INLSA

King Goodwill Zwelithini. Picture: S'bonelo Ngcobo

Premier Zweli Mkhize is in New York city to lobby for KwaZulu-Natal to be recognised as the deserving destination for a foreign direct investment by US and international investors.

Mkhize, who left on Tuesday at the invitation of Revd Jesse Jackson, president and founder of the Rainbow Push Coalition, has already addressed African Americans in a bid to ensure that they choose KZN as their destination for foreign direct investment and tourism.

In this campaign, Mkhize has sought to emphasise the point that African Americans should reconnect with SA because over the years they had been at the forefront of the struggle against apartheid – assisting South Africans to mount a formidable battle against the apartheid regime.

“You have helped us achieve political freedom, now you must work with us to achieve economic freedom. This is the struggle which we must fight collectively as brothers and sisters,” Mkhize said.

Over the past 30 years Jackson has played a pivotal role in virtually every movement for empowerment, peace, civil rights, gender equality and economic and social justice.

Later this year KZN will be host to African Americans in an international investment conference to be held in Durban, under the auspices of Rainbow Push Coalition.

“We believe that this conference will assist in strengthening people-to-people contact and business-to-business relations between people of the two countries. More importantly, KZN has achieved its status as a stable province because of the manner in which members of the provincial cabinet have conducted themselves and the effort they exerted in serving the people of KwaZulu-Natal to the best of their abilities,” said Mkhize.

Today Mkhize has been invited to the Nasdaq Market in the New York City’s Times Square to ring the closing bell. - The Mercury