First Lady Thandiwe Banda has appealed to the people of the United States of America to take advantage of Zambia’s conducive political and business environment to invest in the country. Mrs. Banda has also reiterated that Zambians consider peace as an essential ingredient for current and future development initiatives hence they promote it.
She was speaking in Beverly Hills at the Fox Entertainment Studios in Los Angeles, USA, last night at a cocktail party held in her honour by the Fox Entertainment Group.Mrs. Banda, who is here at the invitation of a not-for profit organization, Prevent Hate, is accompanied by 13 Zambian businesswomen who were today scheduled to attend an entrepreneurial workshop.
The workshop is aimed at fostering business linkages between Zambians and their Los Angeles counterparts.
At the cocktail party that was attended by an array of Hollywood stars and business persons, Mrs. Banda said Zambia was an ideal investment destination because of its political stability, abundant natural resources and enabling business atmosphere.
She emphasized that it was important that Zambians and the business persons of Los Angeles took advantage of the twin-city relationship that has existed between Los Angeles and Lusaka since 1968. And Fox Entertainment Group senior vice-president Mitsy Wilson said her organization was honoured to host Mrs. Banda who was accompanied by Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Catherine Namugala.
And in an interview with Fox News, Mrs. Banda said peace was an asset that Zambians could not afford to lose as there were many lessons from many African countries about what would happen in the event of turmoil.
Mrs. Banda told anchor Susan Hirasuna that Zambian people were determined to preserve their peace, which was why she would keep on being a crusader of peace initiatives, hence her acceptance to Prevent Hate’s invitation.
While here, Mrs. Banda has visited the Jenesse Centre for Domestic Violence, a modern shelter for victims of violence where they receive comprehensive services such as job training, counseling and legal help. The first lady’s delegation has also toured the Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust with the aim of creating an understanding between Zambians and the Los Angeles Jewish community.
Mrs. Banda, who arrived here last Thursday, also spent time with Zambians living in California at social evening hosted at the residence of Mr. Kalima Chimpampwe where Zambian athlete Prince Mumba was among the guests. Mrs. Banda urged the Zambians here to invest their earnings in Zambia so as to contribute to the country’s development.
And president of the Association of Zambians in California, Mwelwa Mulenga, appealed for the establishment of a consular in California, saying the state had a population of over 4,000 Zambians.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Banda yesterday attended church service at the West Angeles Cathedral at the invitation of Bishop Charles E Blake. Mrs. Banda was given time to address the congregants and in her speech, she thanked Bishop Blake for supporting African children through his charity, Save Africa’s Children.
ZANIS
Same ol’ same…Is that the only thing she has ever memorized since she started dwelling at plot #1 ? 😮
bamayo bapa number 1 plot utupeya
Good work Thandie, I’m actually starting to appreciate you, not your hubby though.
Well done Mrs. Banda.
:d/
Mrs Banda, we Zambian-Americans are the only ones who can invest in Zambia without selfish motives. Give us incentives and we shall be glad to do business back home. Why do you always appeal to people who come to reap you off?
Ba number 1 ba Chinene………your name speaks volumes of you
Lets give credit where its due. It aint easy being first lady this day and age and Mrs Banda is giving it a good shot given her humble back ground.
Thandiwe dont worry about us Zambians we are generally a thankless bunch of i.d.i.o.t.i.c underchievers, who are nothing but armchair critics
Thandiwe at FOX Studios, Ka! Iyo Kwena. Next Thing you know, FOX will be promoting a new blockbuster movie:
Fox Studios, presents the highly acclaimed movie of the year. Has already shattered box office records in its first week of release!! Directed by Cosmo Mulongoti and Starring superstar actress, Thandiwe, in the movie, “WHY I SHOULDN’T HAVE MARRIED BWEZANI!!
A must see thriller of 2010!! Now showing at all movie theaters.
Americans are always willing to help but they know how to do their homework. Once they find out what a trashy government we have the ball game will change.
