Most households in Ho are already trooping to the malls with great zeal and enthusiasm for their Christmas shopping, with barely two weeks to the day.
The Christmas fever is readily evident in the merchandise in the shops, jingles on commuter vehicles and tricycle taxis, at the drinking spots and on the airwaves of the various FM radio stations.
Apart from the big shops, many of the Christmas items are also displayed on tables and stands by the streets by petty traders, in the wake of the sudden and outstanding increase in the population of the Oxygen City.
At the Vicarchie Ghana Limited Mall, for instance, the daily average number of customers, which was 400 as of last month (November), has swiftly shot up to 1,000. Subsequently, the mall, which opens from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., now shuts at 10:00 p.m.
During a visit to the shopping centre last Tuesday, the Assistant Mall Manager, Prince Kusi, told The Mirror there was also a substantial number of shoppers from neighbouring Togo.
He said the customers inundated the mall to buy electrical gadgets, Christmas decorations, assorted drinks, biscuits and various sweets, as well as toys, kitchen items, and large quantities of frozen foods and bags of rice.
Some of the customers who spoke to this reporter said they were avoiding the anticipated massive congestion and long queues in the few days before Christmas.
There is also a visible increase in vehicular traffic on the streets of the regional capital in the wake of the yuletide.
Similar festive shopping trends are also in progress in Hohoe, Sogakope, Kpando and other parts of the Volta Region.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of the region, DCOP Wisdom Akorli, has given an assurance that adequate measures have been put in place to ensure there is peace and order during the yuletide.
The Regional Police Commander, in an interview in Ho on Wednesday, warned that any individual or group whose unruly conduct disrupts the peace during the celebration would suffer swift and ruthless consequences.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh
