WITH one week left for shoppers to fill their Christmas stockings, vendors in Downtown Kingston say this year has so far been the worst Christmas ever.

Kerry-Ann Williams has been selling socks and other dry goods on the sidewalk at Princess Street for eight years. Wednesday Williams told the Observer that since the beginning of the Yuletide season, shoppers were few and far between.

"This is the worst Christmas ever. We never see it like this yet. Nobody not buying nothing at all," a depressed-looking Williams told the Observer.

The Bank of Jamaica earlier this week said cash flow for the season had dipped by 3.5 per cent from $4.7 billion last year to $3.1 billion this year.

Williams admitted that Wednesday was the slowest business day in the city, but said sales were usually better even during the summer. Wednesday the usually bustling and crowded Barry, West, Princess and Orange streets were devoid of human traffic as vendors sat with gloomy faces by their goods.

"We never see it so bad yet, not even pan Wednesday when town lock half-day. The people dem nah spend nothing with we and we don't feel like it going get any better between now and next week," said Nadine Brown, a vendor who claimed to have been doing business downtown for more than 10 years.

Some vendors said the constant hounding by police officers assigned to rid the streets of illegal vendors was also contributing to their demise.

"We done not making any money already and the police dem come and hara** we. What poor people fi do? How we going send we pickney a school January?" one woman asked.

For the vendors of food supplies the cry was the same, low sales and an absence of the usual stream of shoppers.
Nehemiah Henry, also called 'Fatta', sells ground provisions from a cart on Barry Street. Wednesday as he sold some eight peppers for $100, he complained that sales were at a low ebb.

"Things bad especially so near to Christmas. I can only hope it get better by next week," Henry said.

Fish vendors at the intersection of West and Barry Streets, as well as higglers inside the Coronation Market all said sales were low but hoped things would pick up in the remaining shopping days left before Christmas.