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Details emerging from the supposed misconduct of Foreign Affairs Minister Hanna Tetteh at the just-ended mayors’ summit in Accra are painting a totally different picture.

Mr. Rawlings during his address at the summit Wednesday, stated in the open that he protested against the President’s decision to send the former trades minister to open the summit when the vice president was in town.

Checks conducted by The Ghanaian Lens reveal that the minister was preparing for an emergency Cabinet meeting at 10:00am.
According to sources, Secretary to the President, Ambassador Kwesi Quartey called the minister at 9:45 asking her to stand in for the president at the mayors conference, and that the program was starting at 10:30.

Ms Tetteh, according to the sources, asked for the speech to be emailed to her so that she could leave.

Subsequently at 10 am, the Chief of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started calling her frantically that the program had been brought forward to 10am but that, while the Mayor of Accra, Dr Alfred Vanderpuije, was indicating Vice President Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur was going to the program when he called his protocol officers, there was no response.

Ms Tetteh was, therefore asked to hurry up to the Accra Conference Centre because the program was about to start, the sources said.

The Minister, according to the sources, rushed to the Conference Centre only to be told by the Mayor that he had spoken to the President and that the Vice-President was coming.

According to the sources, Ms. Tetteh then decided there was no need for her to be there since the Vice-President would be deputizing for the president.

Ms. Tetteh, subsequently chose to sit and wait to see if the Vice-President would come because her understanding was that she was to stand in and give the President’s speech.

Our sources indicate that the minister sat on the other side of the room from JJ.

The sources said as soon as the Vice President arrived, he went to JJ to greet him and other dignitaries (who Ms Tetteh had also greeted when she got there), they were all chatting so the minister slipped out of the other door and left to got to Cabinet.
Meanwhile, International Relations expert, Dr. Vladmir Antwi-Danso has said former President Jerry Rawlings erred in discussing in the open, the supposed misconduct of Ms Tetteh, at the Mayors summit in Accra.

Commenting on the issue, Dr. Antwi Danso said it was wrong for the former President to have raised the matter on the podium.
“If the ex-President only gave suggestions it was in order but where he compelled his decision on them was bad. It is a diplomatic blunder.

“You can’t get up and castigate Hanna Tetteh. It should have been an in house problem to be dealt with later. He goofed in this matter,” he stated on Accra based Kasapa FM.