The mortal remains of the late Enoch Teye Mensah, known as E.T. Mensah, will arrive in the country tomorrow Saturday, October 7, 2023.
The former Member of Parliament (MP) for Ningo-Prampram, passed away in South Africa last Sunday evening after battling a prolonged illness.
Until his demise, he was elected to the Council of State in February 2021, representing the Greater Accra Region.
E.T. Mensah, aged 77, served as a MP for two decades, from 1997 to 2017, until he was dislodged by Sam George ahead of the 2016 elections.
During his tenure, he also held the position of Minister of Youth and Sports in the Rawlings administration.
Beyond his political career, he was a devoted family man, survived by his spouse and seven children.
His political journey, included serving as the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) during the PNDC era. He was a dedicated member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In January 2010, President John Evans Atta Mills, appointed E.T. Mensah as Minister for Employment and Social Welfare.
It has been a week of many deaths and mourning. Firstly, former First Lady Theresa Kufuor peacefully passed away at her Peduase home on Sunday, October 1, 2023, at age 88.
She served as Ghana’s First Lady from January 7, 2001, to January 6, 2009, coinciding with her husband’s presidency, succeeding Jerry John Rawlings.
Throughout her tenure as First Lady, she established the Mother to Child Community Development Foundation, a noble initiative aimed at fostering the healthy development of children and preventing the transmission of diseases from mothers to their offspring.
Theresa and John Kufuor’s remarkable journey began when they crossed paths at a Republic Day Anniversary Dance in London in 1961, leading to their union in 1962. They were blessed with five children.
Another stalwart of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), and former Majority Leader, Felix Owusu-Adjapong, also died aged 79.
Details surrounding his passing are immediately not known, but he has been out of public view for years now.
Majority Chief Whip, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, confirmed the death of the former leader of Parliament on his social media handle on Wednesday, October 4, 2023.
He used the opportunity to eulogise Felix Owusu and extended his condolences to his family.
“Deep condolences to the family…Former Majority leader, Hon. Felix Owusu passed on,” Annoh-Dompreh posted.
Felix Kwasi Owusu-Adjapong born February 13, 1944, was MP for Akyem Swedru of the Eastern Region. He was also a former Minister for Energy.
Owusu-Agyapong, was a member of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Parliament of Ghana.
He was first elected Member of Parliament for Akyem Swedru in the 1996 Ghanaian general elections with a total of 15,824 making 45.30percent of the total valid votes cast that year.
He was re-elected in the 2000 Ghanaian general elections with a majority of 14,614 making 56.80percent of the votes cast.
In February 2001, he was appointed Minister for Transport and Communications and in April 2003 Minister of Parliamentary Affairs.
In the 2004 general elections, he was elected again as Member of Parliament with a majority vote of 21,048 making 66.94percent of the total votes polled that year.
In 2007, he resigned his ministerial position to make an unsuccessful bid for the presidential nomination of the NPP.
He did not contest his seat again for the 2008 General Elections, and Joseph Ampomah Bosompem, won it for the NPP with a majority of 8,469.
In June 2008, he was appointed Minister of Energy, holding the post until the end of John Agykum Kufuor’s government in January 2009.
The NDC’s flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, has expressed sadness over the passing of two stalwarts of the party–ET Mensah and Dr Sidney Laryea.
In a Facebook post yesterday, the former president said both men played key roles in shaping the solid rock the party was built on and anchored today.
“While ET was our first National Youth Organiser, Dr. Laryea served as the party’s first National Treasurer. They made their mark, and we wish them peaceful rest in the Lord,” Mahama wrote.
He extended his deepest condolences to both bereaved families.
In a related development, the leadership of the NDC, has directed that their flags should fly at half-mast on Thursday, October 5, in honour of ET Mensah and Dr Laryea.
This was contained in a statement signed by the General Secretary of the NDC, Fifi Fiavi Kwetey.
“Hon. Enoch Teye Mensah was the first National Youth Organizer of the NDC. With unwavering dedication and patriotism, he rose through the ranks to become the longest-serving Minister for Sports under the 4th Republic.”
“At the time of his death, Hon. E.T Mensah was a Member of the Council of State of the Republic of Ghana. Dr. Sidney Laryea was the first National Treasurer of the NDC and served the party with dedication and unflinching commitment,” parts of the statement read.
“The Functional Executive Committee has resolved and hereby directs, that all flags of the NDC at the National Headquarters, Regional Offices and across the 275 Constituency Offices of the party fly at half-mast on Thursday, 5th October 2023 in honour of the memory of our deceased comrades.
