies increased, but the firms have also increased selling points and created job opportunities.


Larfage, Zambezi Portland and now Dangote are now competing in the production and distribution of cement in Zambia and beyond.

A survey taken recently revealed that prices of cement that at one time had gone up to as high as K98 has reduced to K58 on average.

Larfage Zambia has in the recent past improved new cement-making plants, machinery and opened new selling points across Zambia.

Zambezi Portland Cement also increased production of cement to 1,500 tonnes per day following the investment into machinery worth US$4 million.

Zambezi Portland Cement even went a step further by slashing the price of cement from K66.00 to K58.50.

Zambezi Portland Cement operations director Daniele Ventriglia was recently quoted that the company had acquired state-of-the art equipment and subsequently increased production to 1,500 tonnes per day from 1,100 tonnes per day.

He said the ZPC management was geared to maintain the seamless supply of cement onto the Zambian market by increasing production, hence the decision to invest in new machinery worth $4 million.

Dangote Cement did not mince words, when prior to commencement of production, warned of competition in the industry and has since proved that fact.

The Zambia Consumer Association is on record to have praised the coming of Dangote Cement to Zambia, saying it would reduce the cost of cement on the local market.

Cement price reduction aims to serve the Zambian construction sector by ensuring that the market continuously receives cement without any burden.

Credit goes to the Zambian Government for creating such a deliberate policy at a time when construction of roads and buildings is at peak.

One would have thought that going by the notion of increased prices, whenever demand for any commodity was high, the opposite prevails in Zambia to the benefit of local consumers.

As a result of reduced prices of cement, Zambia has not only seen massive infrastructure development but encouraged local people to build own houses and create jobs.

ZAMBIA: DANGOTE ROARS TO LIFE

THE US$400 million Dangote cement factory in Masaiti has commenced operations following the completion of construction early this year.

The plant has rekindled hope of further poverty reduction in the area, because it joins other cement and lime industry companies in the area that continue to offer jobs to locals.

Dangote Cement operations director Anand Kameshwar said in an interview recently that work on the plant had been completed and it was already working ahead of commissioning which will be done soon.

“We have commenced production and the commissioning will be done as soon as necessary logistics are put in place,” he said.

The company is a subsidiary of Dangote Group of Companies which is owned by Africa’s wealthiest man Aliko Dangote.

It engaged Simoma International Engineering, Rockseed Engineering and Ayoki Fabricon Limited during the four-year construction period.

The cement plant, which has an installed capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes of cement per annum, has been equipped with a 30 Mega Watt power plant.

The power plant was put up at a cost of $50 million to ensure uninterrupted supply and relieve pressure off Zesco.

The coming up of Dangote brings the total number of Cement factories in the area to three, following the current operations of Zambezi Portland and Lafarge Cement.

Senior Chief Chiwala said the plant is a welcome relief in the fight against poverty and unemployment in his chiefdom.

“Youths in this area have been dependent on charcoal burning for survival but the coming of companies such as Dangote offering reasonable employment, will help turn around the situation,” the Chief said.

Dangote, which is investing another $400 million in a similar plant in Lusaka, has operations in several countries in Southern Africa including, Tanzania and South Africa.

ZAMBIA: AMBEZI PORTLAND CAUTIONS MAHTANI

ZAMBEZI Portland Cement (ZPC) management has cautioned business executive Rajan Mahtani and his group against dragging President Edgar Lungu and the Zambian Government into the perceived ownership wrangles at the cement company.

Meanwhile, the company has dismissed, as unfounded, allegations by Bishop John Mambo that workers at the cement-manufacturing firm are subjected to inhumane body searches.

“We would also like to request Bishop Mambo to leave the President of the Republic of Zambia Mr Edgar Lungu and the Government out of the ownership dispute of the company between us and Dr Mahtani,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“He should not drag the President into our perceived wrangles because that is tantamount to lack of respect for the Presidency.”

The company spokesperson said it was unfortunate for Bishop Mambo to allege that President Lungu and his Government had no interest in the workers at ZPC when the issue of legitimate ownership was between the two parties.

He said ZPC management upheld strong work ethics and culture and would continue to undertake routine disciplinary processes and formal security checks, like at any company, which should not be interpreted as racism and an insult to the workers.

