I have been supporting NPP but they didn’t support me after the June 3rd disaster – veteran sound engineer Fred Kyei Mensah
Veteran sound engineer, Fred Kyei Mensah popularly known as Uncle Fred has said he is being underutilized under the Nana Akufo-Addo-led NPP government.
During an interview on the Active Edutainment Show with Maame Abena Fabia on Friday, May 13, 2022, on Active TV, he narrated his ties with the NPP and how he could have been utilized to benefit other generations of upcoming engineers and persons in the creative arts industry.
According to him, he has been involved in politics since 1969 when his father sent him to Busia’s programme.
“I have been involved in politics since 1969 when I was a young boy and my father sent me to Busia’s rally. 1979 before Rawlings came [revolution], we were the ones the filed protest in Kumasi for Victor Owusu before the year 1992. In 1992 when they were about to do the [elections], I was working with Shell as a filling station manager. The NDC people used to come to me to get fuel on credit and the NPP people also came for fuel for their campaign before when Kuffour came[won elections] in 2008 I became a coordinator at Adabraka.”
“I do decent politics and don’t insult people,” he told Maame Abena Fabia.
He said he together with Mark Okraku Mantey, Socrates Sarfo, Helena Maabou and Nana Fred Duafo sat down and planned to offer help to Nana Akufo-Addo so if he is not appointed but Mark is appointed then he is fine with it.
Uncle Fred, however, has some reservations against the NPP and that is from the fact that when the June 3rd disaster destroyed his properties, the party did not support him regardless of his work for the party. Though he admitted that individuals in the party supported him but there was no support from the party itself.
According to him, at least he would have appreciated it if efforts had been made by the AKufo-Addo-led government to reestablish his studio which was lost to the floods on June 3rd. He said it would have helped him train more sound engineers to add to the over 75 he has already trained in the past.
Commenting on whether the party has been fair to him, he said, “as for fairness, they appointed me to one of the boards, National Forklore board but my capacity is being underutilized under the NPP. I can do more for them. When they go for rallies, they use sound but they have not called me even once to say let’s go so that I will also get something small to feed”.
