The book industry needs investors – GPA

Mr Asare Konadu Yamoah, the President of the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA), has called on stakeholders in the publishing industry to increase investment efforts, as the vibrancy of the industry is determined by funds pumped into it.

He said stakeholders over the years had looked at the small picture when indeed the larger picture shows that the industry had a lot of space in the market to increase scope and output.

Mr Yamoah was speaking at a swearing-in ceremony of an eleven-member new Council to steer the affairs of the Association for the next three years.

The GPA President noted that whatever was required to be done to make the industry vibrant, professional and secure for its future business must start now.

He said the country had the advantage of earning revenue from the export of the brand of literature and education, hence, the need to develop a country strategy to promote books as an export resources and a revenue generation component.

Mr Yamoah explained that there was the need to work hard towards improving on the country’s literary development and book standards.

“We need the right legal framework and enabling policies such as National Book Development Policy, National Book Procurement Strategy, and National Reading and Literacy Programme,” he said.

He said there was the need to encourage the publication of books on history, culture and human development, adding that, the Association needed to work at making books and authorship one of the cornerstones of the country’s cultural heritage.

Mr Yamoah said there was the need to create an enabling business environment with the view to attracting new investments into the Ghanaian book industry.

He said the country had the edge over many countries in Africa and must take advantage to become the publishing hub for the continent, noting that without state support and cooperation, it will however be difficult.

Swearing in the new council, Mrs Eleanor Kakra Barnes-Botchway, the District Magistrate of the Kaneshie District Court, urged the new council to go about their operations devoid of politics in order to effectively deliver on their mandate.

The New Council members are: Mr Yamoah, President; Mr Edward Yaw Udzu, Vice President; Mr Kwabena Agyapong, Treasurer; and Ms Dorcas Gyamfuah Gyabeng, Secretary.

The Non-Executive Members of the Council who were also sworn in are: Mr Berifi Apenteng of Edkap Publishing, Mr Christian Owusu Botchway of Hyirenn Publishing, Mr Emanuel Nyarko of Town and Country Books Service, Mr Fred Labi of Digibooks Ghana Limited, and Mr Kingsley Mate-Kole of G-Pak Limited.

The rest are: Mr Reuben Glover, the Head, Department of Publishing Studies at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology; and Ms Pamela Woode, the Director of Sam Wood Limited.