By Hassan Osman Kargbo

It is not a secret that the country has been facing with lot of hardship, ranging from the prices of local commodities, quality water facilities and electricity that is generally agreed to majority as a serious problem in the country.

The inflation rates are also considered by many as another major challenge for the people couple with host of other poor facilities in the country.

As one of the ways to minimize, if not end the hardship in the country, was the introduction of new bank notes early this year as a way of stabilizing the country’s economy.  However, this particular effort from the government, many say, hasn’t created any different in minimizing or combating the existing hardship as prices continues to skyrocketing unimaginably on a daily basis.

Over the years, festive period of such nature had been one of a jolly moment for Sierra Leoneans, as is time when people could be buying things in the market at a very low cost.   By the look of things, it seems like this year is a different ball game.

We are now in the third weeks of December with the situation seems not  improving , that prompted Forum News SL  to engaged  people in relations to the prices of commodities during this festive season in Freetown.

Speaking to Mohamed Saccoh who sells cosmetic at Back Street in Freetown expressed his dissatisfactions toward businesses in this festive season. Saccoh noted that they are now in the third week of December and business is not seemed to getting better. He said over the years in the festive season they were having a lot of customers going in for their products, but this year December is totally different.

He admitted that the market they used to buy for a reasonable price for the festive season has been triple times the normal price in the market that is why he said this year’s festive people are hardly engaged in ‘oxchy’ market.

Amanita Sesay who is a pity trader at ECOWAS Street said that this year’s festive is the worst year since she became a business woman for the past ten years. She said things are really hard for them as a business woman in the city, and according to her the festive season don’t seems to move like the previous festive season in the country.

‘I have been into pity trading for over ten years now and I must confess that this is the worst festive season I have experienced as a business woman. The economy situation is not favorable in the country and we don’t know how the government is going to remedy this situation for us in the country,’ he said.

She admitted that she is a single mother with two children and because of the slow running of her business, she asked her two children to join her in her pity trading.

Business is too slow and I have asked my two sons to come onboard so that they could move around for customers whilst I seated in the table,’ she stated.

Balu Tunkara who also sells at ECOWAS Street said that business is not easy and some of them usually doing their business at night. She noted that the curfew is also posed a challenge for them in this festive season because most of their business runs at night.

‘The curfew has been a major challenges doubles with the hardship in the country. This year festive doesn’t even look like we are in a festive season because everything is just abnormal in the country,’ she noted.

We barely have less than ten days to chrismax and we hope that things could become better before the New Year.