Shoppers stranded in town

Accra, Dec. 24, GNA - Hundreds of people who stood at both the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in front of the Ghana Commercial Bank Tower and the Makola shopping area on Monday rushed for vehicles to enable them to do their last minute Christmas shopping.

Most commercial drivers plying the Circle- Accra route were either reluctant to load passengers or charged extra fares before picking passengers who stood begging to be picked even if it meant paying higher fares.

At the Asylum Down Round About Taxi stations, most of the drivers increased their fares to 50 Ghana pesewas instead of 40 pesewas, while others waited for passengers to hire them for higher fares. A driver who plied the Circle- Accra route said it took him about two hours to move from Circle to Accra and observed that there were many people and traffic jam in town.

A man who gave his name only as Kofi speaking to the Ghana News Agency said because of the heavy traffic he was waiting till evening or after the Christmas season before he did any shopping. He gave a word of advice to people who went shopping to try and save some money so that they could pay their children's school fees and other expenses after the Christmas season.