Kuzeeko Tjitemisa
Windhoek-The Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Stanley Simataa, yesterday told parliament that the reduction in printed copies of New Era is a result of high printing and distribution costs that its publisher, New Era Publication Corporation (NEPC), faces.
Simataa said this while responding to questions posed by DTA chief chip in the National Assembly, Jennifer van der Heever, who wanted to know the reason behind the reduction in New Era copies.
“The cost of printing is about N$24 million annually while the distribution is approximately N$9 million annually,” said Simataa, adding that during these times of financial difficulties organisations must flex their expenditure within the ambit of available means to ensure sustainability of their operations.
He says although the reduction in the number of copies printed is regrettable on the part of the newspaper’s readership, the action taken should be seen against the backdrop of the obligation management has to align expenditure with available revenue.
According to the deputy minister New Era printed 17,000 copies daily from Monday to Thursday and 25,000 copies on Fridays.
“Copies printed were based on projected market demand,” he explained.
Simataa says currently New Era prints 8,000 copies on Monday, and Wednesday, 7,000 on Tuesday and Thursday, and 17,000 copies on Friday.
He said this reduction is meant to contain the expenditure against income.
Furthermore, Simataa informed the National Assembly that NEPC has ceased the production of New Era Weekend newspaper, as announced last month by the corporation.
He said this was done after reviewing the performance of the weekend paper against the costs of production and distribution.
“The corporation has reviewed the performance of the paper against the costs of production and distribution and has since taken the decision on production of the weekend paper,” Simataa told fellow lawmakers.