The spokesperson said ZPC management was perturbed by the misrepresentation of facts by Bishop Mambo who wanted to wage war against the legitimate owners of the cement company in his desperate antics of wanting to help Dr Mahtani to shift attention from real issues surrounding the company.

“We dare Bishop Mambo to come out clean on the issue of ZPC rather than fabricate stories on the operations and legal status of our cement company and misleading the general public with his concocted statements,” he said.

The spokesperson reiterated ZPC’s earlier statement in which it assured customers and the general public of prompt product and service delivery as they are in control of the repossessed assets and ignore Dr Mahtani’s purported ownership of ZPC.

He said it was outlandish for Bishop Mambo to brand ZPC managing director Mr Antonio Ventriglia as a racist when he had stayed in Zambia for more than 58 years during which period he had lived and worked with people of different races without such insults being hurled at him.

The spokesperson further said Bishop Mambo’s biased remarks regarding the deportation of Mr Ventriglia and other directors were meant to mislead the public on the residence status of the Ventriglias.

He, however, said that management was fully aware that the deportation was instigated by Dr Mahtani in order for him to have a free hand on the operations of ZPC.

“We followed laid-down legal processes to challenge the action and the courts ruled that there was no material evidence for the deportation of the founding directors. We would like to remind Bishop Mambo that, following our decision to challenge the deportation, the Lusaka High Court recently ruled that the rightful owners of the cement firm are the Ventriglia family. In case he is not also aware, the court also quashed the deportation order of 2012,” he said.

He added that it was a known fact that the claim by Dr Mahtani of 58 per cent ownership of ZPC through Finsbury Investment was fraudulent, illegal and forgery which they would not accept.

“For about seven years, no original transfer share documents have been submitted to the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA), a situation which raises a lot of dust. We pride ourselves in credible business undertakings and we shall always endeavour to follow the legal systems in an event of underhand methods being engaged by the likes of Dr Mahtani,” the spokesperson said.

On Friday police summoned Dr Mahtani for questioning.

Police spokesperson Charity Chanda, who did not disclose reasons for Dr Mahatani’s summoning, said details would be known when he appears before police in two weeks time.

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.

ZAMBIA: Zambezi Portland slashes cement price

ZAMBEZI Portland Cement (ZPC) has reduced the retail price of cement from K78 to K70 to make the product affordable to customers.

And ZPC, which has 500 workers, plans to expand its production capacity from 1,400 to 1,800 tonnes of cement per day.

ZPC marketing and sales director Valerio Ventriglia said in a statement on Monday that the cost of cement will reduce even further from the current price.

“Our appeal to customers is that they can come and purchase cement on a reduced retail price from K78 to K70,” he said.

Mr Ventriglia said ZPC would continue to produce high quality cement for the local market.

And Mr Ventriglia said the company plans to expand its production capacity to 1,800 from the current 1,400 tonnes of cement per day.

“We hope to increase our production capacity level to 1,800 tonnes of cement per day by next month,” he said.

After taking over the cement plant that broke the monopoly in the cement industry in Zambia, the new management plans to reach the 1,800 production capacity of 2012.

Mr Ventriglia said an additional 50 employees have been engaged by the company to assist in repairing the damaged equipment at the plant.

“Some of the equipment was dysfunctional and we are working on repairing the machinery to ensure we are back on track, a lot of work has been done so far,” he said.

ZAMBIA: Ventriglias Welcomed in Return to Zambezi Portland Cement

Employees of the Zambezi Portland Cement (ZPC) happily celebrated the return today of the original owners of the plant, Antonio Ventriglia and Manuela Sebastiani, who have announced that operations at the company shall revert to the status quo following a prolonged period under unlawful management, according to a press conference aired on Muvi TV this evening.

According to Muvi TV, when the Ventriglias arrived to the main gates of the Ndola-based cement plant this morning at 7AM, they were welcomed onto the premises without any resistance or conflict, and re-assumed management of the company without incident.

Earlier reports of armed guards and hired police officers at the plant had raised concerns over the ownership struggle, however the employees and engineers running the plant were happy to see the owners return.

Speaking during the press conference, company Managing Director Daniele Ventriglia said that ZPC would honour its commitments, and that everyone among the current staff would keep their jobs.

