Tanzania: Books becoming unaffordable

  1. Posted on Friday 13 February 2009 - 15:18
    deo
    Image of deo
    Deo Simba, VoicesofAfrica Mobile reporter in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
    The book industry in Tanzania is still young. Publishers face many challenges in running their businesses. There are many marketing challenges. Recent reports from the Publishers Association of Tanzania (PATA) had it that there are books worth more than TZS 60 billion (US $50 million) in their warehouses all together.
    Loading video...
    This is not a small investment in a developing country like Tanzania. Really something needs to be done to rectify the situation and ensure that publishers get their due returns in time. The government has a role to play in this matter, especially when there are reports of book shortage in schools. So far, the government remains the single major buyer of books in the country.

    The Central Government is supposed to send money down to schools so that the latter would buy books (aproved by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training) of their choice. Further reports from both the Government and other stakeholders have it that money allocated for purchase of school books has not all been spent for the purpose in the previous fiscal year as well as in the current one.

    The picture then is a gloomy one. It is equally important for other potential buyers, such as parents, schools, libraries, NGOs and CBOs to put priority to the book. It cannot be overemphasized that for a country to develop, her people have to be well educated for them to make meaningful contributions to the development of their countries. There is no other way of making a people of a country to be well educated if a book is not put in the hands of a child starting from an early age both at home and at school.

    The nation therefore needs to move fast to rectify the situation. Political will plus officials and other stakeholders being responsible will help bring about the 'much wanted change and push forward'.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive