The Minority Caucus in Parliament has accused the government of orchestrating what it describes as a “massive recruitment scam” in the ongoing security services enlistment exercise, claiming that over 500,000 Ghanaian youth were misled into applying for positions when only 5,000 recruits were actually intended to be hired.
The Minority Caucus in Parliament, led by Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin, has called for an independent parliamentary probe into the recruitment process for the country’s security services, describing the exercise as exploitative and deceptive.
Addressing the press, the caucus said more than 506,000 Ghanaian youth applied in 2025 to join the country’s security agencies under the Ministry of the Interior — including the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service and Ghana Prisons Service.
According to the Minority, the applicants responded in good faith after recruitment into the security services was widely highlighted as a campaign promise during the 2024 elections. However, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, recently disclosed that only about 5,000 applicants would eventually be recruited in the first phase.
The revelation, the caucus said, has left hundreds of thousands of young applicants disappointed and disillusioned.
“The structure of this recruitment exercise is akin to a Ponzi scheme,” the Minority alleged, arguing that the government created unrealistic expectations among unemployed youth seeking stable employment.
The caucus also criticized the decision to increase the recruitment age limit to 35 years, saying the policy change encouraged even more unemployed young people to apply and heightened expectations of possible recruitment.
Another major concern raised was the cost of the application process. According to the Minority, each applicant paid GHS 220 for the recruitment form, which they claim generated approximately GHS111.3 million from the more than 506,000 applicants.
They further alleged that the internet-based aptitude test used during the recruitment exercise faced technical challenges, including connectivity problems that led to many applicants being automatically timed out and disqualified.
The Minority Caucus argues that the process cannot be described as merit-based under such circumstances and insists that the integrity of national recruitment processes must be protected.
As a result, the caucus is demanding two immediate actions:
1. A bipartisan parliamentary probe into the entire centralized recruitment process to review how the exercise was conducted.
2. A refund of the GHS 220 application fee to all applicants who were disqualified during the process.
The Minority says it will continue to push the matter in Parliament until transparency and fairness are ensured for the thousands of young Ghanaians who applied to serve in the country’s security services.
Closing:
The caucus concluded by urging the government to address the concerns urgently, stressing that the hopes and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian youth must not be exploited.
May God bless our homeland Ghana.