The company owners also said they were very happy to have the opportunity to correct the longstanding injustice of the theft of their company, and said that they would continue to vigorously assert their rights to ownership, according to the Muvi TV report.

Lusaka lawyer Sakwiba Sikota, who was also present at the ZPC plant this morning, confirmed that the resumption of operational control of the plant occurred peacefully and smoothly.

Almost two and a half years ago, control of ZPC was allegedly stolen by the local financier Rajan Mahtani following the unusual deportation of the company’s original owners and managing directors. Following these deportations, on December 3, 2012, Mahtani convened an unlawful board meeting whereupon he appointed new management to the company, effectively seizing control of all its finances.

However the tables turned on Mr. Mahtani this past March when the High Court ruled to reverse the deportation orders and reinstate the residency permits to the ZPC company directors. The owners of the company have declared the board meeting of December 3, 2012 to be null and void, returning the company to the status quo legal status pending the convening of the next shareholder meeting.

ZAMBIA: PPC et AfriSam renoncent à fusionner

Les deux géants sud-africains du ciment, PPC et AfriSam, viennent d’annoncer qu’ils mettent un terme aux discussions devant conduire à leur fusion. L’opération devait pourtant accélérer leur expansion panafricaine.

Le mariage devait donner naissance à un mastodonte africain du ciment. Mais il n’aura finalement pas lieu. Le numéro un sud-africain du secteur Pretoria Portalnd Cement (PPC), et son compatriote AfriSam Group (numéro 2) ont annoncé ce vendredi qu’ils avaient mis un terme aux négociations devant conduire à leur fusion. Aucun des deux groupes n’a souhaité donner des détails sur les raisons de cette décision.

“Au cours de ces derniers mois, cette fusion proposée par AfriSam avait largement occupé nos esprits. Finalement, nous avons décidé de ne pas procéder à la transaction… Les deux parties n’ont pas pu parvenir à un consensus sur les modalités de l’opération”, a expliqué PPC dans un communiqué publié ce 27 mars sur son site. Précisant être “en raison d’une clause de confidentialité entre les deux parties" incapable de donner les raisons détaillées de cette résiliation.

Concurrence

D’après l’agence Bloomberg qui cite deux sources proches du dossier, il y avait peu de chance que les régulateurs donnent leur accord à cette opération qui aurait déséquilibré la concurrence sur le marché sud-africain. “Les deux entreprises réunies auraient détenues plus de 60 % du marché sud-africain”, explique Roy Mutooni, un analyste de Renaissance Capital basé à Johannesburg, cité par l’agence.

Ce projet de fusion pour laquelle les négociations avaient démarré en décembre dernier était soutenu par Public Investment Corporation, le gestionnaire du principal fonds de pension sud-africain qui est actionnaire des deux sociétés. Confrontés à un ralentissement économique de leur pays et à une baisse de la demande sur leur marché domestique, les deux groupes devaient profiter de ce mariage pour accélérer leur expansion sur le reste du continent où ils doivent faire face à la concurrence de gros acteurs tels que le français Lafarge, l’allemand HeidelbergCement AG ou encore le nigérian Dangote Cement, le plus grand fabricant de ciment africain.

Alors que PPC (dont le chiffre d’affaires a progressé de 9% sur les neuf premiers de 2014, à environ 630 millions d’euros) construit actuellement de nouvelles usines en RD Congo, au Rwanda, au Zimbabwe et en Ethiopie, son compatriote AfriSam détient déjà des usines en Tanzanie, au Lesotho et au Botswana. Désormais, c’est de son côté que les deux groupes poursuivront leur croissance panafricaine.

ZAMBIA: AfriSam back on track, says CEO

AFRISAM CEO Stephan Olivier says "the health of the company has been restored" since the cement firm’s balance sheet and shareholder registry were overhauled after a costly empowerment deal in 2007.

"We’re a very stable organisation — the empowerment-related debt challenges are behind us and we are focused on defending our South African business and growing the business faster in the rest of Africa," he said.

AfriSam is the product of a black economic empowerment deal whereby Swiss firm Holcim offloaded most of its stake in the company to a local consortium in 2007.

The transaction was funded by on-balance-sheet debt, which later had to be restructured, while AfriSam’s complicated ownership and funding structure was also unwound.

Its major shareholders are now the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) — after the state investment body converted AfriSam debts to equity — and Pembani Group.

