The Defence Industries Holding Company (DIHOC) Footwear Division Limited says it can employ about 1,500 workers if government enforces directives requiring public schools and security agencies to procure locally made footwear. The factory, known as the Kumasi Shoe Factory, is installing new machinery capable of producing up to 15 million pairs of school sandals annually, but Board Chair Dr Karl Laryea warns the expansion will not translate into jobs without firm policy enforcement.
The company is calling on Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu, Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, and acting Defence Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson to direct public institutions under their supervision to wear locally manufactured footwear. Dr Laryea argues that without a guaranteed market, President John Dramani Mahama’s 24-hour economy agenda will remain unfulfilled.
State Agencies Defy Directives
Dr Laryea has criticised state institutions for persistently refusing to comply with government directives on local procurement. In 2014, then President John Mahama directed state agencies to procure footwear from the Kumasi Shoe Factory, but none complied. A similar directive issued in 2024 by Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak to all agencies under the ministry has also not been enforced.
The agencies involved include the Ghana Police Service, Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Immigration Service, the National Disaster Management Organisation, and the National Service Secretariat. Dr Laryea said he has personally engaged these agencies and written twice, but nobody is buying.
He said the agencies have refused to provide size specifications, known as size rolls, which are requirements for production. Instead, some have asked the factory to produce footwear without confirmed sizing and promised to purchase later. According to him, this approach makes proper planning impossible and opens the door for continued importation.
Dr Laryea said enforcement must go beyond issuing directives and there must be consequences for department heads who refuse to comply with government policy. He also drew attention to the social cost of the current situation, noting that while schools and security services import footwear, some deprived districts still have children attending school barefooted.
Production Capacity and Market Potential
According to Dr Laryea, the factory is installing new assembly lines in March that would significantly scale up production, including school sandals for basic schools and boots for security agencies. He said the factory can produce between 10 million and 15 million pairs of school sandals annually, as well as more than 700,000 pairs of assorted security boots and shoes each year. Despite this capacity, the factory currently operates at only about eight percent of its installed capacity.
He said similar policies are already being enforced in countries such as South Africa and India, where public institutions are required to buy locally manufactured goods as a way of building domestic industries. Dr Laryea said a directive requiring public schools to wear locally made footwear would not only stimulate the shoe industry but also help government sustain the 24-hour economy by ensuring steady demand.
He added that locally produced school sandals could be supplied at a lower cost, noting that duty exemptions already exist for some raw materials used in production. He warned that continued importation of footwear by public institutions puts unnecessary pressure on the cedi and weakens local manufacturing capacities.
Factory History and Ownership
The Kumasi Shoe Factory is jointly owned by the Ghana Armed Forces and Czech Republic based Knights a.s., operating in Ghana through its subsidiary, Knight Ghana Limited. Dr Laryea said millions of euros have already been invested in new machinery and refurbishment works. He said the factory’s decline reflects decades of weak policy enforcement.
In the 1960s, when Ghana’s population was about six million, the factory employed roughly 1,800 workers. Today, with a population of about 35 million, the workforce has fallen to just 41. When the factory was resuscitated in 2012, it employed about 200 workers and was expected to expand within two to three years to 800 workers. Instead, the workforce declined steadily over the past eight years due to lack of sustained orders.
The then government in 2011 estimated that at least 250,000 pairs of school sandals could be supplied immediately to deprived schools and this led President Mahama in 2014 to launch the free school sandals programme in Ada. Unfortunately, this policy could not be sustained.
As it stands, production lines are waiting to be installed, capital remains idle, and a factory capable of employing 1,500 people remains largely silent, not because it lacks capacity, but because government directives are not being enforced.
