If you deserve praise, we don’t recommend…we commend you
Bongo’s huge and colourful broadsheet of Saturday, January 16 has this story entitled ‘Ruvuma RC praises stakeholders for better performance in the past Form Six exams’. Therein the scribbler—reporting on what the senior-most regional boss said in praise of handlers of education in her area of jurisdiction—writes as he purports to quote RC Christina Mndeme:
“May I RECOMMEND you for your good academic performance, over 85 per cent of pupils (sic) passed Standard Seven exams…”
Just a minute! When somebody does something good, something that deserves praise, you don’t recommend them; you COMMEND them. To recommend is to tell somebody that something is good or useful, or that somebody is suitable for a particular job.
In Para 5 of his story, the scribbler reports further: “She, however, added that until December 2020, the region was facing a shortage of 43 CLASSES for Form One students…”
Shortage of 43 classes? No siree! The RC, if she were speaking in English, would have said Ruvuma has a shortage of 43 CLASSROOMS. In Kiswahili we call them “vyumba vya madarasa”, not “madarasa”.
The word “class” has several meanings, but in the context of learning environment, it refers to a session in which there is a learner or a group of learners being handled by a lesson provider. A teacher could actually conduct a CLASS under a tree!
Our colleague reports further in the last paragraph of his story: “She said plans are to construct (sic!) girls secondary schools at Madaba MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.”
No, siree! We don’t build schools at municipal councils because a municipal council is not a geographical area. Rather, a municipal council is the local government of a municipality. It means, our colleague should have written: “She said there are plans to construct girls’ secondary schools at Madaba MUNICIPALITY.”
Then the huge broadsheet title dated Saturday, February 20, had a Page 1 story that continues on Page 2, headlined, ‘Work spirit elevated Eng Kijazi to the top’. Reporting on what Chief Justice Ibrahim Juma said while eulogising the fallen Chief Secretary John Kijazi who died on Feb 17, our scribbling colleague writes: “Prof Juma said Kijazi was a (sic!) window for the Judiciary to get to the President where (sic) he would at times advise anyone who wanted to see the President come (sic) THE OTHER day depending on the mood of the Head of State.”
Instead of dissecting the sentence, we will just offer a rewrite and rid it of the little goofs and the big one which we have capitalised. Here we go:
“Prof Juma said Kijazi was THE window for the Judiciary to the President AND he would at times advise anyone who wanted to see Dr Magufuli TO come ON ANOTHER DAY (not “the other day”) depending on the mood of the Head of State.”
Come Friday, February 19 and the tabloid closely associated with this columnist had a picture on Page 1 whose caption is thus written: “Retired President Jakaya Kikwete arrives at the Maamur Mosque ready to participate in the prayers to bid farewell to FORMER Zanzibar First Vice President Seif Sharif Hamad who died on Wednesday at the Muhumbili National Hospital…”
Mr Hamad, former Zanzibar First VP? Nope! Mr Hamad, arguably one of the most visible and colourful political figures, not only in Zanzibar but in the United Republic as a whole, was not “a former” first vice president when he died on February 15. He was in office when death occurred to him. Which is to say, Honourable Kikwete in that photo taken on Thursday, February 19, was going to participate in prayers to bid farewell to Zanzibar First Vice President Seif Sharif Hamad. Let us say, once again: Rest in Peace, Maalim Seif.
