By Godgift Harris
With Christmas just a day tomorrow, December 25, commercial activity across major markets in and street corners in Monrovia remains markedly slow, heightening concerns among petty traders, and small business owners, who depend on the festive season for increased sales and year-end survival.
From central Monrovia to major trading hubs in Paynesville, Red Light, Waterside, Duala and Point Four, traders report an unusual reversal of the normal holiday pattern when sellers significantly outnumber buyers.
Bu, this year’s scenario is not void of criminal (Zogos) perambulating with their normal “take and run tactics.”
Traditionally, the days leading up to Christmas Eve signal peak consumers’ spending, but many traders say those indicators have failed to materialize this year.
“The sign of a good Christmas is usually felt before Christmas Eve, but this year it is very different,” said Martha Morris, a petty trader at the Waterside market.
“We are many selling, but people are not buying, because business people are crying.”
Traders attribute the slowdown primarily to weak purchasing power among consumers, driven by rising costs of living and stagnant incomes.
Many say ordinary Liberians are struggling to afford basic necessities, leaving little room for discretionary holiday spending.
Beyond poor sales, traders also complain that enforcement actions by security authorities have worsened their situation.
Madam Morris alleged that officers of the Liberia National Police and city police routinely remove traders from selling areas and ‘confiscate’ their wares, even as business conditions deteriorate.
“They come after us every day, taking our market from us, while people are not really buying,” she said.
“Some people (Zogos) even take advantage of the situation to steal from us.”
Police officers at those market sites claimed they are assigned there to regulate traffic and protect the marketers.
Several traders argue that the Christmas slowdown reflects deeper structural economic challenges, including unequal access to economic opportunities, and limited benefits trickling down to low-income citizens during a season traditionally associated with relief and shared prosperity.
Some expressed frustration that the festive period appears disconnected from the realities facing ordinary people.
Madam Morris said, many traders feel excluded from national economic gains and decision-making processes.
“The country is moving with people, who President Joseph Nyuma Boakai appointed,” she said.
“We, the common people, are not part of this year’s celebration.”
She contrasted the current atmosphere with previous years, recalling that former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf made public visits to markets and engaged directly with traders.
“She came to Waterside and met the people; she even bought from us,” Morris said of former President Sirleaf.
“Now things are different.” another female trader echoed similar sentiments, accusing some public officials of engaging with ordinary citizens mainly during election periods.
“After elections, we don’t see them again with the common people,” she said.
A used-clothing dealer in central Monrovia described daily trading conditions as increasingly desperate.
“Buying is very difficult, every day sellers are more than buyers. We are struggling, and it makes you ask where the country is heading?”
Despite their frustration, traders said, their complaints are not politically motivated, but stem from lived economic realities.
“This is not politics; it is reality. We love Liberia, but people must be able to benefit from their own country,” the used-clothes dealer said.”
The traders’ concerns mirror broader national anxieties over declining purchasing power, rising living costs and the slow pace at which economic relief is reaching ordinary citizen; issues likely to dominate public debate as the Boakai administration approaches its first full Christmas season in office.
Several traders said they expect government officials, including the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, to respond to their concerns.
They urged authorities to engage constructively with citizens’ grievances rather than dismiss them, adding that the situation in Monrovia’s markets reflects the lived conditions of many Liberians during this year’s festive season.
…Merry Christmas and Prosperous New Year to ALL!!