The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, has revealed that more than 500,000 young Ghanaians applied for recruitment into the country’s security agencies, despite the government having space to recruit only 5,000 personnel in the current phase.
According to the him, the recruitment process was designed to ensure transparency and fairness, while responding to growing criticism and misconceptions circulating on social media.
“There have been a lot of misconceptions on social media talking about the recruitment process, and we needed to put some perspective right,” he said.
Also read: Afenyo-Markin protests Minority exclusion from Pan-African and ECOWAS Parliament delegations
Addressing the media in Parliament on Wednesday, Mr. Muntaka Mubarak indicated that the application portal closed with 506,618 applicants seeking to join various security services.
Breaking down the figures, he disclosed that the Ghana Police Service alone received more than 130,000 applications. However, he noted that Ghana’s entire police force currently stands at about 49,000 personnel, from the Inspector-General of Police to the last constable.
Due to fiscal constraints and the country’s economic programme with the International Monetary Fund, the government can only recruit 2,500 police officers and 500 cadets, bringing the total intake to about 3,000 for the service.
“We had 130,000 young people wanting to join the police service, yet the economy can only bring in 2,500 more police officers and 500 cadets.”
“The Ghana Immigration Service recorded even higher interest, with over 180,000 applicants. Yet the service currently has a workforce of just about 18,300 officers, and the available space for this recruitment phase is only 1,000 positions.”
“Similarly, the Ghana National Fire Service received 124,000 applications, despite having a workforce of roughly 17,000 personnel.”
“The Ghana Prisons Service recorded 71,000 applications, but the available recruitment space is just 500 positions,” he explained.
The minister explained that the combined recruitment capacity across all security services in the current phase is only 5,000, despite the overwhelming number of applicants.
“The total space we have to be able to recruit in this first phase is only 5,000, yet you have over half a million Ghanaians who want to join,” he said.
According to him, after documentation and initial screening, more than 400,000 applicants remained eligible to proceed to aptitude tests. And even with a pass mark set at 65%, about 105,000 candidates qualified for medical examinations, far exceeding the final recruitment capacity.
Muntaka insisted that the recruitment process was intentionally designed to eliminate human interference and political influence.
“You have to use a system that is devoid of human interference to enable the system to carry you to that end,” he said.
He emphasised that the government wanted to avoid a situation where individuals could be selected based on personal connections.
“In the NDC manifesto itself, it is re-emphasised that recruitment will be based on merit. That is the reason we created a fair and equitable system,” he added.
The minister also warned applicants against individuals claiming they could influence the process through “protocol” or payments.
“Since we started this process, we have made about five arrests. The latest involved two prison officers who were apprehended and are currently being investigated,” he revealed.
He urged applicants to report anyone demanding money to secure recruitment slots.
“If somebody says someone can pay money to influence the process, let us know and we will act,” he stressed.
Despite the limited recruitment slots, the minister assured young people that future recruitment exercises would create additional opportunities once the economy improves.
He also noted that government initiatives such as the security support programmes under youth employment schemes had already engaged thousands of young people to assist security agencies.
“This is not going to be the first and last recruitment that the government is going to have,” he said.
He called on the youth to exercise patience and restraint, noting that the government remains committed to creating more employment opportunities.