Business in slow start in Accra

Business News of Sunday, 4 January 2015

Source: Graphic Online

Christmas Shopping Accra

The hustle and bustle on the streets of Accra that characterised the period leading to the Christmas and New Year festivities was non-existent on the second day of 2015.

Few private and commercial vehicles plied the streets, allowing for free flow of traffic, a departure from the situation in the last hours of 2014 and the early hours of the New Year.

Most shops were closed, with only those which dealt in drinks and food opened for brisk business.

A visit by the Daily Graphic to parts of the city indicated that the situation had largely been influenced by the decision of most establishments to commence serious business from Monday, January 5.

However, a visit to the Ministries in Accra belied the festive mood in which many Ghanaians still find themselves.

There was enough activity to tell any visitor that the holidays were over, with many cars seen in the parking lots of the ministries of Justice and Attorney-General’s and Health, as well as the Office of the Head of the Civil Service and others around them.

As it was the first working day of the year and a Friday as well, the Daily Graphic found that although most civil servants were at work, momentum was yet to pick up after the festivities.

Mr Owusu Ansah Amadi, an Assistant Director at the Ministry of Justice, told the Daily Graphic that although the directors of the ministry were all at work, they were just warming up into the year.

“It is early days yet. Fridays are normally not very active, as people usually prepare for the weekend. Also, we are still in the festive mood and so work is yet to pick up fully,” he said.

Most of the lorry stations in the city were deserted, with vehicles crying for passengers.

Life in the central business district had, nonetheless, begun to pick up and major electronic and departmental shops were already opened for business, although the usual jostling for space by patrons was missing.

The owner of the Pele Spot Shop, Madam Naa Ame, told the Daily Graphic that although business was not as good as it used to be, the situation was better than having nothing happening at all.

Sounding rather optimistic, she said business in Ghana was better than elsewhere on the African continent.

The cacophony of horn blowing and heavy vehicular traffic associated with the Osu Oxford Street, especially at lunchtime, was missing, as vehicles could move freely, in spite of light build up at some portions.

Electronic and phone shops, eateries and all banks along the road had begun business in earnest.