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Issue 00555 |
February 21 - 27, 2009 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Off Topic |
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No Wonder they are Still Figuring it Out By lute wa lutengano It is that time of the year again when I have to make that pilgrimage to my home village in Ilembula, Njombe. As usual I am excited and looking forward to again experiencing some memorable moments in my sojourn. This trip as has always been the case will faithfully be relayed to you my unwavering readers of this third rate column. I hope you travel with me and get the feel of the travails and the joys of the trip to the famed southern highlands. These are the highlands with the famous towns of Iringa, Njombe and Mbeya. But the fastest expanding towns are not one of these but rather the Mufindi and Makambako ones. Mufindi for those who remember used to be small settlement renown for its picturesque East African Railways and Buses Station. Then, the town was called John’s Corner. But over the years it has grown into a bustling commercial town with all the timber one can talk of in Tanzania and not to mention tea, coffee, potatoes, beans and peas coming from there. The same applies to Makambako, which has suddenly become the commercial city of the southern highlands. Businessmen from Malawi, Zambia, Congo and Northern Mozambique rub shoulders with the Benas, Hehes and Kingas in Makambako to collect commercial goods in what they call their African Dubai. No wonder the official currencies in Makambako are T-shillings, US Dollars, Zambian and Malawian Kwachas, Congolese Zairois, Mozambican meticais and the South African Rand. My worry is, these growing business trends in my home area might now be curtailed by the world economic meltdown courtesy of the American and Bush economic policies. Come to think of it, I might as well get some memorable quotations from, George Bush II, who called himself the ‘misunderstimated’ president. All politicians are prone to make slips of the tongue in the heat of the moment – but former President Bush has made more than most. Actually, according to BBC, he has as a result caused the coinage of a new word ‘Bushism’. I take the liberty to highlight the salient aspects of ‘Bushism.’ “They misunderstimated me.” - Bentoville, Arkansas, 6 November, 2000. Or, “There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on…shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.” – Nashville, Tennessee, 17 September, 2002. “I want to thank my friend, Senator Bill First, for joining us today. He married a Texas girl, I want you to know. Karyn is with us. A West Texas girl, just like me.” – Nashville, Tennessee, 27 May 2004. Fancy this – “The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorise himself.” – Grand Rapids, Michigan, 29 January, 2003. Or, “I think war is a dangerous place.” – Washington DC, 7 May, 2003. And again, “You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.” – CBS News, Washington DC, 6 September, 2006. And, “It is clearly a budget. It’s got a lot of numbers in it.” – Reuters, 5 May, 2000. “Those who enter the country illegally violate the law”. – Tucson, Arizona, 28 November, 2005. Now Bush must have been an avid reader with a difference. Hear this, “That’s George Washington, the first President, of course. The interesting thing about him is that I read three or four books about him last year. Isn’t that interesting?” –Speaking to reporter Kai Diekman, Washington DC, 5 May, 2006. Again it is reading! Reading! Reading! “And the truth of the matter is, a lot of reports in Washington are never read by anybody. To show you how important this one is I read it, and (Tony Blair) read it.” – On the publication of the Baker – Hamilton Report, Washington DC, 7 December, 2006. And lastly George Bush also had very powerful premonitions. Hear this, “I’ll be long gone before some smart person ever figures out what happened inside this office.” – Washington DC, 12 May, 2008. No wonder they are still figuring it out. lutengano@hotmail.com.
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