Tanzanians have the highest literacy rate in Africa but hardly anything to read. Soaring paper costs and interest rates have brought the publishing industry to a virtual standstill. Educators who have spent years teaching adults to read and write Kiswahili in the shade of trees are disillusioned. They fear the publishing crisis could undermine the achievements of a 20-year literacy campaign. Schools have also been hit hard by the book shortage; in Dar es, Salaam one textbook has to be shared among 13 pupils. At the time of independence in 1961, less than 10 percent of the population was literate. A concentrated effort was launched to boost literacy and extend knowledge of a unifying language -Kiswahili-in a nation that spoke 120 different tongues. The campaign was a great success. But only six new children's books have been published since 1986, Education circulation and quality have fallen while prices have risen in response to the increase in the cost of newsprint. Publishers have mountains of material waiting to go to the printers. Thomas Kamugisha, a veteran publisher, says manuscripts can gather just for seven years before a publisher has the funds to proceed. The Southern Paper Mill, built in 1985 in the Mufindi district with aid money from Sweden and elsewhere, produces a paper that is more expensive than imports and is often damaged beyond use when it reaches Dar es Salaam, 60 Kilometres away. An annual book fair held in Dar es Salaam during the second week of September always highlights the pathetic state of the publishing industry. Last year, a book-starved crowd of 150,000 turned out to see what little was on offer. In a country where publishers cannot afford to print books and readers cannot afford to buy them, books are now regarded as another scarce commodity.