Mr Olivier said while AfriSam had stabilised, margins across the industry had been under pressure since 2010 due to slack demand and increased competition.

Slightly larger JSE-listed rival PPC said this week its lower sales volumes in SA were resulting in "margins being squeezed", but said volumes were growing in some other African markets.

The companies are evaluating a merger partly in an effort to build scale as multinational producers target the South African market, and also to bolster their efforts to grow elsewhere in Africa.

Mr Olivier said unlisted AfriSam "favourably" compares its performance metrics against the likes of PPC. Perceptions that AfriSam was heavily indebted "are misinformed", he said, adding that the firm’s debt-to-equity ratio "is not out of line with industry peers".

AfriSam has spent at least R1.5bn on what it calls "efficiency upgrades" to its plants over the past decade — or capital expenditure excluding general maintenance.

This included a R80m project to further upgrade its Ulco cement facility in the Northern Cape.

The investments "have kept us up to speed" with the technologies and efficiencies that new operators had brought to the South African market, Mr Olivier said.

Excluding the latest newcomer to the market, Mamba Cement — which is constructing an inland plant and is partly backed by Chinese capital, SA’s installed cement capacity is nearly 20-million tonnes before imports. Demand hovers around 13-million tonnes a year, meaning the industry has about 7-million tonnes of unutilised capacity, some of which sits in AfriSam’s plants.

With selling prices and margins under pressure in SA, both PPC and AfriSam are trying to grow their rest-of-Africa business.

PPC has projects under way in Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The company is evaluating at least one other project, in Algeria, but said this week it would struggle to execute further growth projects due to financial constraints.

Outside of SA, AfriSam has a 68% stake in a Tanzanian company and is adding a second kiln line to grow capacity at its Tanzanian plant, from where it exports to countries including Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the Congo. The kiln is planned to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of this year.

Mr Olivier said AfriSam was looking for other opportunities across the continent, with its main focus on Central to East Africa, but said competition for "suitable and fairly priced" deals was fierce.

Meanwhile, should Holcim’s merger with French cement giant Lafarge go ahead, Holcim will have to sell its roughly 2% stake in AfriSam within three years, according to the Competition Commission’s conditions in approving their merger.

This would ensure Holcim did not have access to AfriSam’s commercially sensitive information, the commission said last year.

ZAMBIA: Dangote Cement rolls out this month

The US$400 million Dangote Cement Plc plant in Masaiti on the Copperbelt is scheduled to start operations this month-end, Group chief executive officer Aliko Dangote has said.

Speaking to journalists at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport shortly after touring the plant, Mr Dangote explained that floods triggered by heavy rain and bureaucracy in acquiring a permit from the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) caused delays in the commissioning of the cement plant, which was earlier scheduled to start operations before the end of last year.

Forbes lists Mr Dangote, 57, a Nigerian businessman, as Africa’s richest man with net assets worth US$21.6 billion.

“There was a delay of getting a permit from ZEMA, which actually made us start production late but I think we are overcoming that, hopefully we can start in two to three weeks or so.

“We are overcoming that but as you know, the rainy season this year has been intense but it has given us a lesson to protect ourselves next time we are in operation,” Mr Dangote said.

“So by and large, we are pushing and the team will try and deliver the factory by the end of this month. Our power is already on…we have power and we are making good progress,” he said.

Once operational, Dangote Cement Plant is expected to create 1,000 jobs, with a production capacity of 1.5 million tonnes annually.

Mr Dangote also said progress has been made on the cement plant in Lusaka.

He said Sinoma Engineering, the contractor engaged to construct the Dangote Cement Plant in Masaiti, will move on site to begin works in Lusaka.

“We have made good progress on the plant in Lusaka, we have already got permission to get into the land and start mining, so hopefully the same contractor might move there and build an identical plant with the one in Masaiti,” Mr Dangote said.

The cement plant in Chilanga will cost about US$420 million.

ZAMBIA: Cement prices likely to drop

The price of cement is likely to reduce significantly on the Copperbelt following the expansion project that Lafarge Cement Zambia has embarked on in Ndola.

The firm intends to spend €8 million on the expansion project of a finish grinding mill, which is expected to add 100,000 metric tonnes of cement production from the current 400,000 metric tonnes produced at its Ndola cement plant.

