Publishing Industry in Africa needs to be re-addressed

By Eric Sindabi
In 1973 a Conference on Publishing in Africa was held in Nigeria to address on the way forward in developing the industry. The conference resulted in the formation of a wide range of recommendations that were geared towards developing the low ranked industry in the world, according to UNESCO statistics.
The recommendations reflected on key issues that were to be addressed. These included developing Paper manufacturing industry, Training printing experts and setting up standards on printing. The conference also recommended that up coming Authors in Africa were to be motivated by publishing their works while being trained through creative workshops and award schemes. The conference also addressed the issue of developing sound publishing policies in Africa and heightening the book distribution market. Nevertheless the conference stressed that African governments had the responsibility of developing reading cultures on grassroots levels.
Over the years there has been little however that has been achieved. UNESCO statistics still rank Africa low in the world publishing industry. With the influx of the information Technology dabbed; information explosion, the print media is headed for doom unless re- addressed. The electronic media of the Internet is a threat to the print media even though the ideal source of information for the electronic media is the book form. Much needs to be done to revive the Print media as a sole source of knowledge and a cultural heritage of generations.
Up coming Authors ought to be motivated and trained while publishers and distributors need to be objective and diverse. Governments in Africa must address the issue of illiteracy and develop grassroots reading culture initiatives. It is true indeed that an informed society is a developed society. Africa shall never develop as long as its people continue living in darkness-read IGNORANCE.