Arthur Kennedy Hits Jackpot

Last Saturday and Sunday were really good for traders in the Ashanti Regional capital of Kumasi, especially those in the hospitality industry, as their services were appreciably patronised. Joining the traders and other service providers was Dr Arthur Kobina Kennedy, whose controversial book, �Chasing the Elephant into the Bush: The Politics of Complacency� was all over the place and made good sales as party supporters rushed for copies. Arthur Kennedy, contrary to earlier indications that he wouldn�t be at the conference, was there and indeed voted as a delegate from the Diaspora. The business owners, Daily Guide learnt, had held a series of strategic meetings with their employees to seize the opportunity of the one-day New Patriotic Party (NPP) national delegates� conference to make more profit. By their effective and efficient strategic decisions, thousands of NPP supporters from the length and breadth of the country that stormed the city to elect their national executives patronized their goods and services. Traders from various walks of life, especially food sellers, operating close to the Baba Yara stadium, recorded some of their highest sales in recent times, Daily Guide gathered. One Hajiya Adiza who sells �Tuo Zaafi� right in front of the section gate to the stadium, said her daily sales of about GH�100 sharply rose to GH�350 on Saturday. �I had to call in for more hands to be able to attend to the colossal number of NPP delegates who patronized my food,� she said with smiles on her face, adding that she has not recorded such sales since she started operating about ten years ago. Her only worry, she noted, was that the programme was just for a day, stressing �you know things are very bad of late so the NP should have extended the event to about three days so that we can make more money.� As part of efforts of cashing in more money, Daily Guide learnt that food joints close to the Baya Yara Stadium unjustifiably increased the fee for their food. For instance, at one food joint, a plate of Banku which was sold at GH�3 was increased to GH�4. The food sellers were not the only ones that accrued huge sums of money, those selling NPP paraphernalia also made brisk business as party faithful patronized their wares which included bracelets, head-gears, among others. Taxi drivers in the city also had a field day, as the NPP delegates engaged their services to boost their sales for the day. Kwadwo Awuah aka �Coporal�, a taxi driver, stated �business has been extremely good today because the number of people in the city has swelled.� However, he said his only concern was that the large number of people thronged the city also contributed to the increase of traffic jam on the streets of Kumasi which prevented them from making more money. Sellers of SIM starter packs in the city were also not left out in the good news, as they also made some of their best sales in recent times.