• The shoe factory has potential to produce quality military footwear for all Defense Forces.
• If the factory is able to produce footwear for Defense Forces, huge expenses on Government would be saved.
• The factory in its current state is unable to meet the demand for footwear from mines and schools on the Copperbelt.

Zambia National Service (ZNS) Deputy Commander says plans are underway to recapitalize the Mala shoe factory in Ndola and train staff in modern technology.
Speaking when he paid a courtesy call on Zambia Embassy in Ethiopia, Charge D’ Affaires, Mrs. Nadine Chabwe, Major General Reuben Mwewa said if recapitalized and fitted with modern technology, the shoe factory has potential to produce quality military footwear for all Defense Forces.
General Mwewa stated that his delegation is in Ethiopia on a familiarization tour of the advanced and thriving leather Industry with a view of acquainting ZNS with the current technological advances in Leather and Footwear manufacturing.
He said if the factory is able to produce the footwear for Defense Forces, huge expenses on Government would be saved, noting that the factory in its current state is unable to meet the demand for footwear from mines and schools on the Copperbelt.
General Mwewa further stated that reviving the factory to full capacity will also see the much needed job creation especially among the youth.
“Once we recapitalize the factory, we will be able to produce quality footwear for all Defense and security wings in the country and that will feed into huge savings on government expenditure in that area. We can also supply the local market like schools and mines, so even as we speak, we are hardly meeting the demand because of the limited capacity,” Gen. Mwewa said.
And Zambia Embassy Charge D’ Affaires, Mrs. Nadine Chabwe expressed confidence that the familiarization tour will help scale up the leather industry in Zambia and enhance the generation of employment .
“I am confident that the tour will be of benefit to our country, and that we will learn a lot which will trickle down to the different sectors of the economy,” she said.
Ethiopia has one of the largest livestock sectors in the world and the formal Leather and Leather products (LLP) sector has been in existence for years.
This is contained in a statement issued by First Secretary- Press & Tourism at the Zambian Embassy, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Inutu Mwanza.