Book-printing industry - African booksellers and publishers on Monday called on governments to limit their dominance in the publication of school books and other learning materials and allow the involvement of the private sector.

Speaking at an international conference to discuss book development in Africa, the publishers called for the signing of three-party agreements between booksellers, publishers and governments, to stop the rising cost of buying books in Africa, where most people rarely access new technologies. 

Guru Redhi, President of the South African Booksellers Association, warned that the South African government was edging out private book publishers. He said the government was failing to recognise the importance of having private publishers and was continuing to dominate.

Similar complaints came from the Kenya Association of Book Publishers, who also warned that the government's involvement in the book publishing industry, was “big problem.

'State publishers in Kenya is a big problem. It is a problem that we hope we can begin to haunt us and we need ways to turn it around. We hope we would be able to access the markets,” said David Muita, the Chairman of the Kenya Book Publishers Association.

Speaking during the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) International conference, bringing together 60 book publishers, government representatives and booksellers, Muita said the involvement of the state should be controlled in the interest of the education sector in Africa.

A Ugandan book publisher, Charles Batambuza said the Kenyan book publishers were not as seriously affected by the government monopolies as other countries in West Africa.

“In some countries, government publishes the books for the schools. There is no room for private players and you cannot have room for private publishers. But in East Africa, this monopoly has been dismantled,” Batambuza told PANA.

He said Kenya has some 40 registered book publishers engaged in publication of books for primary, secondary and collage and university collages, which has reduced the state dominace.

However, Muita said Kenya was also suffering from the mushrooming of “brief-case publishers” who are not members of a registered book publishing association, disclosing that 'we have seen books which are factually wrong. Booksellers should only display books from registered book publishers.”

Ronke Orimolade, a leading Nigerian literary critic and publisher, said some publishers were treated with disdain at home but were treated well outside Africa, warning against the involvement of the government in the book publishing sector and in the business in general.

Kenya is planing to slap Value Added Tax (VAT) on books and other materials used for the production of books.

“This is the reason why books are expensive. They should remove VAT on book printing material,” Orimolade advocated, adding “books are not treated as part of culture. We need to come up with quality in local languages. High quality books are too expensive for local booksellers.”

Pana 04/10/2011