Dr. Rajan Mahtani is an avid philanthropist and one of the major acts of philanthropy was establishing the Steven Malama award. This award was established in honour of late Steven Malama, a distinct legal professional from Zambia. Dr. Rajan Mahtani was a close friend of late Steven Malama and is aware of his various contributions towards the development and uplifting of the Zambian legal framework. He is notable for persuading Zambian government to merge Barristers’ Bar and Registrar Bar into a single bar so that legal graduates can get affiliation.
To honour these significant contributions, the Steven Malama award was instituted by Dr. Rajan Mahtani in the year 2012 in collaboration with the Finance Bank Zambia where Dr. Rajan Mahtani holds the position of Chairman. The award was inaugurated in the year 2013 and in this year only, Dr. Rajan Mahtani announced that this award will be given every year. The award is presented to the top graduating candidate from the Zambian Institute of Advanced Legal Education. The top graduating candidate also has to qualify for bar in their first attempt. The latest Steven Malama award for the year 2018-19 was given to Emmanuel Bwalya Kaluba. Apart from this prestigious recognition, the award also carries a plaque, certificate and a cash prize of K15,000. This cash prize has supported the deserving candidates in numerous forms. Winning graduates have been able to opt for potential training and certifications to further improve their career and growth options. To thank Dr. Rajan Mahtani for his significant contributions, an article was penned down by Emmanuel which was later published at the ‘Readers Forum’ in Daily Mail newspaper. In this article, Dr. Rajan Mahtani was thanked for his significant contributions for improving opportunities for deserving legal graduates and upcoming legal professionals in Zambia.
Dr. Rajan Mahtani continues to work towards philanthropic activities despite the various economic and business-related challenges faced. Most of his philanthropic activities go unnoticed as these are not promoted like other businessmen or companies.
