Johannesburg - What do you get when you ask Armscor to design a pair of shoes?
A very, very, very expensive bit of research that takes six years, lots of jargon and a product that the defence force is too shy to show Parliament.
The problem, it seems, is that women in the SANDF have unusually shaped feet.
Minister of Defence Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula told Parliament that Armscor is spending R1.595 million to design a pair of court shoes for women in the SANDF. So far, R1.2m has been spent.
The project has logged 1 608 hours over six years, including this year, and it’s not finished yet – because they haven’t got enough money – so they’ll finish in March next year.
The reply arose from questions about the progress of the shoe project from DA spokesman on Defence, MP David Maynier.
The project was “to overcome poor fit, poor comfort and foot pathologies” of the existing SANDF court shoes, said the minister.
“Due to the diversity in shape, variability in foot sizes and specific foot characteristics identified in the SANDF population, commercially available uniform footwear does not accommodate the full spectrum of the female SANDF population,” said Mapisa-Nqakula.
So they had to do “substantial research to characterise the South African female foot”.
The first year was spent on “detailed analysis of anthropometric foot data” to identify “foot forms characteristic to the SANDF female population”, said the minister.
The next year, computer-aided design software was brought in to design a base size last (a shoemaker’s model of a foot that is used as the basis for making shoes).
The third year, they made two pairs of lasts and shoes, and tried them out on the SANDF.
The fourth year, they built a full range of lasts and shoes in two styles.
The fifth year, they did “a literature review and engagement with industry” (they read research and talked to shoemakers) and modified their shoes.
This year, the sixth year, involves “a small scale fit evaluation”.
Maynier asked Mapisa-Nqakula if she could show the shoes to Parliament, but she didn’t reply to that question.
“I don't know what you get for R1.6m in female footwear, but at that price, we should expect a pair of Jimmy Choos,” said Maynier.
“There are red lights flashing all over the defence force because the operational budget has been cut to the bone.
“So, I simply cannot understand why the defence force would budget to spend R1.6m on the development of a female court shoe.
“Surely, the private sector have the available anthropomorphic data to be able to produce a comfortable female court shoe for the defence force.