Running any kind of business in this part of the world is a daunting challenge, particularly a newspaper business.
Newspaper publishers in The Gambia have been struggling with a huge sum of debts being owed to them by customers, subscribers and advertisers.
Of course, The Point is no exception. We are, therefore, appealing to our customers to come on board to pay all their dues to enable us meet our financial obligations.
Many institutions owe us large sums of money, ranging from private institutions to public establishments.
We could have taken them to court or published their names since we have the medium, but the fact is that we value them so preciously, and have decided not to do otherwise.
It is against this backdrop that we have also given them enough time to settle their arrears, so as to avoid any form of embarrassment caused to them.
It is obvious that no institution can survive without money; we cannot settle our financial obligations, such as printing costs, staff salaries, payment of tax, and so on, without the needed financial muscle.
It's only in The Gambia where customers don't pay upfront for advertisements, and are given a chance to settle after services are provided to them.
However, with such a discouraging trend, publishers in the country may be tempted to agree on a common method of payment, which might not be convenient to all customers.
To avoid such drastic measures, it is imperative for our customers to keep honouring their obligations by coming forward to pay their arrears.
It's not fair to us as an institution to be owed thousands of Dalasi for several years, without honouring your obligations. This is a breach of contract, which is a serious offence.
We would like to use this opportunity to thank all those customers who have never been found wanting in paying their dues.
The most important thing in any organised institution is to sort out the debts owed to others, like newspapers.
It is a generally accepted fact that, in business dealings, contracts must be honoured, but unfortunately many institutions do not observe this reciprocal relationship. And we are very much concerned about the debts these institutions owe to us.
"Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt."
Thomas Fuller