Company plant manager Friday Nyimbili said the price of the commodity which is currently selling between K65 and K85 will drastically reduce.

“Yes, with the effects of demand and supply, we are hopeful to reduce prices on the market. We know that there are other players on the market and new ones that are coming, but with increased supply, the prices will fall,” Mr Nyimbili said at an environmental consultative meeting on the expansion project at Ndola Cement plant.

Mr Nyimbili said the firm is undertaking the expansion project to keep up with the rising demand.

The project, which will be a complete portable grinding solution consisting of several functional units to be located within the plant next to the existing mill, will also be equipped with a pneumatic transport system to convey products to the existing silos at the packing plant.

He said all the dust generated will be captured using European-based advanced technology while all material transfer points will be equipped with bag filters.

On the positive impact, he said the projects includes job creation, tax payments, reduction in dust and green-house gas emissions by a more controlled filtration system and increased output of cement to the market.

Some of the negative impacts highlighted include marginal increase in noise within the plant, increased demand on service providers and potential dust emissions, mitigated by enclosed facilities.

But most residents of Itawa, Ndeke and McKenzie townships expressed concern at the dust emissions from the existing plant saying the firm should consider replacing it with modern equipment.

Ndola district commissioner Rebby Chanda also called on the company to provide more mobile ambulances to help treat the community members and ensure that benefits trickle down to consumers once the project is implemented.

ZAMBIA: $200m cement factory on cards

SCIROCCO Enterprises Limited has entered into an agreement with a consortium to construct a state of the art cement factory in Lusaka’s Makeni area at cost of US$200 million.

Scirocco Enterprise managing director Moustafa Saadi said at a press briefing in Lusaka yesterday that the modern cement factory will have the capacity to produce 2,500 tonnes of cement per day.

Mr Saadi said the company has been incorporated in Zambia and it will be known as Amaka Cement Industries Limited.

He said Scirocco has entered into an agreement with a Chinese firm and an international funder to carry out the multi-million dollar project.

“The agreement has been signed and feasibility study is being undertaken to establish the viability of the project. As soon as the exploration work that needs to be carried out is finalised, environmental impact assessment will be carried out to comply with the prevailing laws.

“We expect that the process can be concluded quickly without any undue delays. We are looking forward to the support of our community and various government institutions to facilitate the process in order to begin the physical work,” Mr Saadi said.

The factory that we will be put up will be a modern and efficient one that will exceed all the environmental regulations in Zambia and will have a positive impact on the economy of the area and the nation as a whole.

He said construction of the plant is earmarked to start in September this year and it is expected to be completed by 2017.

Mr Saadi said Amaka Cement Industries will be producing two grades of cement for local and international markets.

He said over 500 people will be engaged during the construction period while 200 people will be employed on a full time basis once production starts.

ZAMBIA: Dangote Cement sues Zambian minister over corruption allegations

Dangote Cement’s Zambian subsidiary has sued the country’s labour minister for libel and slander after he accused an executive of the Nigerian company of attempting to bribe him.

A row has been brewing between Zambia and Dangote Cement, a major employer in Africa’s second-largest copper producer, after the government minister made the allegations in September.

Dangote said in papers filed in court that the minister had created an impression that the company was exploiting Zambian workers and enticing government officials with bribes.

"The plaintiff has been brought into public scandal and its reputation has been injured," Dangote said in a writ of summons dated October 10.

The dispute appears to be the latest in a string of incidents in which the southern African nation’s government has resorted to strong-arm or unorthodox tactics against foreign investors it believes are circumventing labour laws.

Dangote Industries Zambia has 400 workers building a $400m cement plant, a staff count that should rise to 2,000 when production starts in November.

During a tour of the plant in Ndola, 300km north of the capital Lusaka, Labour Minister Fackson Shamenda said a Nigerian executive seconded to the Zambian unit tried to bribe him at a hotel.

The company described the allegations as "malicious misinformation" and denied the corruption and bribery claims.

A year ago, Zambia revoked the work permit of the CE of Konkola Copper Mines, owned by London-listed Vedanta Resources, and threatened to rip up its mining licence when the firm announced plans to lay off 1,500 workers.

