The home-going of Mr E.T. Mensah, former Member of Parliament for Nungo- Prampram, former Chief Executive of Accra, former Minister of Youth and Sports was fast.
Word has it that Doctors in South Africa were determined to make all possible attempts to revive him. He was pronounced dead the previous night. ET, as he was affectionately called, was an activist in the PNDC and one of the people who believed that “power had found its proper place” as the cadres used to say.
The chant was: “we no go sit down make them cheat we everyday”, and the accompanying chorus was: “daabi da”, “walahi”!! The true government of the people was not going to be allowed to perish from the earth.
And that is why the resistance from adherents to Constitutionalism was massive. In the “blood and thunder” days of the December 31 st Revolution thingswerereally tough. In 1983, there was a huge u-turn in the management of the economy.
The regime embraced the IMF. The ideologue socialists were purged and a wave of change was unleashed getting back to free market enterprise.
Those, like ET who hang on by association with the upper echelons emerged triumphant and as the economy saw awakening from the dark days, so did they also experience manifest progress.
Love him or loathe him ET, the regime loyalist from Prampram, entered the political stage and played his part as the PNDC Metropolitan Secretary, now MCE, of Accra and subsequently as the Minister for Youth and Sports.
His style of governance raised questions, in terms, in particular, of his engaging in day-to-day management of the institution or sector that he superintended. However, to a large extent, ET achieved the desired results.
He is remembered for qualifying the Black Stars at the expense of Nigeria for the Nations Cup Tournament that held in Senegal in 1992 after the country had missed two consecutive tournaments.
In Parliament, during President Kufuor’s regime, ET entered into the leadership on the Minority as a Deputy Whip and later as the Chief Whip.
He could be counted on to whip his people into line. Under President Mills, ET was initially part of the Majority Leadership as the Chief Whip, went into the Executive and came back from the Executive to be in the league of the “Wisemen”.
When President Akufo Addo won power, in 2017, ET had lost his seat, having served his constituents for five successive terms, to his own protégé, Hon Sam George.
But not to be outfoxed ET bounced back and got elected into the Council of State as a representative for the Greater Accra region. Hon ET Mensah carried a grey hair but was very evergreen in his limbs.
The last encounter I had with him was at the Council of State where I met him in the company of the Chairman, Nana Otuo Srebuor and Mr Sam Okudjeto.
We discussed the role of the Council in legislation. He was vibrant and I inquired into the secrets underpinning his physicality.
He never shied away from conversation, and in that enterprise hand movement was an integral part. Today, he is gone. On behalf of the NPP Caucus in Parliament we express our deepest condolences to the family, the NDC and Parliament. May his soul rest in peace.