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With less than a week remaining to the celebrations marking the birth of Jesus Christ, business people in Kampala central business district are reaping big from their stock.

The development follows last-minute shopping by city-dwellers leaving for upcountry and those with businesses outside Kampala.

Starting from Monday morning, the streets were filled with people, some eager to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones.

Visiting the local markets, the vendors were friendly and helpful moving around with Christmas gifts and hampers, showing their wares and making recommendations based on shoppers’ needs for them to buy.

Youth vend Christmas flowers and balloons for Christmas in Kikuubo attracting hundreds of buyers, boasting their daily earnings. (All Photos by Isaac Nuwagaba)

Kikuubo  

Kikuubo market was teeming with people, eagerly browsing the various stalls and shops. I began my search, weaving through the crowds and taking in the sights and sounds.

“This is the last price you will ever get for a quality Christmas gift in Kampala,” Jalia Nabweteme, a flower vendor in Kikuubo market, said.

Many were picking up a few wooden carvings and woven baskets, knowing they would make lovely presents for their friends and family back home making the Christmas shopping adventure a huge success.

A group of vendors selling several things including fresh produce and artisanal jewellery, were receiving customers who bought bags full of spices, homemade soaps and necklaces made from recycled glass.

People in Kikuubo struggle to do last-minute shopping before they headed to the villages for Christmas festival.

However, there was something different about this particular morning. A sense of unease hung in the air, like a dark cloud looming over the city. And it wasn't hard to figure out why. More vendors still crying out over the COVID-19 slump.

At various stalls and arcades, a large number of traders were still crying out for government assistance for COVID-19 relief money to boost their businesses which they felt were still staggering.

Ronald Turyasingura, a boutique owner in Kikuubo, said he tried to follow up on the COVID-19 Recovery Fund in vain.

Out of shillings 200 billion that the Government had allocated for micro and small enterprises (MSEs) recovery targeting at least 40% women and 30% youth in the enterprise, only shillings six billion have been disbursed since 2022.