The Minority Caucus in Parliament has cautioned the government to immediately halt any planned recruitment of personnel into the security services, citing a lack of transparency and potential breaches of peace.
According to the Minority Caucus, any recruitment exercise must be transparent, accountable and advertised to ensure equal access and opportunity to all Ghanaians.
The Chronicle newspaper in a publication on Monday, July 8, 2024 informed the public that government was about to commence recruitment of some 11,000 personnel into the security services, citing multiple sources that confirmed the exercise.
According to the paper, financial clearance had already been given by the Ministry of Finance for the recruitment of the new personnel.
The paper further revealed that since it was a backlog clearing exercise the Ministry of the Interior was going to embark on, there would be no advertisement in the national dailies to call on qualified applicants to apply to join the security services.
The paper went ahead to give the breakdown as follows: 3,000 personnel to be recruited into the Ghana Immigration Service; 4,000 into the Ghana Police Service; 2,000 into the Ghana National Fire Service; 1,500 into the Ghana Prisons Service and 500 into the Narcotics Control Commission.
Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, who addressed journalists on the sidelines of parliamentary sitting on Wednesday, July 10, 2024, expressed concerns over the irregular process which he believes may lead to recruiting unqualified personnel.
Mr Armah-Kofi Buah emphasised that the government’s approach lacks transparency and may compromise the integrity of the security services.
The Deputy Minority Leader said despite their persistent calls on the government to stop any secret recruitment of personnel into the security services, the government has been adamant to hearing them.
He emphasised that the irregular recruitments being pursued by the government were characterised by procedural breaches and nepotism, underscoring that such approach has the potential of recruiting misfit personnel into the services.
“How does the clearing of this so-called backlog ensure that persons who might have exceeded the cut-off age for recruitment or may have developed certain health-related issues, are not recruited into the security services”, he questioned.
He revealed that per their records, there is no backlog to be recruited into the services, citing a press statement released by the Ghana Police Service on July 7, 2023 to buttress his case.
The said statement, which was signed by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Grace Ansah-Krofi, under the heading: “Police Conclude its 2021-2022 Recruitment Exercise”, informed by the public about the end of its recruitment exercise during the period, after inviting the last batch of successful candidates to report for medical screening and training.
“The press release exposes the dishonesty of the part of those who are forcing the false backlog narrative down the throat of the good people of Ghana.
“We are, therefore, calling on the Minister of the Interior to immediately advertise and subject any planned recruitment into the security services to the established and time-honoured transparent processes”, Armah-Kofi Buah, who was surrounded by some NDC MPs appealed.
He added, “The Minority believes that all Ghanaians regardless of gender, tribe, political lineage, religion or creed deserve a fair and equal opportunity as far as employment into state institutions is concerned.
“The integrity of our security services and the trust of the people of Ghana in our institutions depend on our collective commitment to transparency and fairness, especially in the recruitment into the services”.
Mr Armah-Kofi Buah, also a lawmaker, representing the Ellembelle constituency, urged the Minister of the Interior to desist from the opaque and irregular recruitment with barely six months into the 2024 general elections.
“It is important to restore integrity, as well as the confidence and trust of Ghanaians in our security services.
“Any recruitment into the security services must, therefore, be done through a transparent, fair and just process in order to safeguard the peace and stability of our democracy”, he posited.
By Stephen Odoi-Larbi reporting from the Parliament of Ghana.
