Thursday, March 28, 2024

Army worms issue not small Kampyongo tells Dr Mumba

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Government has found very shocking, remarks attributed to Dr. Nevers Mumba that the problem of army worms are a small issue and that the biggest army worm is President Lungu who has destroyed the future and destiny of the country.

Acting Information and Broadcasting Services and Chief Government Spokesperson Minister Stephen Kampyongo said the remarks are not only derogatory and mischievous in their natural meaning, but are also demeaning to President Lungu and Zambians who voted for him.

Mr Kampyongo noted that it is surprising that that Dr. Mumba, who has been eyeing the biggest office in the land said army worms are a small issue, even by his standards.

He said Zambians know the impact of army worms on the farmers and the nation at large is huge and as a former Vice President, Dr. Mumba, who once headed the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit, should know better.

“The Patriotic Front was voted into office by the Zambian people and, therefore, no amount of denigration of the President and his Government will sway them away from the performing Government of President Edgar Chagwa Lungu,” he said

Mr Kampyongo who is also Home Affairs Minister said to insult President Lungu is, therefore, tantamount to insulting the intelligence of the millions of Zambians who voted him into office for the second time.

He pointed out that the PF was given a fresh mandate only five months ago; therefore, to say that President Lungu has destroyed the future and destiny of Zambians in as much as the army worms are destroying crops is a fallacy of the worst kind.

The acting chief Government Spokesperson said  if President Lungu was not a serious leader, as Dr.Mumba, the people of Zambia would not have given him another mandate.

He, therefore,  said it is difficult to understand which constituency Dr. Mumba represents, having self-destroyed his political career

“Just to refresh memories of Zambians, since he left the pulpit,  Dr.Mumba has jumped from one political party to another; not to improve the lives of Zambians, but to ensure that he attains the highest office in the land. It is this propensity and appetite for power which has turned him into a political chancer,” Mr Kampyongo noted.

He said not long ago, Dr.Mumba even attempted to stand on a PF ticket in Chinsali.

“Earlier, under the Presidency of the late Dr. Levy Patrick Mwanawasa, he was disgracefully dismissed as Vice President for failure to understand the realms of his role. And Zambians are also aware that during his stint as Zambia’s High Commissioner to Canada under President Rupiah Banda, Dr.Mumba left a questionable legacy,” he said.

He said as MMD President, he drove the party to the verge of extinction and today, Dr.  Mumba is an avid supporter of the UPND, and one won’t be wrong to predict that very soon, his marriage of convenience with the UPND leadership will be history, once he finds another opportunity.

Mr Kamptyongo called on Zambians to dismiss Dr. Mumba‘s derogatory utterances with the contempt they deserve because his political record does not inspire people’s confidence.

He said to the contrary, Zambians should be proud of President Lungu’s unwavering commitment to ensuring that  crops are protected from the menacing army worms and that there is food security in the country.

“Indeed, it’s only Dr.Mumba who is an island as many Zambians of different backgrounds have organized themselves to ensure that army worms are eradicated,” Kampyongo said.

It is also only Dr.Mumba who is playing the ‘ostrich’ by trivialising the scale and magnitude of the problem being posed by army worms.

 

53 COMMENTS

    • Ooooouch! This is like hit someone right in his ballz, this really hurts, ati the biggest army worm is….. .. Kikiki.

      Mr kudos is this

      True or False.

    • Nevers will say anything to attract attention. By now if he had any brains, he would be reflecting on his life and restrategise. Right now he is completely lost in the political wilderness.

    • What kind of response by a minister is that? If you compare wisdom of Pastor Mumba in what he meant to response of Kapyongo. Is that a government stance on how to answer? Even Sunday Chanda has matured faster than Kapyongo.

  1. Mr Kampyongo should know that the Election held on August 11, 2016 was disputed and remains disputed today. The UPND Presidential Petition against the re-election of Chakolwa Lungu is yet to be heard and disposed off in Court. If, as Mr Kampyongo says, Zambians voted for the PF to rule ,then let Chakolwa Lungu give the evidence in Court showing how he won and how HH lost the 2016 Presidential Elections. Its now 4 months after the Elections were held and so far Chakolwa Lungu has failed to prove that he won these elections. Instead Chakolwa Lungu has been blocking the Hearing of the Petetion in Courts. The general feeling of most Zambians is that HH won the Election outright but Lungu with the help of his Party and the Notorious ECZ rigged and stole the Election Victory from HH. Lungu lost…

    • Disputing elections and winning with numbers are different. Losers always dispute to save face. This Mumba Satanist once read the bible and knows what the bible says about leadership. For him to now start insulting the President and the millions of Zambians who elected him confirms that he has gone deep into Satanism.

