Massive Corruption Allegations Shake ZCCM-IH – Calls for Urgent Action Against Syndicate Behind Ndola Lime Company Scandal
Zambia’s economy is bleeding—and it’s not by accident. The fallout from a $120 million scandal at Ndola Lime Company (NLC), now renamed Limestone Resources Limited, reveals a sordid tale of negligence, corruption, and systemic rot. Despite repeated parliamentary calls for accountability and justice, ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) and its overseer, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), appear paralyzed by inaction.
The story begins with NLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ZCCM-IH, grappling with mounting losses for years. In a bid to salvage the ailing company, ZCCM-IH poured in $120 million, a colossal amount in a struggling economy. Key to this recapitalization project was a faulty kiln—VK2—procured from Italian suppliers under highly questionable circumstances.
From the start, the deal reeked of fraud. Payment of $7.9 million for the kiln was made in full, without any verification of its functionality. The kiln predictably failed to operate, and the supplier company conveniently declared bankruptcy, leaving Zambia with an inoperative asset and no recourse.
Worse still, local collaborators are suspected of facilitating this brazen theft, enriching themselves at the expense of a nation.
The scandal didn’t escape scrutiny. In 2019, Zambia’s Parliament issued a scathing report, calling for:
Investigations via Interpol into the procurement process.
A forensic audit to expose and prosecute those involved.
These recommendations were directed squarely at the IDC, ZCCM-IH’s majority shareholder. Yet, five years later, no meaningful action has been taken. Instead, the same leadership tasked with safeguarding public assets remains silent, even as ZCCM-IH teeters on the edge of financial disaster.
The IDC, which boasts the President of Zambia as its chairman, has done nothing to address the allegations. This silence is not only baffling but also deeply suspicious, raising uncomfortable questions about who in power might be complicit.
In what seems like an attempt to sweep the scandal under the rug, Ndola Lime Company has been rebranded as Limestone Resources Limited. But no name change can erase the $120 million hole in ZCCM-IH’s accounts. Even more alarming, ZCCM-IH plans to invest millions more into this tainted project without first addressing the underlying corruption.
The sums lost are staggering. To put it in perspective, the $7.9 million lost to the kiln alone represents half of the dividends ZCCM-IH received from Kansanshi Mining Plc over two decades. For a country grappling with debt and economic hardship, this is not just a financial scandal—it is a betrayal of public trust on a grand scale.

The consequences are dire. IDC’s financial health is crumbling, with ZESCO already a significant liability. ZCCM-IH was one of the few remaining pillars capable of generating income for the state. Now, even that is under threat.

ZCCM Defense, a group of minority shareholders led by Thierry Charles, has been relentless in demanding accountability. Formal requests to both former IDC CEO Mateyo Kaluba and current CEO Cornwell Muleya have gone unanswered. This refusal to act not only violates parliamentary directives but also undermines President Hakainde Hichilema’s pledge to root out corruption.
“The IDC’s silence is a slap in the face to every Zambian citizen,” said Charles. “We cannot allow those who looted public funds to walk free while our people suffer. This is not just negligence—it is complicity.”
On 17 December 2024, ZCCM Defense formally requested the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) to investigate this scandal with urgency. With public anger mounting, the ACC has a chance to prove its commitment to justice—or risk being seen as another cog in a corrupt machine.
The Zambian people deserve answers, and they deserve them now. Each day of inaction deepens the suspicion that the real criminals are being protected by those in power. If Zambia is serious about fighting corruption, it must start by holding the perpetrators of the Ndola Lime scandal accountable—no matter how high up the chain they sit.
Zambia cannot afford another cover-up. The time for justice is now.
KUMWESU DEC 20, 2024
This is an issue that occured in 2019. This man is brining up issues that happened under PF now. Why? If this shareholder is a lawyer and reports that the issue was raised in the Parliamentary committee under the leadership of Mateyo at IDC, and Kasolo and Mwanashiku at ZCCM-IH and all these persons have been removed. What is this man trying to do? Stir a hornets net? If he thinks his investment in ZCCM-IH investment is not secure. Sell his shares. Activist shareholding is not needed. Mr. Terrie should have written to ACC when he failed to get an answer from Mr. Mateyo in 2019. He is just a noise maker.