R1bn boost for libraries
2006-02-10 11:48
Cape Town - South Africa's libraries are to get a R1bn funds injection over the next three years, Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan announced on Friday.
Briefing the media at parliament, he described the plan to revitalise the country's deteriorating public libraries as a "massive, massive intervention".
It would ensure the promotion of a reading culture.
"South Africa has a weak reading culture. You are not internationally competitive if you can't read, and this is one way of stimulating this."
The expenditure represented a more than hundred-fold increase in spending over previous years.
Other infrastructure overhauls included the National Archives in Pretoria.
"In fact a whopping R700m extension to the National Archives has been approved, and is in the design phase."
Responding to a question on whether government intended to introduce tax exemption on books, Jordan replied: "This has been on the backburner for a long time. Government is looking at it, but there is no decision on the matter."
- SAPA