Last minute shopping in Tema

Tema, Dec. 24, GNA - With few hours to Christmas the industrial city of Tema is busy as families briskly move to the central market to do their last minute shopping for the yuletide.

Whiles some complain of high prices of goods and have therefore, decided to buy only what they will eat on Christmas day others think it is better as compared to the previous years.

A tour round the popularly known community one central market revealed that a majority of the people waited till some few days after the elections results have been declared before they started with their shopping because of the negative effect of elections that they anticipated.

Items on display, especially on pavements included kids clothing, toys, bags, shoes, Christmas decorations as well as second hand clothing.

It was realised that most of the people preferred buying items like drinks, provisions from supermarkets to the market because of the quality and the price.

For instance a tin of ideal milk, which is being sold around 4,200 cedis was sold at 3,800 cedis at Usave shop whiles a bottle of frytol oil which sells around 12,000 and 15,000 cedis in the market sells at 10,800 cedis in the same shop.

However, food items sold in the market at the following prices, as a tuber of yam between 6,000 and 12,000 cedis depending on the size, Maxi bag of Texas rice, 245,000, whiles the mini is sold at 190,000 cedis, a create of eggs is sold between 26,000 and 29,000 cedis.

Kid's dresses were sold between 85,000 and 150,000 cedis depending on the quality, men's shoes sell between 200,000 and 345,000, one GTP wax print sells between 260,000 and 300,000 cedis whiles the London wax which was sold at 10,000 cedis per yard before the Christmas season is now sold at 11,000 cedis.

Despite persistent calls on drivers not to take advantage of the yuletide to charge exorbitant prices, most of them have doubled the fares, especially those plying between Tema and Accra.

For instance, the fare from Tema to Nungua is now 2000 cedis instead of 1,500 cedis, whiles that from Accra to Tema is 5000 cedis instead of 2,500 cedis.

Vehicular movement has slowed down drastically in the city following traffic jam forcing commuters to struggle to get to their homes before it was late.

Some traders who spoke to the GNA expressed their happiness about the peaceful manner in which the elections were conducted and added, "the Christmas would have been a boring one without this kind of peace".