One doesn’t invade a forest to CUT trees, but to CUT DOWN trees or FELL trees

Our basket of linguistic gems is so full we decided to discard our routine introductory blah-blahs and move straight to perform this column’s cardinal task of dishing out goodies we gathered over the week. Here we go…

On January 24, Bongo’s huge and colourful broadsheet had a story on Page 6 whose headline read, ‘DC asks stakeholders to strengthen efforts to protect natural attractions.’ In Para 6, the scribbler purports to report what was said by Mr Arafat Mtui, a senior natural resources official, and writes the following:

“Mtui further highlighted the potential of the Udzungwa reserve in providing renewable energy opportunities from waste, particularly through the production of alternative charcoal to help reduce deforestation caused by CUTTING trees for fuel.” Hello! When a tree is standing in the forest, you don’t cut it; you cut it DOWN. Alternatively, you FELL it. After CUTTING DOWN/FELLING a tree and it’s now lying on the ground, you may proceed to CUT IT into several pieces.

On the same page, there’s a photograph whose caption reads thus: “A dried fish vendor NEGOTIATES WAY while looking for POTENTIAL customers along Samora Avenue in Dar es Salaam yesterday.”Hey! A vendor doesn’t negotiate way; he negotiates HIS way. And, what’s more; he’s doesn’t look for “potential customers” for these can’t be of any use to him. He’s loos for CUSTOMERS, period!

Another story on this page is entitled, ‘Moi employees reminded to mind ethical principles,’ and for his intro, the scribbler writes:

“Employees of the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) have been reminded to uphold ethical principles IN PUBLIC SERVICE to enhance SERVICE delivery and improve wellbeing of the citizens.”

We aver our colleague is being verbally extravagant by bothering to define “ethical principles” with “in public service” while everybody knows that whoever is an employee at MOI is delivering public service—you don’t need to tell your esteemed, intelligent reader that. Below is our redeeming rewrite: “Employees of the Muhimbili Orthopaedic Institute (MOI) have been reminded to uphold ETHICAL PRINCIPLES to enhance SERVICE delivery and improve wellbeing of citizens.”

Let’s now proceed to take a look at the Monday, January 27 edition of Bongo’s senior-most and authoritative broadsheet. In this one, there’s a story in the Business and Finance section, entitled, ‘North Mara REIMBURSEMENTS 5.4bn/- as LOYALTIES, service levy.’ For an intro, the scribbler has written:

“North Mara Gold Mine has REIMBURSEMENT to Tarime District Council (rural) 5.4bn/- as service levy for 2023/24 as part of the mining EFFORTS to foster social and economic development.”

The subeditor who handled the headline fell into the trap of a misguided scribbler, if we’re to go by the latter’s intro in which “reimbursement” is used as a verb while it’s not! The verb, which means repay, is REIMBURSE.

It means, our colleagues ought to have written, “North Mara REIMBURSES 5.4bn/-…“ And…“North Mara Gold Mine has REIMBURSED to Tarime District Council 5.4bn/ as service levy…” How about the payment of loyalties? No way! Money paid to owners whose property has been used to benefit some other party is ROYALTIES, not loyalties. As it were, “loyalties” is plural for “loyalty” which means the quality of being loyal or faithful.

And, how about, “…mining EFFORTS to foster social and economic development?” Our assumption is that a word that ought to have been penned between “mining” and “efforts” has been skipped inadvertently or otherwise. And that word is “company’s...”

Ah, this treacherous language called English!