OMG, Fox New? Ba Fox tebantu imwe. Are shoulder pads back?:d
#7 WANJIPAYA LOL
# 9, Yes they are back. Thandiwe came to the US to audition as a dancer with the sister sledge. She found the band is long gone. The unfortunate thing of living with old Banda.
“Americans are always willing to help but they know how to do their homework. Once they find out what a trashy government we have the ball game will change.”
I totally disagree with your statement. Mrs. Banda is asking the Americans to invest and not to help. There is a difference. If she was asking them to help, she would have been talking about aid. Instead she is talking about investment and she must be congratulated on such a patriotic stance.
Secondly, the investment climate in Zambia is very conducive. There are many investment opportunities for many both local and foreign to exploit. The Malaysians, Chinese, South Africans and local Zambians are reaping the benefits of Zambia’s conducive investment climate.
Thandiwe has even become a fashion trendseter. Nama shoulder pads, ka. Anyway in American football, they wear pads to protect themselves during tackles. She definately needs them against Bwezani!!:-w
I think she has been using colgate Pomolive the bones in the mouth are very white really Zambian. The saisaw on the head looks great as well:-?:-?:-w so what else are going to improve on I think Change husband.
No comment about story but Thandie looks good, shame about the outfit tho, hope that is not what she wore at the FOX studios! Thandie, keep looking that radient and take a few fashion pages from Obama’s lady and french first lady Carla- mamama!-We might just keep RB in the country for two weeks without him boarding that tired jet heading to Lord knows where ;;)
Ba moze =))=)) you are funny! Its good to see you back on the blogs, ur comments make me laugh
#16 Sharp. Cheers!!
Even wives of presidents must have a degree!!!
AFRICAN (especially Zambians), BE CONFIDENT WITH YOUR HAIR. SINCE WHEN DID THANDI HAVE A WHITE WOMAN’S HAIR. EVEN THE FIRST LADY CAN’T IMPART SENSE IN OUR CHILDREN. IT’S A SHAME THAT AFRICAN LACK CONFIDENT.
#19 Peter, Go easy on the first lady. Uziba che ku FOX Studios you need to look like one of them. Teti basumine vikuti na mukule? Teti!!:o
Where is Veteran Senior Citizen? I hear he is the one covering Bana Banda. So it is true he is Ben Kangwa guys? He is always off blog when ever a gonvernment official goes to the USA.
Is that all you care about what about condeming those who are threatening to Gang Rape People huh????
number 19 I hope u gave the same advice to Mrs Obama who is equally black with kinky natural hair. So your wife doesnt go to the salon every week ka? bochafye na hot comb ya pambabula!!! get real move with the times
Fox Entertainment Studios is Century City. Fox news is West L.A on Bundy. Lusaka – LA twin sister city is a Dinosaur. Are TB’s extensions from India or a Horse? TB do not hold your hands together. It is good for Zambian culture. In World culture, you look submissive !
#24 Chibula, with due respect, but i dont know what you are on about. Ifwe kuno twaishiba Busakile, Manda Hill, Mafkeni ne fyashala, not ifyo ulelanda ati Bundy, Dinosaur…efinshi mune?
YOU GUYS READ ALL THE STORIES AND GO ABOUT CRITICIZING ANYTHING THAT HAS TO DO WITH RB. TO TELL THE TRUTH, THE LADY MAY BE YOUNG (HAHAHA) BUT SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING. I STILL THINK SHE IS BETTER THAN BETTY WAS (THE QUITE DIPLOMAT) OR VERA WAS (OH MAMA) OR EVEN MAUREEN WAS (THE LADY WHO WORE THE PANTS). GIVE CREDIT WHERE ITS DUE
All rubbish talk talk
#1Virginia Chinena
Repetition is the mother of knowledge. Everybody should do the same thing over and over again until they get it perfect. People who flirt with ideas never go anywhere. Pick a subject and get on with THAT subject until you have perfected it. That is what moves civilisation forward. The most educated people in the world like PhD holders know little about everything but everything about little.
