Feverish preparations for Xmas in Ashanti, shopping and heavy traffic take over

Although a few days away, one can feel Christmas in every corner of the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi. It is being announced with heavy traffic jams, increased number of pedestrians, high commercial activities, especially the sale of NPP paraphernalia, and stranded travellers at various lorry stations.

In the past week, heavy traffic has been experienced by motorists from as early as 7a.m. till after 8p.m., forcing drivers to charge exorbitantly, with others resorting to long routes to avoid the traffic jams.

The hardest hit area is the central business district (CBD). It takes pedestrians hours to meander through areas that normally take minutes to walk through, while vehicles try to avoid the area for fear of being trapped for hours.

A visit to Kejetia and its access routes yesterday showed that the place had come to a standstill as hundreds of people trooped to the CBD in Kumasi to shop ahead of the festive season.

Both moving vehicles and shoppers, as well as hawkers, experienced gridlock. Passengers at some point deserted their cars half way through the journey and decided to walk to enable them to access the central market and get to their destination on time.

The situation was compounded by students from the scores of senior high schools in the region on vacation who were looking for transportation back home across the country.

One of the reasons for the human and traffic jams was because external shoppers mostly from the northern part of the country and even neighbouring Burkina Faso and Cote d’lvoire had thronged the central market hub.

A search through the numerous stores also indicated that most shop owners, especially those with shops on storey buildings in Adum, had all deserted their stalls and taken to the streets to sell. This is because shoppers hardly climbed these tall buildings because they could have access to the same goods by the roadsides.

Security

The presence of armed police officers wearing helmets and bullet proof jackets has bolstered the confidence of both traders and especially first-time shoppers to go about their legitimate duties without the fear of being attacked by robbers.

NPP victory

The already worrisome situation has also been aggravated by the numerous New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters who continue to jubilate on the streets, with some traders selling NPP paraphernalia alongside Christmas items.

Clad in NPP colours and paraphernalia, many of the people were seen in groups, dancing to NDC’s “Onaapo” song, which in recent times has become the toast of many people in Kumasi.

Many were also seen blowing their vuvuzelas.

Lorry stations

A visit to some major lorry stations, including Adehyeman, Kejetia, Abinkyi and Asafo, showed winding queues. Many of the disappointed passengers said they had been in the queues for hours but had no option but to pray for vehicles to show up and convey them to their destinations.

Some said many of the drivers had taken advantage of the situation to charge exorbitant fares too.