ZAMBIA: Documents Reveal Illegal Deportations at Zambezi Portland Cement

At the height of their dispute with the multimillionaire Finance Bank Chairman Rajan Mahtani, two directors of the Zambezi Portland Cement (ZPC) company were illegally deported by the Zambian government, according to documents revealed by Zambia Reports.

In November 2012, the Luanshya-born residents Daniele Ventriglia and Valerio Ventriglia were served with deportation notices requiring them to depart Zambia within just four hours, allowing Mahtani’s company Finsbury Investments to take over physical control of ZPC and force the appointment of Andrew Kamanga as interim Chief Executive Officer.

The reason given by officials for the deportations were that the Ventriglias’ conduct represented “a danger to peace and good order of Zambia,” however in subsequent submissions before a Swiss Arbitral Tribunal, the family has alleged that the deportations were arranged by Mahtani in order to seize control of their company. According to court documents, they accuse Mahtani of using his political power over low-level PF officials to fast-track the expulsion of the two businessmen allegedly in order to seize ZPC as part of an illegal corporate raid.

Now there appears to be documentary evidence that immigration authorities acted illegally by deporting Daniele Ventriglia and Valerio Ventriglia. The officials rushed to carry out these deportations in open violation of a court order, released for the first time to the public by Zambia Reports, ignoring a standing injunction for judicial review that had been granted to the two businessmen.

In addition, the deportation paperwork shows some very unusual details. For example, instead of listing the minimum number of days that would be required to depart the country, the form declared only four hours before they would be required to leave their homes and birthplace, which appeared designed to prevent the businessmen from seeking assistance from higher ranking members of the PF government. At the time of the deportations, there were reports in the media that the late Minister of Information Kennedy Sakeni had commented that if he were still Minister of Home Affairs, he would not have allowed these deportations to take place for the private economic gain of a business opponent.

For several years the Ventriglias have been waging a hard-fought battle against Mr. Mahtani for control of ZPC, which they say was unlawfully taken over by the Finance Bank chairman through a conspiracy involving politics, forgeries, and controversial legal decisions.

Mahtani, who is widely acknowledged to have funded the 2011 Patriotic Front political campaign of President Michael Sata, has enjoyed many benefits since the new government came into power, including the restoration of his ownership of Finance Bank, which was taken over by Bank of Zambia when it was discovered that Mahtani individually owned more than 56% of the bank in violation of the law.

Zambia has experienced a number of politically and economically motivated deportations over the past two years. In 2012, a Catholic priest was deported to Rwanda for having criticised the government, and later the manager of the Taj Pamodzi Hotel was also deported allegedly over a personal dispute with an individual who had ties to the government. The government has also deported former executives of Zamtel, which was expropriated by the state shortly after taking power in 2011, as well as an executive of LaFarge Cement.

ZAMBIA: DANGOTE cement factory to be ready in July

CEMENT production in Zambia is expected to reach above 2.5 million tonnes per annum when Dangote Limited commissions its cement factory in Ndola at a cost of US$400 million this year.

The Dangote Cement plant is expected to produce between one million and 1.2 million tonnes of cement per annum.

This will add to the over 1.5 million tonnes of cement that the country is currently producing per annum from the Lafarge in Lusaka and Ndola plants as well as Zambezi Portland also in Ndola.

Senior general manager for Dangote Projects, Anand Kameshwar said during a recent tour of the cement factory in Ndola that, the facility would start operating by July this year.

Mr Kameshwar said installation of major equipment at the plant by Sinoma Engineering of China was nearly complete.

“Most of the major equipment has been installed and the project is on course and should be complete by July,” Mr Kameshwar said.

He added that, cement was an essential commodity in the construction industry hence the decision by one of Africa’s largest conglomerates to invest towards production of the same in Zambia.

Mr Kameshwar said Dangote would contribute significantly in mitigating cement shortages that have resulted from high demand of the commodity due to construction activities.

Dangote was also constructing a 30 Megawatt power substation that would start functioning in May this year.

“This facility will provide electricity to the cement plant which is expected to consume 25 Megawatts of power per day,” he said.

Mr Kameshwar said the cement factory will open up other avenues for Dangote to increase its investments in Zambia.

He said once operational, the cement factory would create 700 new jobs for Zambians.

“At the moment, our focus is to complete the project and supplement cement production in Zambia but we are certain that this project will definitely open up room for others to follow,” he added.

