The Minority in Parliament has called on the Ministry of the Interior to refund approximately GH¢113 million collected from applicants who failed to qualify in the ongoing security service recruitment exercise.
The demand follows disclosures by the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, that although nearly 500,000 people applied for roles across Ghana’s security agencies, only about 5,000 positions are available for final enlistment.
According to the minister, more than 105,000 applicants have progressed to the medical examination stage of the recruitment process.
Addressing journalists, the Ranking Member on Parliament’s Defence and Interior Committee, John Ntim Fordjour, criticised the process, accusing the government of exploiting desperate job seekers.
Rev. Fordjour argued that the government knowingly collected application fees from hundreds of thousands of applicants despite being aware that only a small fraction would ultimately be recruited.
“Already, we have a national security threat and unemployment on our hands. You promised them jobs. You didn’t add any conditions,” he said.
He further alleged that the government deliberately expanded the recruitment age limit from 25 to 35 years to attract more applicants, creating the impression that more opportunities were available.
“You knew from the very beginning you were recruiting only 5,000, and yet you did all this to lure half a million people, took their money, milked them GH¢113 million cedis and over,” Rev. Fordjour claimed.
The legislator also raised concerns about alleged technological challenges during the aptitude test stage of the recruitment process, claiming some applicants were eliminated due to internet disruptions.
Rev. Fordjour has therefore urged the government to refund the fees collected from unsuccessful applicants and institute more transparent procedures for future recruitment exercises.
According to him, such measures are necessary to prevent what he described as financial exploitation of unemployed youth seeking opportunities within the country’s security services.