Speaking at a press conference in Yaounde on April 7, 2016, they condemned attempts by some publishers to convince government to return to the old practice.

Members of the Cameroon Book Publishers’ Syndicate, CAMBOPUBSYN, have risen up against recent attempts by some Cameroonian publishers to enforce monopoly in the accreditation of textbooks. Speaking at a press conference in Yaounde yesterday, April 7, 2016, they said these publishers have been lobbying government to return to the one textbook policy for each nursery, primary, secondary and high school subject, which had long been abolished.

In the statement distributed to journalists, they argued that the number of books per subject should instead be increased to five, saying that those who were lobbying for a return to the old practice were only interested in protecting their foreign interests. CAMBOPUBSYN members restated their financial and production ability to satisfy local book demand, saying that if competition was allowed to thrive, it will boost the burgeoning local publishing industry.

“Some of the best textbooks on the market are written by Cameroonians and published by us. That is why we insist on promoting competition in the industry. Only competition can help drive up quality and drive down prices,” explained Atem Emmanuel Ndeisieh, CAMBOPUBSYN Secretary General, from COSMOS Publishers. “The issue of one textbook per subject only started last year. It is the idea of only two publishers and we are against it. The future of book publishing in Cameroon is bright. It is a process that started with a lot of difficulties, but we are improving every year. We would like government to assist us,” appealed Nkwelle N. Primus, representing ANUCAM Publishers, which currently holds the CAMBOPUBSYN presidency.