"Christmas Should Be Postponed" - Sir John

With Christmas just two days away, the General Secretary of the Opposition New Patriotic Party, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie, has weirdly stated that he wished the Christmas season could be postponed due to the harsh economic conditions Ghanaians are facing under the Mills administration.

According to Sir John, Ghanaians are likely to celebrate one of the worst Christmas seasons in the last decade courtesy the bad administration of the NDC.

Sir John’s comment follows reports in some sections of the media suggesting that business is not booming at the various market centres with barely few days to the Christmas. According to a report filed by the Daily Graphic Edition of Wednesday, December 22, traders have been lamenting what they describe as low sales.

The NPP General Secretary told Citi News “but for the fact that this is a day that Christ was born, this Christmas ought to have been postponed. Indeed, all retailers are crying and shoppers do not even have what it takes to shop”.

“All that you can see is that, even this year’s crowd appears to be lowering. It is very sad and it is a sad impression on the Mills-Mahama led administration. Things are not going very well. There is no money in the pocket and prices of goods have gone up in spite of the fact that government figures show that inflation has gone down” he said.

Mr. Owusu Afriyie told Citi FM’s Shamima Muslim, that he had not received even a single hamper ahead of the Christmas. “I am not surprised that even President Mills admits that this year has been bad, and that is why he says 2011 will be an action year. But I can say that things will be worst in 2011 because we are going to have a lot of tax increases taking effect. Ghanaians are only assured of a better Christmas in 2013 after the NPP’s return in 2012” he said.

He said since 2008 till date, Ghanaians have not enjoyed the best of the yuletide.

Meanwhile, the Propaganda Secretary of the NDC Richard Quashigah rubbished Mr. Owusu Afriyie’s statements describing them as irresponsible.

According to him, even in 2006, Ghanaians did not enjoy the yuletide. He said even if it was true that the 2010 Christmas season was dull, the NPP is to blame for leaving behind a wrecked economy.

“This cheap and un-intellectual propaganda by Sir John is very disheartening. Have you asked yourself why people will do window shopping if they don’t have intentions to buy anything? Let’s stop wasting time on this trivial issue and focus on real issues. President Mills is waiting for them in 2012 to knock them out so that is what they should be thinking of” he said.

Mr. Quashigah added that the so-called surveys conducted amongst a few traders by the Daily Graphic and other media houses cannot represent the general situation on the ground.