Mahama Breaks Silence on Security Services Recruitment Brouhaha
- John Dramani Mahama has dismissed claims of favouritism in the ongoing internal security service recruitment process
- He said that technology was introduced to address long-standing concerns about bias and influence in public sector recruitment
- The President stated that the recruitment process would be expanded and told applicants that they would not have to pay again
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President John Dramani Mahama has weighed in on the brouhaha surrounding the ongoing internal security service recruitment.
Speaking to the Ghanaian community in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 26, 2026, President Mahama dismissed claims that the recruitment exercise was fraught with favouritism.
Source: UGC
According to the President, the digital system deployed by the Ministry of the Interior has ensured fairness and transparency in the recruitment process.
As cited by Citi News, he stated that the deployment of technology in the process was aimed at addressing long-standing concerns about bias in public sector recruitment.
“There have been a lot of complaints that people get recruited based on who they know. This was an attempt to use digitalisation to sort through the first wave of applications. The computer doesn’t know who you are.
“The intent was in good faith, but the response was overwhelming. We held a meeting and decided to expand the recruitment, and all those who applied don’t need to pay again,” he added.
President Mahama subsequently promised to ensure that steps are taken to strengthen transparency and equal opportunity in future recruitment exercises within the security services.
Facts about 2025/2026 security service recruitment exercise
This year's security services recruitment exercise began in December 2025.
It covers the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Immigration Service, the Ghana National Fire Service, and the Ghana Prisons Service.
According to the Minister for the Interior, Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka, the recruitment exercise attracted close to 500,000 applications from across the 16 regions of Ghana, indicating that 105,000 applicants have progressed to the medical screening stage at the end of the aptitude test.
Out of the 105,000 applicants who are currently at the medical screening stage, only 5,000 people will be recruited into the various internal security services.
He explained that authorities set the pass mark for the recruitment aptitude test at 65 to control the number of candidates progressing to the medical stage.
According to him, the decision was necessary to keep the recruitment process manageable and fair, considering the limited capacity of the security agencies.
“Are you going to allow over 400,000 people to go and do medicals when you know you have space for only 5,000? How fair are you to the people? You need to devise a method to slow down the numbers and have a reasonable figure,” he said.
Source: Facebook
Afenyo-Markin urges youth to boycott medical screening
Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that the Minority Leader of Parliament, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, had urged the youth of Winneba who applied for the ongoing Internal Security Service recruitment to boycott medical screenings.
The Efutu MP described the recruitment exercise as a scam, alleging it is designed to collect money from unemployed Ghanaian youth, with his comments sparking a major online debate about the transparency of the recruitment process.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
