Book Publishers Association of Malawi (Bpam) President Maureen Masamba said on Thursday she will not contest during the incoming elections saying she has done her part and that it was time for others to take over.
The body goes to the polls on March 28 2025 with all positions including that of the president up for grabs.
“All positions are available for contest and we call upon all those who are interested to come forward. As for me, I feel I have done my part and it is time to hand over the leadership to others,” Masamba said.
She said that they will hold a virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) on the day where reports will be presented and then elections will follow for a new National Executive Committee (Nec).
“We are looking forward to the elections and then welcome the new Nec that will drive the body and continue from where we will stop. It has been great for me serving Bpam,” Masamba said.
The former board chairperson of Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) said recently that Bpam had made strides in its affairs in its quest to elevate publishing in the country and at the same time help the government to promote reading and writing culture.
Some of the achievements that Masamba highlighted included Bpam having audited and certified financial accounts.
The Bpam leader also said last year she was elected into African Publishers Network (Apnet) board alongside John Yohane and thatthey also attended the Sharjah International Book Fair Publishers Conference in Dubai and African Publishers Conference in Harare, Zimbabwe.
“Bpam also secured funding from Copyright Fund through Cosoma for anti-piracy symposiums in the three regions of the country,” Masamba said.
She lamented book piracy which she said is still on the rise in the country and that it has led to players in the industry failing to earn from their sweat.
“Book piracy is killing the industry and this is something that as a body, we need to remain steadfast to tackle heavily this year. We need to continue taking that lead role to sensitise the masses about piracy. There is a need to respect copyright laws,” Masamba said.
The Bpam leader said funding of Bpam operations remains a challenge, in that their dependency on membership subscriptions is not adequate because of lack of publishing business and members default on their subscription.
“We also need to look deeper on how we can exploit the digital space as publishers. We are already into it but we need to do more and make our presence felt as well as connect with the world,” she said.
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