Beefing military forces needs with local supply

Ethiopia projects to locally source the supply needs of its security force which will ultimately lead to job expansion and benefits. Ministry of Industry (MOI) with its relevant offices and officials from the federal and regional security bodies have discussed the various aspects in the project that will see local manufacturers boosting the quality and ample supply of military fatigue, footwear and military purpose tactical belts for the security apparatus. During the meeting held on Tuesday February 15, Melaku Alebel, Minister of MOI, said that there are opportunities out there that need to be tapped.

He said that as per the required standard and discipline of the sector, the battledress must be prepared and produce unlike other products. “Manufacturers should know that,” he remarked.

On the discussion Dagnachew Shiferaw, Director General of Leather Industry Development Institute, said that on the latest military operation, Ethiopian footwear and leather goods manufacturers were able to supply almost all of the military footwear and heavy-duty belts for the law enforcement body.

One of the senior staff of the Ethiopian Defense Force (EDF), who attended the meeting, appreciated the quality of the footwear which are locally produced and supplied to the military.

“My comments are only on the upper leather part of the shoes which ought to receive improvements. Otherwise, the sole and other parts are as per the required standard,” the senior staff of EDF noted whilst appreciating the effort of the local manufacturers.

So far most of the military fatigue that the Ethiopian security wears is imported, however, it can also be easily replaced by local supply since the manufacturers have ample attention and follow up from relevant bodies like finance and foreign currency for the operation and import of accessories. The major target of the meeting was creating a linkage between the security body, government offices and manufacturers so as to tap in to the country’s potential of local products rather than allocating foreign currency to import the products.

One of the security officers who attended the meeting stressed that the country has to work on this area strongly since the military force is expanding further in the coming periods. Ethiopia is exporting USD 114 million worth of textile and garment, while the import is USD 525 million. Melaku said that the local textile and garment’s industry capacity is very high which can meet the local demand and replace the import. “We have to utilize our capacity to narrow the trade deficit on the sector,” Melaku noted.

Similarly, the country is allocating over a billion dollars to import leather goods including footwear, while the export is about 100 million dollars. However, Dagnachew argued that the local produce, mainly in the shoes sector is highly competitive compared with most of the import goods. “Awareness creation is crucial to encourage citizens to buy local products, which is competitive in terms of quality and price,” he said.