By ANTHONY KAYBING
Shops in Buka were jam-packed on Monday, the last day of 2007, as shoppers scrambled to do their last minute shopping before the shops closed at midday.
Most shoppers crammed into Elutu enterprises to buy freezer goods and others who could not get in went to the extent of purchasing their goods over the fence of the shops.
“The Christmas period is one of the craziest and the most hectic time in Buka,” revealed one shopper as he slipped his money through the fence to the staff.
“What used to take less than 10 minutes, took me 45 minutes to practically fight my way into the shops and back,” Tracey Tsiroats a last minute shopper said.
Miss Tsiroats also said that all the shops had run out of freezer goods, so most shoppers had to resort to buying chicken and sausages which were the only goods available.
One shopper who did not want to be named, complained that shop owners had not learned from past experiences to order sufficient goods for the festive period.
“It is really annoying sometimes when we have to struggle through huge crowds,” he said.
Most liquor shops had also run out of beer and were selling “hardies” (spirits).
This development didnot deter people as they formed long queues outside the liquor shops of Buka town.
The Bank South of Pacific branch in Buka was the only place not overly crowded with people.