Zimbabwe¡¯s imposition of a 40 per cent import duty on books could leave academics and students unable to access global knowledge, it has been warned.

Jonathan Moyo, the country¡¯s higher education minister, is among those who have called for the repeal of the duty, which came into force on 1 September.

Patrick Chinamasa, the minister of finance, said that the levy would incentivise the revival of Zimbabwe¡¯s publishing industry and reduce dependency on imports.

But in a letter to his colleague, , Professor Moyo argues that the local book industry does not have the capacity to meet demand. The duty would also breach United Nations treaties, the minister says.

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¡°Any measures that restrict access to learning materials become matters of grave concern,¡± Professor Moyo was quoted as saying. ¡°Your urgent redress of the anomaly leading to restriction[s] in accessing textbooks would be appreciated.¡±

that academic textbooks currently cost between $70 (?46) and $120 (?79) in Harare bookshops, but said that the range was likely to be between $100 and $170 by the end of the year.

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Bheki Jakobe Ncube, a lecturer in journalism and media studies at Bulawayo¡¯s National University of Science and Technology, said that the government should target non-essential commodities such as beer rather than books.

¡°Our university library is already under-stocked, and individual lecturers make up for the deficit by buying books from international booksellers,¡± he told the newspaper. ¡°With this duty, we are bound to produce ¡®quarter-baked¡¯ graduates.¡±?

chris.havergal@tesglobal.com