  2. Dr Mumba will stop going to the toilet if the Army worms destroyed our crop.There will be nothing in his tummy to s.h.it.

  3. If its not a small issue then why is the Minister of Agriculture away in America?–when she should be focussing all her efforts on the not so small issue?

  4. Kkkkk Dr mumba is right,the biggest army worm we have is you Edgar carelessly eating our taxes..if it’s a big issue as kampyongo putted it,then the minister in charge could have been around running up and down making sure that these worms are attended to in as quick as possible…

    • Kikiki OK this one is a stunner by nevas mumba, but deadNBC has not quoted everything that nevas mumba said about the biggest army worm.

  5. This term won’t be easy for PF they are in panic mode they haven’t settled down four months down the line everything is in shumbles it’s like they are still campaigning

  6. IT IS TRUE THAT THE BIGGEST ARMY WORM IS LUNGU. EG WHO HAS BEEN FOUND WITH A CASE TO ANSWER IN THE MAIZE SCANDLE EATING THE SWEAT FOR VULNERABLE PEASANT FARMERS?

    IT IS GOOD THAT MALAWIAN PRESIDENT HAS LABELLED LUNGU AS A CRIMINAL, A CORNMAN AND A THIEF.

  7. WOW!! Dr. Mumba is a digress. He need to repent. How on earth does he speak like that? No worder everything he touches now becomes dirty. Anyway poverty is setting in the former VP and the only thing he has to do now is to bark so that the master feel secure!! Come rain come sunshine he will therefore bark.

  8. Army worms eat the leaves of the cash crop and hence destroy the fields. Army worms have a potential to cause hunger and starvation in the country. They are undesirable because they can induce poverty and irreparable damage to the economy of a nation.This act of army worms is tantamount to taking away the input poor hardworking farmers in improving the lives of their families. Can a human being act like an army worm? Can a human being destroy or take away the efforts of poor farmers’ sweat ? Can a human being do that ?

  9. Acting Information and Broadcasting Services and Chief Government Spokesperson Hon. Minister Stephen Kampyongo MP, is very right to observe that the remarks by Dr. Nevers Mumba, who was reported by the media, saying that: the biggest army worm is President Lungu who has destroyed the future and destiny of the country. Indeed the remarks are not only derogatory and mischievous in their natural meaning, but are also demeaning to His Excellence President Edgar Lungu and Zambians who voted for him.

    • Yes political bitterness is our biggest problem. Anyone who says anything against Lungu is a hero whether it makes sense or not. This Mumba came to Mansa just to tell us that we cannot eat roads.

  10. Instead of feeling sorry for us farmers this is mocking us. These worms have attacked countries as far as Nigeria and it’s neither a political shupidity or joking matter. All of must be concerned because politics will not feed us. If Mumba was a caring leader he should have been in the forefront fighting this threat. It would have earned him some points instead of being sarcastic.

  11. Let’s just think. Is it true that His Excellence President Edgar Lungu has destroyed the future and destiny of this country? How? Where is the empirical and observable evidence? We need substantiated claims and allegations not just talking for political mileage or for the sake of being heard and in the process disrespecting well meaning people.

  12. President Lungu has not destroyed the future and destiny of the country. He was voted into office legitimately, because the people of Zambia have great confidence in his leadership. There are many positive gains than negative ones we can point at with Lungu’s presidency. This is not the denial of some negative aspects. The presidency is not an individual it’s an embodiment of the nation’s aspirations and trust. Disrespecting a head of state means disrespecting the people that voted him into office.

  13. Even if one has a difference with the President, there is need to exercise wisdom, maturity, humility and objectivity. Great leaders always respect other leaders regardless of the circumstance. See in ( 1 Samuel 26:1-21) how Israel’s greatest King (David) treated Saul as his father and King even when King Saul was rejected by God in preference to David and was pursuing him with 3000 of his best armies to have him killed, just because of petty jealousy and insecurity.

  14. The problem of army and fall worms is a very big issue. It concerns everyone. We are talking about armies of the pest spanning kilometres and as dense as 1,100 per square meter march through fields, destroying entire crops and capable of destroying from 10 to over 70 percent of the Zambia staple food (maize). Crop damage in the Copperbelt province has reached alarming levels. Dr. Mumba should be aware that the pest has already attacked at least half of the country’s 10 provinces by last week.

