3rd May, 2014
The Ghanaian government has unfolded plans to supply free sandals and shoes to schoolchildren using the Defence Industrial Holding Company (DIHOC) footwear division, formerly the Kumasi Shoe Factory, as the main production centre.
At the moment, the government also gives free uniforms to all schoolchildren, a policy started five years ago.
President John Dramani Mahama, who announced this in Kumasi Friday, said he had instructed the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to take steps to get the free shoes programme going.
Mr Mahama, who was on a familiarisation visit to the factory as part of his three-day working visit to the Ashanti Region, said the factory might not be able to meet the immediate requirement but as the company expanded with time, it would prove equal to the task.
The Kumasi Shoe Factory, which was owned by the Ghana Industrial Holding Corporation (GIHOC), was originally established by the government of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), led by President Dr Kwame Nkrumah, but became defunct in the early 1990s following neglect by successive governments, coupled with mismanagement.
Last year, the government asked the Ghana Armed Forces to take over the project, which eventually revived it.
Currently, the company produces boots for the Ghana Armed Forces.
.Culled from Graphic Online