The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE leather sector has pleaded with the Government to procure footwear for the security sector locally in a bid to protect local firms from cheap imports.
The leather sector, which traditionally used to manufacture 17 million shoes per year, has seen production dropping to less than 1.5 million which cannot sustain the industry. Chairman of Zimbabwe Leather Development Council Mr Clement Shoko said the sector was keen on supplying the security forces with foot wear.
“Essential services are our biggest markets, our men and women in uniform use our shoes, it is these shoes that make us a special services provider. I recommend that our sector be recognised as an essential service provider. Our men and women in uniform put on boots that we make and it is very critical in terms of protection owing to the nature of their work.
“If we can have these boots designed and made specifically for our security sector by us in Zimbabwe, we will increase numbers very quickly. In Zimbabwe we have a Staff College where security sectors from other countries also come in and learn and graduate. We are asking if our military and police shoes can be promoted into the region as there are armies and police personnel there. This will enable us to grow economically,” said Mr Shoko.
He said the industry was also in need of protective footwear which they can manufacture.
“We make safety shoes that are used in mines and industry as a requirement. These shoes cannot be imported as what is happening. We have to manufacture them locally and by doing so we need protection and we promise as an industry not to abuse this protection.”
Vice-President Dr Constantino Chiwenga officially launched the Zimbabwe Leather Sector Strategy (2021-2030) in Bulawayo recently encouraging players in the industry to increase volumes of shoes manufactured in the country.
“The strategy which was launched by the VP was aimed at increasing numbers that had gone down in the past years and address the challenges befalling the industry. We have lack of access to adequate and affordable finances, our animal husbandry practises are not, in certain areas, in favour of producing quality hides and as a result they tend to have a negative impact on the quality of the product we produce. We lack technical and managerial skills, poor marketing intelligence and promotion of the value chain,” added Mr Shoko.
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