‘NDC won’t look on for Kumasi Shoe Factory to collapse’ – Yamin

A former Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, Joseph Yamin has blamed the near collapse of the Kumasi Shoe Factory on the negligence of the Akufo-Addo administration.

Speaking on Dwaboase on Power 97.9 FM Thursday morning, the former government appointee noted that the current government has refused to patronise the shoes from the factory for the security services, thereby negatively affecting the gains of the company.

His comment comes after the management of the factory hinted it was considering closing the factory over the refusal of the security agencies to patronise its boots and shoes.

The management lamented how the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) that partly owns the company had refused to patronised their products.

According a Graphic report, work had slowed down because boots and shoes which had earlier been produced for the security agencies were still yet to be purchased, and the workforce of 200 in 2012, when the company was resuscitated, had been slashed to 41 because there is little work to be done.

Currently, the factory is producing about eight per cent of its installed capacity of 700,000 pairs of security boots per annum, Graphic reports.

But Mr Yamin whose government revamped the factory in 2012 said it is unfortunate that the government has neglected a state company that could employ more Ghanaians.

“It is very unfortunate,” Yamin told co-host Kwame Minkah and pledged to take a step that will bring the factory to live.

“I will meet with the elders of my party and we’ll together come out with what to do to prevent it from collapsing,” he added.

To him, a government that campaigned on the back of creating jobs for the youth while in opposition and talks about constructing a factory in every district to drive an industrialisation agenda would have gone an extra mile to save the Kumasi Shoe Factory which was revived by the erstwhile Mills/Mahama government through a joint partnership between a Czech Republic-based company, Knights a.s., acting through its subsidiary, Knight Ghana Limited, and the Defence Industries Holding Company Limited (DIHOC), owned by the Ghana Armed Forces.