The big man doesn’t insist; he just says, instructs or orders!
An avid reader and regular contributor took this picture in Moshi recently. He failed to decipher the English part of the instruction written above the door leading to the lift. We have failed too. Give it a try too, dear reader. Trust signwriters! PHOTO | ISAAC M
The lead story of the Friday, December 19 edition of Bongo’s huge and colourful broadsheet is entitled, ‘PM: Use idle state drilling systems to end water woes,’ and therein, the scribbler says in his intro:
“Prime Minister Dr Mwigulu Nchemba has issued a FIRM directive to regional commissioners and administrative officials nationwide to tackle persistent water shortages by deploying drilling rigs, water testing vehicles and dam construction machinery.”
Why should anyone consider it necessary to qualify “directive”, more so when it is issued by a person who’s none other than the Prime Minister? Any directive by the PM is firm by its very nature—it doesn’t require any affirmation! You don’t have say it.
Page 5 of the broadsheet has a story with this headline: ‘Government closes shops selling subsidized, certified seeds outside the official system.’ In his intro, the scribbler writes: “Authorities in Mbeya Region have taken STRICT action against some agricultural input traders accused of undermining the government’s subsidized seed programme…”
Our readers need to be shown what action that has been taken, and then determine for themselves the severity of the said action. In any case, this adjective is essentially used to define a situation, not a process or an action.
Our rewrite would read thus: “Authorities in Mbeya Region have taken ACTION against some agricultural input traders…”
Page 6 has this story: ‘Government reaffirms readiness to ensuring verification on international boundary.’ In the first paragraph, the scribbler reports: “The government has reaffirmed its commitment to provide all necessary resources to ensure THE successful verification and reinforcement of the Kenya-Tanzania international boundary…”
To ensure THE…? Nope! The definite article (‘the’) has been misused. Why, the verification and reinforcement success hasn’t been seen yet. So, a rewrite could preferably read this way: “…the government has reaffirmed its commitment… to ENSURE SUCCESSFUL verification…”
And now, a look at the Saturday, December 13 edition of Bongo’s senior-most broadsheet whose Page 2 has a story under the headline ‘Mwinyi sets new pace for Zanzibar Government.’ For his intro, the scribbler writes: “Zanzibar President Dr Hussein Mwinyi has INSISTED that the second term of the eighth-phase government demands accelerated performance…”
We’ve said it before; let’s say it gain: Top people—and who is “more top” than a president of a country he leads—don’t insist. They simply say things that we all consider an order, and we follow obediently. The verb “insist” is best used when calling for an enforcement of something where there’s a likely opposition.
It means, our scribbling colleague should’ve simply written: “The Zanzibar President, Dr Hussein Mwinyi, has SAID that the second term of the eighth-phase government demands….”
Another story on the same page is entitled, ‘Five bobaboda riders perish in road carnage’ and for an introduction, the scribbler has this to say: “Five motorcycle taxi riders were killed and one injured on Thursday night at Makulu area in Dodoma when a LORRY LOST CONTROL and crashed into a GROUP OF RIDERS PARKED ALONG THE ROADSIDE.”
There’re a number of gems here. One, it wasn’t the lorry that lost control; rather, it was the lorry DRIVER who lost control of his vehicle. Two, it weren’t the riders that were parked, rather, the riders had parked their bodabodas.
And three, it’s false to say the riders parked their motorcycles ALONG THE ROADSIDE. The right way to say it is: …the riders parked their motorcycles ALONG THE ROAD. Or, if you like: “…the riders parked their motorcycles ON THE ROADSIDE.” Why, “on the roadside” means the same thing as “along the road.”
Ah, this treacherous language called English!
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