There has been a lot of boxing contests lately, one of which is reported in the Good Citizen on Saturday of 2 October (last page), in a news item titled: “Class wins by KO as Pina blacked out”. The fight was organised by MO Boxing Promotions. This is what we are told in the introductory paragraph:
“Tanzania professional boxer Ibrahim Class has continued to make fellow Tanzanians happy after registering a knockout (KO) win over Mexican Gustavo Alan Pina in their international Super-featherweight non-title bout held ‘at’ the early hours of yesterday at the Mlimani City Hall in Dar es Salaam”.
Instead of saying: “the bout was held ‘at’ the early hours”, I would go for “in the early hours”, or “during the early hours”. I hope that is agreed.
Halfway through the article, the writer tells us more on the fight:
“The Mexican lasted for 2.15 minutes in the ninth round as he received a good left hook from Class. The punch sent Pina to the canvas and failed to continue with the fight”.
The latter sentence above implies that it is the punch that failed to continue with the match. That, of course, is not the case. It is boxer Pina who failed to continue. How can we make sure that this is the message driven across? I would, either introduce a pronoun (he), or split the sentence into two:
“The punch sent Pina to the canvas and HE failed to continue with the fight”. Or, “The punch sent Pina to the canvas. He failed to continue with the fight”.
In another fight, we are told, Juma Choki won on points over Mexican Jose Hernandez Rizo in the lightweight bout scheduled for ‘eight round’. Surely, not! The bout was scheduled for “eight rounds”; not, “eight round”.
On the same Sports page, we find a story titled: “Simba face Dodoma Jiji in Mainland League tie”. The writer has good words for Simba Sports Club: “The Msimbazi heavyweights will likely be out to grab ‘tree’ points in order to go to the top in the league standing”.
Do they award tree points in football, these days? Possibly yes; what with the drive to address the effects of climate change! Nevertheless, we believe seriously, that the writer did not have trees in mind. Instead, he was thinking of Simba Sports Club, going all out to clinch “three points” from the match.
The Custodian of Saturday 1 October carried a front page story titled: “Five suspects die, police foil timber factory robbery”. While the title of the news item talked about a “timber factory”, the word “industry” is subsequently used in the body of the story:
“The police got information from law-abiding citizens that a group of 12 people were planning to invade “the industry” after midnight on Thursday”.
No! A “factory” is not the same thing as “an industry”. “A factory” is a building or group of buildings where goods are manufactured, or assembled”.
On the other hand, “an industry” means “an economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories”.
Also, an industry means a group of economic or social activities in a certain sector, such as: “the hospitality industry”; or the “mining industry”.
Therefore, what the robbers had planned to attack was not “an industry” but, a factory, or possibly a go down or warehouse.
Finally, the Custodian’s Business page reports on a visit by an Egyptian team in Tanzania scouting for investments and business ventures.
According to the writer: “Egyptian companies are ‘aware with’ policy changes here in Tanzania especially those related to the business environment”.
I would re-write this sentence to read: “Egyptian companies are ‘aware OF’ policy changes here in Tanzania especially those related to the business environment”; or, “Egyptian companies are ‘CONVERSANT with’ policy changes here in Tanzania especially those related to the business environment”.
Have a nice weekend.
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