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For the umpteenth time, residents of Kumasi, the Ashanti Regional capital, have once again been hit with the harsh realities of celebrating the Christmas festivities in the midst of poor economic conditions. From erratic supply of power to low consumer purchasing ability, the signs are all too familiar, as residents have always had to endure similar conditions over the past years. The residents are unlikely to enjoy the yuletide to the fullest, as many have been complaining about the miserable economic status and high cost of living. Though the main Christmas festivity is just few days away, the usual pomp and pageantry, human traffic and boost in sales, which often characterise such periods, cannot be felt in the atmosphere. Traders have been complaining about poor sales, whilst commuters also cry over lack of money to buy items to celebrate the festivities. With a cursory survey of business activities and mood of residents, one can jump to the conclusion that all is not well this year, and has been exactly so for the past few years. Some store owners at Asafo and its environs told The Chronicle in an interaction that they do not expect anything to change within the next few days, because, according to them, the general situation about the economy has since the beginning of the year, been very bad. �From January to December, it has all been dumsor, dumsor and escalation of prices of goods and services, meanwhile, individuals do not have cash to buy or access these services. This was the same condition prevailing last year, nothing has changed,� a store owner complained. While many residents are attributing the rather sad situation to the poor economic policies of the present government, which, they believe, have limited the purchasing power of consumers, others cite specifically, the refusal of the government to reduce prices of petroleum products, despite a reduction in the world market. Others, however, say the situation was a global phenomenon, and that the case is not limited to Ghana alone. They are, however, praying that the government will put proper measures in place to resuscitate the economy and improve the conditions of the people, making particular mention of the dumsor, dumsor menace, which, they say, has crippled many businesses in the year 2014.