The imposition of VAT on sources of information such as books and related materials will impede the attainment of an informed society as stipulated in Vision 2016.

Teachers, librarians, students, readers and other users of information gathered at the University of Botswana library auditorium as part of the Botswana Library Association's Annual General Meeting agreed unanimously that the tax puts limits on the free flow and availability of information.

Giving the perspective of the publishing industry regarding the effects of VAT, Lesedi Seitei lamented the wrong perception that Government has about books and reading materials in general. "The taxman thinks that because he has heard of someone dying of hunger, food must be important and worthy of exception from VAT. But since he has never heard of anyone dying of a lack of reading material, then reading materials and knowledge must not be that important. "But of course people starve largely because of lack of knowledge" he said. Although he acknowledged that the information industry has been negatively affected by such wrong thinking, he urged the attendants to start lobbying for support armed with factual information to support their position on the tax.

He said the amount that government spends on a student in a government-funded school has been decreasing in the last few years. "VAT affects students because it increases the cost of books while decreasing the amount at the librarian's disposal. The recent devaluation of the Pula means that it is even more expensive to import books," he explained. "Although we see decreasing budgets across the education system, we also lose a lot of resources from internal inefficiencies," he explained.

A teacher from St Joseph's College, concurred with Seitei, said that since libraries are not usually at the centre of the school's budget, most of the time the library's budget is the first to be affected whenever there are cuts. He stressed that it is vital for school libraries to be given attention since they serve students who do not have access to any public libraries. Most speakers urged the association to build a coal ition and "walk together" with students, teachers, readers, publishers, and other interested parties.

Loma Jones, a librarian and teacher at Broadhurst Primary School gave the perspective of the primary school library. "My budget has not increased even though my costs have increased with VAT and the devaluation. It is also important to remember that in a private school setting parents' expectations are even higher. "They expect their children to get the best education," said Jones. She further said that the major problem with the escalation of costs is that schools rely a lot on sourcing materials from abroad because they have to keep up with international education standards. "That puts an extra burden on the budget of the private school," she said.