The Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, has revealed that more than half a million Ghanaians applied to join the country’s security services, even though only about 5,000 positions are available in the first phase of the recruitment exercise.
He made this known today in Parliament while addressing concerns about the ongoing recruitment process and the high level of competition among applicants.
According to the minister, the limited number of vacancies is largely due to economic constraints and the available infrastructure within the various security services.
Mr. Mubarak explained that in the Ghana Police Service, the economy could only accommodate 2,500 new officers in the other ranks and 500 cadets, bringing the total number of new recruits for the service to about 3,000.
He noted that despite the limited vacancies, about 130,000 applicants indicated interest in joining the Ghana Police Service.
The minister disclosed that the Ghana Immigration Service recorded even higher interest from applicants.
According to him, by the time the recruitment portal was closed, more than 180,000 young men and women had applied to join the service, even though the current total staff strength of the Immigration Service stands at about 18,300 officers.
Mr. Mubarak said that due to infrastructure and capacity limitations, the service could only recruit 1,000 new officers in the current phase.
He further explained that the Ghana National Fire Service also received about 124,000 applications, even though the service currently has just over 17,000 personnel nationwide.
Despite the large number of applicants, he indicated that the service could only recruit a limited number of personnel due to space and logistical constraints.
The minister added that the Ghana Prisons Service received about 71,000 applications, even though its current staff strength stands at just over 14,000 officers.
According to him, the service could only accommodate 500 new recruits in the ongoing exercise.
Mr. Mubarak said that when all the available vacancies across the various security services are combined, the total number of recruits for the first phase of the exercise comes to about 5,000.
He explained that after the body selection and documentation stages of the recruitment process, fewer than 30,000 applicants were disqualified, leaving about 400,000 candidates eligible to proceed to the aptitude test and medical examination stages.
The minister noted that the high number of applicants shows the strong interest among young people in joining the country’s security services, but emphasized that recruitment must be conducted within the available capacity of the institutions.
By: Jacob Aggrey