ZAMBIA: DANGOTE CEMENT FACTORY TO STRENGTHEN ZAMBIA, NIGERIA ECONOMIC TIES

NIGERIAN High Commissioner to Zambia Sifawu Momoh has said the Dangote Group’s establishment of the cement factory in Zambia will strengthen economic ties between the two countries.

Dangote Group, one of Nigeria’s foremost investors, will this year complete the establishment of a cement factory estimated at US$400 million on the Copperbelt.

Ms Momoh said making the factory operational was part of a strategy by the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen economic ties with Zambia.

In a statement released in Abuja, Ms Momoh explained that the Dangote cement firm, when fully operational in Zambia would give direct employment to many people and boost the existing economic ties between the two countries.

She said Nigeria had a lot to learn from Zambia in areas of agriculture and tourism, adding that the West African economic powerhouse would supplement efforts to grow Africa’s leading copper producer.

”The Governments of both Zambia and Nigeria have been discussing ways of sustaining and increasing direct investments to both countries.

”Investors from both countries will soon meet to share ideas on how to bring development into the country,” Ms Momoh stated.

In a related development, Dangote Group president and chief executive officer Aliko Dangote has said the cement factory in Ndola is among five such facilities that the firm would operationalise across Africa in 2014.

The firm aims to operationalise other cement factories in Tanzania, South Africa, Gabon, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the end of this year.

Speaking when he addressed a group of African business executives in Nigeria, Mr Dangote said the five plants which were currently at various stages of construction, will add 13.5 million tonnes to the annual existing production capacity of cement by Dangote.

Mr Dangote said the Group’s core focus is to provide value-added products and services that meet the basic needs of the populace through construction and operation of large-scale manufacturing facilities in Africa.

”The Group is focused on building local manufacturing to generate employment, prevent capital flight and provide locally produced goods for the people,” Mr Dangote said.

This is contained in a statement posted on the Dangote Group website.

The factory in Ndola would produce 1.5 miilion tonnes.

ZAMBIA: Dangote US50m power plant

DANGOTE Group will in the first quarter of next year commission a US$50 million power plant that will supply 30 Mega Watts (MW) of electricity to its multi-million dollar cement factory currently under construction in Ndola.

Company senior general manager in charge of projects, Anand Kameshwar, said construction works on the project were progressing well and the power plant would start functioning by the end of the first quarter of 2014.

He said this would be before the cement manufacturing factory is fully operational in July, 2014.

“The 30 MW power plant at a cost of $50 million, is currently under the construction stage and works are going on well.

“This plant is intended at making its own power available to the cement plant as opposed to connecting to the usually overloaded national grid,” he said.

Dangote, one of Africa’s largest conglomerates, has invested $400 million in setting up a 3,000 tonne cement plant on the outskirts of Ndola.

Mr Kameshwar said on this project, machinery has already been installed and construction works are on schedule.

“Major equipment is being installed and works are progressing as scheduled and by mid next year, the plant should be operational,” he said.

Mr Kameshwar said initially, the plant would start operating at a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per day, though this will increase steadily in the long-term.

The Dangote factory will be the third such establishment to be operational in Ndola alongside similar plants currently run by Zambezi Portland and Lafarge cement.

ZAMBIA: Dangote to start work on US$400m Zambian cement plant

Dangote, Nigeria’s largest cement maker, expects to start building a US$400m plant in Zambia this month, Zambia’s commerce, trade and industry minister said on Monday.

"We are expecting a team of construction experts from Dangote to arrive in Zambia either today or tomorrow and the building of the plant should be launched this month," Felix Mutati told Reuters in an interview.

Mutati said the plant, one of Zambia’s largest investments outside mining, is expected to produce 1.5Mta of cement when it reaches full capacity by 2013.

"They are positioning themselves to capture the regional cement market, in particular Congo DR and we hope their presence will also help give Zambia the prominence that it craves for," he said.

Dangote’s new plant would also bring competition, which was expected to result in a higher quality of product and lower prices, Mutati said.

The project would create more than 1500 direct and indirect jobs during the construction and operational phases, he said.

Dangote plans to set up plants and import terminals in other countries, including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Senegal, to bring its production capacity across the continent up to 46Mta in five years’ time with 30Mt of it in Nigeria.