#27 Nom de Plume Dot Com
You say ‘talk, talk.’ But what else can politicians do? The practice of politics involves talk and decision making. You cannot expect Mrs Banda to DO something other than by talking. She is talking up her country and that is a very good start. Some of you talk down your country every day and then you expect to attract money into the country. No nation has been built up without foreign investment. You can have the natural resources but they will sit under your feet for mileniums until you have money to exploit them. Ancient African civilisations like the great Zimbabwe collapsed when foreign investment stopped flowing.
AND LT, could you please help some bloggers here by stating that a picture is from achives so that people do not waste time commenting about clothes? This is not Mrs Banda in USA because I can see packets of Zambia sugar in the background.
AND LT, could you please help some bloggers here by stating that a picture is from archives so that people do not waste time commenting about clothes? This is not Mrs Banda in USA because I can see packets of Zambia sugar in the background.
What weed has this woman been smoking? What conducive political and economic environment is she talking about?
It is obvious that LT is either politically biased or the editorial staff are simply mediocre.
We have a President condoning threats by thugs to rape Nawakwi and this is the best headline you come up with? What message is Thandiwe sending to other women, how can she represent them when her husband/grandfather cannot show leadership by condemning such utterances?
LT, you have lost your relevance, you are in the decline phase of your life cycle. Word to the wise, scan your environment and adapt accordingly – a model which may have worked 6 months ago may not neccessarily apply today.
always begging.. u all disgust me you zambians
Your ideas are very good our first lady. These are things we expect. Even our president is doing a lot to this nation. Cheers MMD!
Can’t we afford a better hair-stylist at State House? That wig just doesn’t look right or dignified. No malice.
# 31 THE SAINT, marketing ku states kaili. # 24 please :-?? what has the Dinosaur done?
Some bloggers complaints about others have gone over board mwe! Cant Thandiwe donate Sugar to the USA? FTJ used to give millions to rich American churches. Lt this, LT that. Ninshi ulefwaya kanshi Hmm?[-(
#36 Nachale=)), you have really killed me!!=))
Invest in zambia? the infrastructure is so poor and corruption is a nightmare. Getting something done is a hustle! internet and telephone service is a luxury it takes 1hr to drive 20miles from kitwe to chingola because of the poor over jammed two lane road! You have to be chinese or indian to appreciate that kind of environment!
Thandy is your great grandfather RB with you in USA?
jealousy *****s,leave the first lady alone,the witch maureen was the worst first man(of course levy was the lady) to ever grace statee house
The real Saint is in Zambia not that thug who is using some other flag! The saint has not run away from Zambia. I am here home. Who is the other character using the saint!!!
#42 don’t have a complex about people living outside,no one runs from nothing but you run for somthing and to something,get your s-h-i-t tight bro,tukaba bwino kuntanshi…….
Zambians it’s always condemning i have not seen anything wrong with the first lady asking for investors to invest in our country,what’s wrong with that?All you do is complain that’s why you don’t develop even in your own mind because you are polluted with condemning others,who do you have in Zambia to rule you as a good president every one is just trying to do the best they can,there is too much corruption that you can’t see the development getting better,the country has been going down since 1972.who’s to blame,not the government off course,it’s you the citizen of the country because all you do is vote for change not for a better Leader for a better Development,stop blaming Mr.Banda he is just trying to do his best iam not on his side he has just inherited the problems Mr…
We can now connect the dots! Fox Entertainment is owned by New Cooperation which also owns Fox News channel. Those of you who have been paying attention to American news, you will remember that this is the same channel that is notoriously racist towards black Americans. It is owned by Rupert Murdock who also owns SKY channel. They have been bashing Barack Obama even before he launched his campaign. They tried to link him to Pastor Jeremiah Wright’s purported incendiary comments, all because of the black church (Trinity Church of Christ). That tells you why they are in a hurry to sell Zamtel!! How can you team up with a racist from America who has been bashing your brothers for years in underhand business deals?
:d some comments in here are really funny. Ba Moze moni ku Lusaka uko….
