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Deputy Minister for Defence, Major Derek Oduro has expressed disgust over the progress of the Kumasi Shoe Factory.

He was unhappy about the factory's work output since establishment and also bemoaned the number of workers at the factory.

During a tour at the Kumasi Shoe Factory, Hon. Derek Oduro was shocked to find out that the factory has only 49 workers.

According to him, he anticipated to find over 300 workers on his way to the factory and was therefore dismayed by the numbers.

He also lamented about what he termed as lack of proper planning and managerial skills by the management of the factory, hence resulting in the unproductiveness of the Kumasi Shoe Factory.

The embittered Deputy Minister noted that the Kumasi Shoe Factory was established to serve a good purpose by supplying goods to several entities like the Armed Forces and to countries like Cote D'Ivoire, Burkina Faso and so forth, and Ghana at large.

But the factory has failed to serve its purpose and has producing sub-standard goods which have no market value.

He therefore called for proper measures to revamp the factory and assured that the government will salvage the factory from its defunct state.

Revived some four years ago, the Kumasi Shoe Factory has had a mixture of good and bad luck during its operations.

Although the company was revived with the promise by the  government to be the sole manufacturer of all the shoes for the Ghana Armed Forces and other security agencies in the country, this promise is yet to be fulfilled.

The company, with the capacity to produce over 700, 000 shoes and sandals annually and ability to employ more than 2,500 people, is still a pale shadow of its prospects.

History

The shoe factory was the footwear division of the erstwhile Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC), established by the first President of the country, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah in 1960. It was to produce boots for personnel of the public security services and the general public.

Following the overthrow of Dr Nkrumah, the company collapsed and was revived in November 2012 through collaboration between a private investor, Czech-based company, Knights, and the Defence Industries Holding Company (DIHOC) of the Ministry of Defence.