Czech Ambassador visits Kumasi Shoe Factory
The Czech Republic’s Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Miloslav Machalek, has said his country is interested in investing in Ghana’s infrastructure, water and energy sectors.
Advertisement
Mr Machalek said this when he visited the head office of the Kumasi Shoe Factory in the Ashanti Region.
The shoe factory is the Footwear Division of the Defence Industry Holding Company (DIHOC).
The purpose of the visit, according to the ambassador, was to ascertain whether it had begun full production since it was resuscitated.
He said over the years, the Czech Government had supported the Government of Ghana through the provision of modern technologies and equipment to enhance the operations of local businesses.
“I am happy to see various Czech technologies in the country, especially at the Kumasi Shoe Factory, which is using equipment from the Czech Republic to manufacture the shoes,” Mr Machalek said.
Entering African market
Mr Machalek commended the management of the factory for its efforts at ensuring that the factory received the needed resources for its continuous operations.
He, however, urged the management to intensify the factory’s operations and enter the West African sub-region since it provided a bigger platform for the factory to market its products.
Appeal
The interim Chairman of DIHOC Footwear Division, Dr Karl Laryea, appealed to the government to come out with a policy directive that would mandate its agencies to purchase locally made products for their operations.
He said since the shoe factory was jointly owned by the Government of Ghana and Knights of Technologies, acting through its local agency, BIGA, the government could support the expansion of the company by creating the market for it.
“For instance, if all schools are directed to wear a kind of sandals and they place orders from the shoe factory, it would empower management to expand operations and create job opportunities for the youth,” Dr Laryea said.
Dr Laryea said because there was no policy directive that would open up the market for local businesses to expand their operations, “people are importing low standard products into the country and selling them at prices that destroy indigenous businesses”.
What is now the Kumasi Shoe Factory was the footwear division of the erstwhile Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC). It was established by Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s CPP Government in 1960, to produce boots for personnel of the security services and the general public.
The company, however, collapsed after the overthrow of the Nkrumah regime until the current government and Knights of Czech Republic, a leading Czech technology transfer company, revived it.