History

The Pan African Booksellers Association (PABA) is a non-profit making umbrella organisation of national booksellers associations from across Africa; its head office is
in Nairobi, Kenya.

The idea for PABA was born at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) in July
1996, when a group of booksellers in Africa met and shared their experiences. It was established at the ZIBF in Harare in 1997 and officially constituted at the ZIBF in July 1998.

Since then membership has grown from four African national booksellers associations
to 25. PABA has undertaken programmes of support and training to help build member associations’ capacities and a significant breakthrough in regularizing trade relations with publishers was achieved with the signing in 2001 of a Memorandum of Understanding between PABA and the African Publishers Network (APNET), the pan-African organization for publishers.



Membership

Full membership of PABA is open to National Booksellers Associations from any country in Africa. At present PABA’s membership include booksellers associations in 25 countries: Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Membership of PABA as an Associate is also open to corporate bodies and individuals from Africa and elsewhere in the world who support the Association’s aims.



Organisation

PABA’s constitution provides for the day-today affairs of the Association to be conducted on the behalf of the membership by an Executive Committee, the members of which are:


Officers:

Lily Nyariki - Chairperson
C/o Moi University Bookshop
P.O. Box 3900, Eldoret, Kenya
Tel: +254 53 43122 (Direct line) / +254 53 43259
Fax: +254 53 43259 / +254 53 43047
Mobile: +254 53 733 712117 / +254 53 720 777605
Email: lnyariki@yahoo.com

Albert M. Ndlovu - Vice Chairperson
Booksellers association of Zimbabwe
New Book House, 78 Kaguvi Street, P.O. Box 3916, Harare, Zimbabwe
Tel: +263 4 781772
Fax: +263 4 750282
Mobile: +263 4 09137 8936
Email: bazim@mweb.co.zw

Hudson Unene - Honorary Treasurer
University of Zambia Bookshop
P.O. Box 46 UNZA, Lusaka, Zambia
Tel: +260 1 290032 
Mobile: +260 9 6730498 / +260 9 7727647
Email: hudsonunene@yahoo.com

Catherine Tuganeiyo - Honorary Secretary
P. O. Box 33062, Kampala, Uganda
Mobile: +256 71 408950
Fax: +256 41 534973
Email: ctugaineyo@muucsf.org


Committee members:

Amadou Toure
Association Malienne des Libraries Professionelles
B.P. 2539, 603 Av. Modibo Keita, Bamako, Mali
Tel / Fax: +223 2219706
Email: ahtoure2002@yahoo.fr

Emmanuel Tonyigah
University Bookshop
P.O. Box LG, 1 Legon, Ghana
Tel: +233 21 500398 
Fax: +233 21 500774
Email: bookshop@ug.edu.gh

Oluronke Orimalade - Previous Chairperson  
Books and Prints Ltd
49 Lawani Street, Onitiri, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria
Tel: +234 1 802 3410062 / 8185396
Email: booksandp@yahoo.com



Meetings

PABA hosts the African Booksellers Convention every year at a one of the main African book fairs. It also holds an Annual General Meeting timed to coincide with an African book fair. The latest AGM was held in September 2005 in Nairobi. Other workshops, seminars and meetings are held as the need or opportunity arises (see Programmes page for further details).