Africa-Press – Uganda. FESTIVE SEASON
A few days to Christmas long queues have characterised the mad rush of town people who are doing everything they can in order to go and celebrate Christmas day with their relatives in the rural areas.
Fulfilling what the economists say that the higher the supply the lower the supply. Scanning all the Mbale urban trading centres today, prices of items have virtually gone up. In Bugwere Road Market, the price one kilogram of onions is sh2,000 as opposed to the initial price of sh1,500 per kilogram, cabbage is at sh3,000 each as opposed to sh2,500, a kilogram of tomatoes is at sh3,000 as opposed to the initial price of sh 2,000.
In Mbale Central market the prices are almost the same but with minimal variation on groundnuts; red groundnuts are at sh6,000 per kilogram, white groundnuts are at sh5,500 per kilogram. While super rice costs sh4,000, kaiso is at sh2,500 per kilogram. A kilogram of meat/beef costs sh13,000 from the initial sh12,000 while liver is now at sh15,000 from 14,000 per a kilogram.
Sugar in Mbale is sold invariably depending on the customers taste; the roadside sellers are selling sugar in different measurements to fit into the customer’s ability to pay. At times their measurements are not weighed using weighing scales but they simply use judgments based on the what they see. However, in supermarkets a kilogram of sugar is at sh4,000 while in some other shops it’s at sh3,750.
Surprisingly, though given the dry season, a jerry can of water is now being sold at taps sh300 while those hawk water in wheelbarrows are selling a jerry can at sh500. There is a great demand of water for both consumption and domestic use in Mbale as dry spell has hit the region with water levels dropping from River Manafwa and Nabuyonga respectively.
Much as people wanted to travel to the rural areas for Christmas, fares seem to have let many people’s aspirations down. From Mbale to Butaleja costs sh10,000 from sh8,000, Mbale to Sironko sh5,000 from sh4,000. While from Mbale to Bukedea its sh7,000 from sh5,000, Soroti is sh12,000 from sh10,000.
