FOR THE second consecutive time, residents in the Kumasi metropolis may not enjoy the Christmas festivities to the fullest, as many continue to complain about the poor economic status, and high cost of living.

The main Christmas festivities is just few days from now, but the usual friendship and the pomp and pageantry that the period comes along with, cannot be felt in the atmosphere.

Periods like this in previous years have often been characterised by human traffic and a boost in sales and business activities, but the picture this year, appears to be scurry, as many residents, particularly traders, continue to cry about poor sales and a bleak market.

An interview conducted by The Chronicle with some traders, both wholesalers and retailers, revealed little hope of a successful market, as goods continue to stockpile in the shops.

While many are attributing the rather unfortunate situation to the poor economic policies of the present government, which they claim have limited the purchasing power of consumers, others believe the situation was beyond the control of the government, considering the fact that the general economic condition in the world is bad.

Residents in the metropolis had a nightmarish Christmas last year, after the New Patriotic Party (NPP) failed to clinch a first round victory in the December 2008 general elections.

The anxieties and the fact that their favourite political party, the NPP, failed to secure the much-anticipated victory, were enough to dampen the spirit of residents, and erode every memory of Christmas festivities, causing a significant decline in the purchasing power of the people.

Conditions prevailing this year appear to be a clear feeling of déjà vu, as emerging events seem akin to that of last year, but this time around, rather than being indifferent towards the Christmas occasions, the reason for the market inertia seems to be economic, according to some traders interviewed.

According to them, many consumers were willing to buy goods, but were unable to do so, because of the low level of incomes.

Some of them stated that many people come to their shops to enquire about the prices of goods, but are eventually discouraged by the high prices.

“There is nothing we can do about the issue of prices of the goods, because our suppliers are demanding a lot from us,” a rice retailer stated.

Some of the retailers also complained that their goods had been on the shelves for the past three months, even though they had paid thousand of cedis to their suppliers.

“Last two years, at this time, I had run out of stocks, and was preparing to import goods for the Christmas market, but this time around, things are different, and I do not even think I can get the amount used to import the goods, let alone profit,” another retailer lamented.