By Isaac Ato MENSAH
Accra-17 August, 2018.
Today, Joseph Henry Mensah, statesman and politician was laid to rest in Accra.
JH Mensah, was the stalwart Ghanaian economist who helped Kwame Nkrumah to implement his Seven Year Development Plan.
He also served as finance minister in the Busia administration.
We at Writers and Shakespeares Ghana Limited have a few vivid recollections of his life.
In JH Mensah v Attorney-General, found in the Supreme Court Ghana Law Report of 1996-97, the plaintiff had gone to court as minority leader to compel ministers nominated by President Rawlings to undergo vetting by Parliament.
He based his argument on Article 78 (1) of the 1992 Constitution which states, ‘Ministers of State shall be appointed by the President with the prior approval of Parliament from among members of Parliament or persons qualified to be elected as members of Parliament, except that the majority of Ministers of State shall be appointed from among members of Parliament’.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in his favour that all persons nominated for ministerial appointment, whether retained or new, required the prior approval of Parliament.
The NDC majority in Parliament had not wanted Parliamentary approval, saying those who were already ministers should continue as ministers.
JH Mensah had wanted to include a more meticulous process.
However, this was not granted by the court.
JH Mensah…Candid in speech. Source; primenewsghana.com
In retrospect, JH Mensah, was asking for integrity rules to be followed in vetting ministers.
His last statement in Parliament in 2008 was also memorable and particularly relevant at this time.
‘Mr Speaker, there is nothing like free education; somebody has to pay for it.’
At the time, his party, the NPP was campaigning to be retained in government on a promise of free secondary school education.
The late JH Mensah (31 October, 1928 – 12 July, 2018) was an economist and a member of Parliament for Sunyani East from 1997 to 2009.
He had a way of saying all he wanted to say, direct, candid and upfront.
He sometimes debated his political opponents with sarcasm and we all had a good laugh about it.
In a presidential primary contest, JH Mensah symbolised his co-aspirant and brother-in-law J.A. Kufuor’s re-nomination bid as old cassava sticks not fit for replanting.
But when Kufuor became president of Ghana, he appointed JH Mensah as senior minister.
After scouting the World Wide Web and everywhere else for public documents as an institutional memory of JH Mensah, we have not been able to unearth any biographies, autobiographies nor memoirs.
Our online search reveals two books so far attributed to JH Mensah.
One is Republic of Ghana National Liberation Council Budget for 1969-70 which costs £8.12 and the other is Seven Year Development Plan for Ghana selling at £10.15.
The former has Ministry of Finance as publisher and the latter, Planning Commission, Accra, 1964.
Please think about it; no memoirs, autobiographies nor biographies!
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