By Scoop Reporter
KARAN petroleum Zambia says it is re- investing profits being made into the country’s energy sector by putting up more service stations that are creating more jobs for the locals.
This comes in the wake of a vicious campaign to discredit and tarnish the image of company proprietor Himanshu Shah and his business after one of his workmates, Chetan Kumar Champalal Jain, was removed from Zambia early this month for alleged theft.
Among other things that have been written against Mr. Shah is that he had not been tax compliant and that he had been eternising profits to his Dubai-based parent company, Raj Ratna International FZ LLC with reports suggesting that since Mr. Jain was removed from Zambia, on allegations of theft, Mr. Shah was also an accomplice.
But speaking to The Scoop, Mr. Shah said contrary to lies peddled by the company’s competitors that it was externalising profits from Zambia, Karan was one of the fastest growing service station brands across the country which Zambians had come to trust.
Mr. Shah said his company was not only providing one of the best services on the Zambian market but was also tax compliant and that records were there for all to see.
He said it was shocking that some business competitors were now making wild allegations against him on account of having worked with Mr. Jain who had found himself at variance with the law. He however said such unsubstantiated claims would not derail him from being a good investor with a clean record of doing business.
He said allegations that his company was evading tax and externalising profits to Dubai was a failed attempt to bring his name into disrepute by those who did not appreciate the importance of healthy business competition but instead thrived on pulling others down for their survival.
“We run a clean business based on market demand and we meet all our tax obligations and at no time have we externalised our profits outside this country. If that was the case, we would not have been expanding our business here in Zambia by putting up more service stations.
“I also wish to confirm that we have expatriates at Karan but the positions they hold are those for which most Zambians can’t hold currently. The majority of our workforce is made up of Zambians who also hold senior positions. Our records are there for all to see,” Mr. Shah said.
Meanwhile, Surya Biofuel Zambia Limited Director for Administration, Sanjay Kumar Sharma regretted the removal of Mr. Jain from Zambia saying he has had a good track record having worked for his company which he joined after he left Mount Meru, another Oil Marketing Company (OMC) giant.
Mr. Sharma however said it was wrong for Mr. Shah’s competitors to counteract on Mr. Jain’s removal from Zambia to discredit another company which was not only providing a service to Zambia, but also provided employment to citizens.
“Having worked with Mount Meru, we employed Mr. Jain based on merit to help expand our business operation based on his experts and track record. At Mount Meru, he was Chief Executive Officer for its Liquid, Petroleum and Gas (LPG) Division until 2021 but his predicament should not be used to tarnish the image of another company on account of having worked for it,” Mr. Sharma said.
Meanwhile, Mount Meru Petroleum Zambia Managing Director, Mr Dharmesh Patel also confirmed that Mr. Jain was employed by the company for a number of years.
“The only relationship Mount Meru Petroleum Zambia has with the Mr. Champalal Jain who was recently trending on social media is that he is a former employee of Mount Meru Petroleum Zambia, part of a group that has presence in Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Botswana, Mozambique, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Congo is probably the only OMC in the country whose over 90 percent of its profits are reinvested back in Zambia to expand its operations resulting in creation of thousands of jobs for Zambians and contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product,” Mr. Patel said.
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