Kenya publishers association gets new chairman

Nairobi, Kenya - Mr David Waweru is the new Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) chairman. He was elected unopposed, by members, during their Annual General Meeting, at Hotel Boulevard in Nairobi yesterday. He replaces Lawrence Njagi, who has served his mandatory two terms of two years each.

Mr Waweru, the CEO of WordAlive Publishers, takes over at a time when the local book industry is facing the twin challenges of piracy and rising cost of books after the government imposed VAT on reading materials.

In his acceptance speech, he promised to see to it that VAT Act 2013 is amended to exempt books from VAT.

He promised to slay "the dragon of piracy, by working with key stakeholders to strengthen the legal infrastructure.

Also voted into KPA's governing council are John Mwazemba, Simon Sossion, Peter Kimanthi, Kithaka wa Mberia, Eve Obara and Mary Maina.