  15. Dr. Mumba must also be aware that; about 90,000 hectares have been affected so far, according to the government’s Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit. Some maize fields have actually been completely wiped out. Pst Mumba must also know that Agriculture makes up 20 percent contribution to the economy as Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

  16. Maize output last year rose 9.7 percent to 2.87 million metric tons with prices increasing by 20 percent in December 2016 compared to 12 months earlier, according to the Central Statistical Office. This means if the Pest damage rises just by 11percent, we are talking about losing more than 300,000 metric tonnes of maize output.

  17. Coming to army worms technical facts.
    This mater has a character that we can’t completely relate or attribute to our national leaders.

  18. There are four types of army worms namely
    1. The lawn armyworm, Spodoptera
    2.The common armyworm, Mythimna unipuncta

  19. What we are currently facing, is a new army worm called fall armyworm and not the African armyworm we had before. The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, is native tropical regions of Americas. In Africa pest was first reported in Nigeria in February 2016. It has since been reported in many African countries. In Zambia it has been reported in most provinces of the country. The pest is capable of completing the life cycle within 30 days and survives in temperatures of 14 to 32 degrees. Zambia is at risk because it is a tropical species adapted to warmer parts of the world.

  20. The pest makes windows on the leaves of maize. Severe infestation causes “tattering” or “ragging” of leaves. Pest attacks all growing stages of the plants. The pest also attacks the cobs. Larvae prefer the growing points (bud, whorl) reducing the growing potential of the plant. Causes between 10 to 73% damage.

  21. Management options for Fall Army worm include;
    1.Crop 2.Rotation 3.Crushing of eggs
    4.Use of natural enemies i.e. Parasitoids, Predators, Fungus and Viruses
    5. Chemical control

  22. List of chemicals that can control Fall Army worm include;
    1. Deltamethrin
    2. Lambda-Cyhalothrin
    3. Chloropyrifos
    4. Malathion
    5. Imidacloprid
    6. Fenitrothion
    7. Permethrin

  23. In light or the fore going, we can clearly see that; This mater has a character that we can’t completely relate or attribute to our national leaders. Its a problem to all of us. Interesting to note as well that; Army worms are a creation of God for a very vital purpose in biodiversity sustenance. Its food for birds and a variety of insects among other living organism which in turn contribute to quality fruit, vegetable and grain production for man. Amy worms are key to ecological integrity. That’s why I disagree with the idea of eradication or divine intervention being proposed by government officials and others, for tackling this wicked problem.

  24. Pest control and management is the key word. Lack of good stewardship of the ecosystem by human beings has greatly contributed to the problem. Let’s take the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Strategy as our key weapon. Lets relook our current agronomic practices. Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) is another key word that needs attention. Policy and political will are also vital.

  25. We need also to diversify our staple food. Maize eventually will prove not only, expensive to grow but also, difficulty in the long run due to its vulnerability to climate change. Crops like cassava and rice are not a choice crop for armyworms. We have both a challenge and great opportunity before us. No blame game. We are all part of the problem and solution. Zambia is a great country with brilliant people; we will rise to be a beacon of hope and light to Africa and the rest of the world. God Bless Zambia.

  26. The reverent has spoken not because he wanted to say something but because he had something to say. How I wish all Zambians who think, meditate and analyze issues carefully before commenting. This is our country we are talking about and we have a national crisis affecting not only our brothers and sisters in rural area but our whole beloved country .solutions lies in our selves and I really doubt if using un palatable language towards one another will take us any were. why should someone make himself a hero by insulting another human being? The day we as Zambians realize that politics is a career and most people aspire high offices to earn a living for themselves and families, then it will be the beginning of each and very man and woman to start working hard and finding solutions to…

  27. For once most part of this blog is educative. Alas it is by one or 2 persons!!! Rev and Southerner I look forward to read your educative posting. Praise be to God that you 2 exist and Happy belated new year.

  28. Thanks Madiba.
    Its the way to go my dear. Let us use the social media for sharing developmental ideas that can help each and every one of us Zambians weather within or abroad to put food on the table. If we are to critise one another , let it be constructive criticism in a more respective and dignified manner with the view to help one make good decision . peace and love to all sons, daughters , fathers and mothers of our beloved country regardless of their political affiliation , region, tribe, or education level.

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