Let Thandie gallavant as well, elyo ta kalawa akasuba…
~39 input
That is exactly the reason we need investments. Foreign capital brings jobs. Jobs bring salaries. Salaries improve people’s standards of living and reduce poverty, crime and corruption. Employees pay tax. Tax builds infrastructure. Infrastructure encourages investment. Investment brings jobs… That is the circle that must be joined somewhere. From what you are saying, there will never be improvement.
#45 that is so true fox news is owned a republican,they have no kind words for Obama and the democrats. @#12 Either way the investment climate has always been conducive in Zambia for years and years but the people in governement always have the mentality of ‘scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’.
Is this Mr Capitalist guy paid to support the governement? It seems the dude has to react to each and every critism of the government i have read so far on this blog. Oh maybe his scared that his ka diplomatic job will end as soon as RB leaves…lol.. some jobs, tesana mwe!
#12
Zambia’s investment climate is still not conducive. Comparative country analysis is available at:
http://www.doingbusiness.org/
The binding constraint is poor infrastructure. Then followed by corruption and registration procedures.
#39 and 47 I agree with you on evrey point. You have raised a point on tax, every year ZRA announces that they have raised trillions in revenues. Where is the investment, infrastructure, the jobs etc More often times ZRA stiffles the smallest Zambian investor who is trying to earn a living from his/her business by slapping them with ridiculous taxes in customs which they cannot afford to pay. If there was a method they could put in place to rsupport local businesses first, a lot of peoples businesses would be thriving and more jobs would be created. Stop the clout first and empower your own people first before you can be advocating for foreign investment.
Bushe ni tie uyu kakobeke mumukoshi??
I always here the same old sh*** the goverment always looking for foreign investors while the average Zambian who has the potential knowlegde of the country is left out in the cold.I agree with I LOVE ZED.
Empowering Zambians is the way forward, Look at what happened to the mines, they said the copper had finished in Baluba mine and yet ba Chainese came and are ripping us off in a major way. These kind of deals where taxes are lower for foreign investors only take the people of this beloved country to the dogs. I think our leaders always take advantage that we are a peacefull nation and just do thinng to benefit them selves. we are peacefull but not stupid, one day people will rise and share the countrys wealth evenly. I am so pissed off,
#31, hahaha, Zambia sugar in the background, well noted….@};-
Shes is right to ask americans, do you need to be motivated to invest in your home #5?
Vision no 6 out of 40 plus countries in Africa is certainly conducive
Did you people in the US ask her why her husband dines and wines with confessed rapists?
Madam Oga….must go over to Haiti and support the victims there, since she’s already that side of the globe, she should bring back some haitian orphans to come and live in africa.. many of them are being trafficked by the wrong people for wrong reasons:)>-
I wonder if RnB is doing a good job on this seemingly underutilised damsel
this girl with all the money at her fingertips, sure to embarrass us with this outift instead of a hanging top honestly
I am asking all my fellow Americans to consider not to invest in Zambia because of gross human rights crimes committed by this Govt and also gross mismanagement of the economy by this Govt who have exploited the poor left them gone to Europe,India or South Africa for simple medical treatment draining the economy while the poor die in hospitals across the country without medicine, Zambia hospital a butcher houses, Doctor are worked like slaves they leave the country immediately the opportunity becomes available and nurse are streched to the out limit.Please do invest in Zambia my fellow Americans.
Stay out of Zambia
#61 Human rights violations???? Close the Guantanamo otherwise stop talking. Secret CIA prisons and even just treatment of prisoners at Abu Grab by US forces??????????? Stop making noise, correct your situation before talking.
Invest…Invest..Invest…and then what..with what incentives…sure they say the inflation rate has reduced but the current state of the Zambian economy is still not conducive enough for the type of investments our so called politicians love to chorus…Let’s develop our own industries instead of selling everything off that way we can create some sort of self regulating/sustaining mechanism to keep our economy growing and then we can invite foreign investments right now it will just add to the confusion because after 2-3 years when they notice the economy is not favorable they will leave…leading us right back to where we were in the first place!!!
the president’s wife is good woman we as zambian people are proud of her.