Accra under siege by Xmas shoppers; but traders complain of low sales

For some time now, the general refrain from most traders in Accra and other trading posts in the country has been “sales are bad this Christmas”.
Anytime they are pressed further to provide reasons for their assessment, they would retort, “sales last year were better”.

So every year at Christmas, some traders complain about low sales, which is normally attributed to harsh economic conditions

But, the picture on the streets is quite different from the impression created by the traders as there are gridlocks on roads in all major cities leading to the central business districts (CBDs).

Commuters have doubled or tripled in the cities and the pavements have been taken over by traders, making movement in the markets and walkways quite a difficult task.

For about a week now, and with only three days to Christmas Day, Accra and the other cities are under siege.

The CBDs are bustling at the seams and commuting to those areas during rush hours is a nightmare

Shop owners, traders and vendors have told the Daily Graphic that the next 72 hours is going to be hectic and they expect to reap what they could not reap throughout the year.

Traders dealing in foodstuffs are happy about the abundance of all kinds of farm produce, but again, they complain that although food is in abundance, people are not buying