The Visit of Zambian Vice President Inonge Wina

Floor Speech

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Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege and honor to welcome the Vice President of the Republic of Zambia, the Honorable Inonge Mutukwa Wina, to my Los Angeles district for a visit. Vice President Wina is the highest ranking woman in Zambian government history, and she brings a delegation of officials to the U.S. with the assistance of Robert Sichinga, Jr., Honorary Consul for Zambia in Los Angeles.

A major purpose of Vice President Wina's visit is to raise awareness of the tremendous opportunities for economic investment in her home country. Some of the fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa. In particular, Mrs. Wina comes to promote the Jubilee Women's Integrated Highway Markets Program as a support for entrepreneurship that will begin to build wealth among rural families.

The Jubilee Women's Integrated Highway Markets Program is a three year program to transform makeshift markets along Zambian highways into thriving economic engines, run cooperatively by the women who make up the majority of businesses found in these locations. It aims to create modern, integrated economic hubs, one in each of Zambia's ten provinces. The markets would offer not only sturdy structures, plumbing and solar power, but would also offer literacy and skills training, banking and other services, and child care facilities.

Women play an essential role in lifting families out of poverty and promoting a nation's fortunes. Studies show that investing in women's businesses correlates closely with better-fed children who stay longer in school, and women tend to reinvest profits in expanding their business, thereby building wealth for the longer term.

I wish Vice President Wina and all of those traveling with her a pleasant, rewarding and successful trip, and I look forward to partnering with her in the future.

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