Economic crisis, pirates paint gloomy picture for publishers

Nancy Karimi, the chairperson of Kenya Publishers Association and managing director of Jomo Kenyatta Foundation during the interview. Photo/STEPHEN MUDIARI

Although Mrs Nancy Karimi was re-elected chairperson of the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA), she has no illusions that the task ahead of the publishers’ organisation is anything but massive.
The publishing industry is yet to recover from the devastating effects of the aftermath of the post-election violence that rocked the country following the disputed 2007 elections.

Remained closed

Because of the violence, most schools in the country remained closed for the better part of first term in 2008. Further, publishers could not deliver books to most parts of the country during this time as roads had been barricaded and tribal tensions were high.

The frustration was clear among publishers as they found themselves with godowns full of books they could not deliver to bookshops around the country.

Then the global economic crisis came calling. “Funding of the free education programme has been seriously affected. Funds that should have been disbursed to primary schools in December 2008 were delayed,” Mrs Karimi said as she gave the chair’s report at the KPA Annual General Meeting held on April 22.

“The impact of this delay is now being felt in the industry. The peak season that is normally experienced between January and March did not happen this year. Some publishers have been forced to lay off staff due to the adverse business environment.”

Mrs Karimi, who is also the managing director of Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, predicted a gloomy future for the industry unless the Ministry of Education steps in to rescue the situation.

“At this point in time, things do not look good for the publishing industry,” she said. “In the current business environment, the government, through the Free Primary and Secondary Education, is the single largest buyer of instructional materials. In the absence of funding to procure these materials, the publishing industry is suffering greatly.”

Self-inflicted problem

But whichever way you look at it, this looks like a self-inflicted problem. Failing to diversify and only relying on the text-book market, Kenyan publishers effectively put all their eggs in one basket. Therefore, any upheavals within the government will affect publishers.

And if the wrangles in the coalition government are anything to go by, publishers should prepare for rough times ahead.

Mrs Karimi appeared to suggest that one of the reasons lobbying the government to release free education funds failed, was because the government does not appreciate the publishing industry’s contribution to the economy.

She is of the opinion that if credible data on the financial strength of the industry is readily available, then the government would think twice when withholding such crucial funds.

“Unfortunately, publishers have not been forthcoming with data on the size of the respective publishing houses,” she said. “While appreciating that it is the prerogative of the publishers to keep their trade secrets, it is my view that data that can assist KPA in demonstrating the turnover and contribution of the publishing industry to the economy would be extremely useful.”

Book pirates

In addition to grappling with the state of the economy, publishers have to contend with book pirates. Lack of effective legislation has made it possible for pirates to get away with the crime, emboldening them.

“The Kenya Copyright Board, where KPA is represented, has been a useful partner in fighting piracy. Unfortunately, it does not have adequate resources, making its effectiveness limited,” Mrs Karimi said.

She added, “Publishers continue to lose money as a result of piracy. These books find their way into the market through unscrupulous booksellers. Publishers must work together to stamp out this vice.”

By voting her in for a second two-year term, KPA members showed their faith in Mrs Karimi’s stewardship, which also shows they are confident she has what it takes to steer the industry out of the problems it currently faces.

Also retained from the previous KPA council are Mr Lawrence Njagi, managing director of Mountain Top Publishers; Mr Kakai Karani, general manager, Longman Kenya Publishers; and Mrs Wanjiru Ndenge of Single Publishers.

New entrants to the council are Mr Kiarie Kamau, a general manager at East African Educational Publishers; Mr Joseph Githinji, Downtown Publishers; and Mrs Janet Njoroge, managing director, Longhorn Publishers.