THERE is need to introduce harsher penalties if Zimbabwe is to win the battle against book piracy, vice chaiperson of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF), Musaemura Zimunya has said.
By Own Correspondent
In an interview during the second and final day of ZIBF 2014 at the Large City Hall in Bulawayo, Zimunya said book piracy was not being considered a serious crime like cattle rustling, hence the light sentences imposed on the culprits.
“Right now, if you steal a cow the minimum you get is nine years imprisonment, but a cow is only worth about $300 to $400,” he said.
“A school textbook, on the other hand, would bring in much more revenue to publishers, authors and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority.
“Now, if someone goes book pirating, and they get two years maximum (in prison), what is that?”
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Zimunya added that ZIBF has since September 2013 run several anti-piracy programmes targeting writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians and printers, but the effort failed to produce the desired results.
He said stakeholders had appointed a committee to lobby for stiffer penalties against culprits.