Tunaepuka matumizi yasiyo ya lazima; gharama zisizo za lazima zinapungua.

Tunaepuka can be split into:

• tu- = we
• -na- = present tense marker
• -epuka = avoid

So tunaepuka means we are avoiding or we avoid.

Swahili often packs the subject and tense into the verb, so you do not need a separate word for we.

Matumizi comes from the verb -tumia (to use), and it means use, usage, or very often expenditure/spending depending on context.

Even though it may be translated into English as a singular idea like usage or spending, grammatically it belongs to the ma-/ya- noun class pattern, so it takes agreement like a class 6 noun.

That is why you get:

• matumizi yasiyo ya lazima

not something like matumizi isiyo...

So the grammar follows the noun class, not necessarily whether English would think of it as singular.

Literally, yasiyo ya lazima means something like:

• that are not of necessity
• which are not necessary

In more natural English, it means:

• unnecessary
• not needed

The parts are:

• ya- = agreement with matumizi
• -siyo- = not being / not which are
• ya lazima = of necessity / necessary

So the full phrase works like an adjective phrase describing matumizi.

Because the agreement changes with the noun class.

• matumizi takes class 6 agreement, so you get ya-...
• gharama takes class 10 agreement, so you get zi-...

That is why the sentence has:

• matumizi yasiyo ya lazima
• gharama zisizo za lazima

The negative relative part changes to match the noun it describes.

This is one of the biggest things English speakers need to get used to in Swahili: adjectives and adjective-like phrases often agree with the noun class.

This is also noun-class agreement.

The connector -a changes form depending on the noun class:

• ya for matumizi
• za for gharama

So:

• matumizi ya lazima = necessary usage/expenditure
• gharama za lazima = necessary costs/expenses

Then those are made negative with:

• yasiyo ya lazima
• zisizo za lazima

So both the relative part and the of-connector agree with the noun.

It behaves a bit differently from a typical adjective.

Lazima often means:

• necessary
• must
• necessarily
• necessity

In this sentence, it appears in the structure:

• ya lazima
• za lazima

This is very common in Swahili and is often best understood as necessary or required, even though the grammar is not exactly the same as a simple English adjective.

So yes, in translation it works like an adjective, but structurally it is part of a phrase meaning of necessity.

You can say matumizi si ya lazima, and it means the usage/expenditure is not necessary.

But matumizi yasiyo ya lazima is a more tightly connected descriptive phrase, like:

• unnecessary usage
• usage that is not necessary

So the difference is roughly:

• matumizi si ya lazima = a full statement
• matumizi yasiyo ya lazima = a noun followed by a descriptive modifier

The version in your sentence sounds more formal and compact, which fits written or official style.

Because gharama belongs to a noun class that takes the subject marker zi- in agreement.

Breakdown of zinapungua:

• zi- = subject marker agreeing with gharama
• -na- = present tense
• -pungua = decrease, go down, reduce

So gharama zisizo za lazima zinapungua means:

• unnecessary costs are decreasing
• literally, costs that are not necessary are decreasing

Even though gharama can look singular in form, it often behaves grammatically like a class 10 noun and takes zi- agreement.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In many real sentences, gharama functions like:

• cost
• costs
• expense
• expenses

In your sentence, because it is followed by zisizo and zinapungua, it is being treated with class 10 agreement, so an English translation like costs or expenses is very natural.

The semicolon links two closely related ideas:

• Tunaepuka matumizi yasiyo ya lazima
• gharama zisizo za lazima zinapungua

It shows that the second clause is strongly connected to the first. The idea is something like:

• We avoid unnecessary spending; unnecessary costs decrease.

So the second part can be understood as a result or consequence of the first.

In Swahili writing, punctuation works much like it does in English here.

Swahili does not normally use articles like English the or a/an.

So a phrase like:

• matumizi yasiyo ya lazima

can mean:

• unnecessary usage
• the unnecessary usage
• unnecessary spending

depending on context.

English requires articles much more often than Swahili does, so when translating, you usually add them only if the context makes them necessary.

Yes. Matumizi is flexible, so the best English translation depends on context.

Possible translations include:

• We avoid unnecessary use
• We are avoiding unnecessary usage
• We avoid unnecessary expenditure
• We are cutting unnecessary spending

Likewise, gharama could be:

• costs
• expenses

So if the context is budgeting or finance, a very natural translation would be:

• We avoid unnecessary spending; unnecessary costs are decreasing.

It sounds fairly formal or administrative, especially because of phrases like:

• matumizi yasiyo ya lazima
• gharama zisizo za lazima

This type of wording is common in:

• reports
• policies
• public announcements
• business or government writing

In everyday speech, people might choose simpler phrasing, but this sentence is completely natural and correct.