President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed suggestions that recent recruitment into the security services was driven by favouritism, insisting that digital systems were deployed to ensure fairness and transparency.
Speaking during an engagement with the Ghanaian community in Philadelphia on Thursday, March 26, President Mahama said the move to introduce technology into the recruitment process was aimed at addressing long-standing concerns about bias in public sector hiring.
“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,” he said.
He noted, however, that the exercise drew an unexpectedly large number of applicants, far exceeding initial projections. According to him, about 500,000 vouchers were sold, although only 5,000 applicants were initially considered.
“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 assured that further steps would be taken to strengthen transparency and equal opportunity in future recruitment exercises within the security services.
The process has recently come under scrutiny, with concerns raised over both its scale and fairness. While more than 500,000 people applied, only about 5,000 positions were available, underscoring growing unemployment pressures.
Critics have also questioned the centralised system used by the Ministry of the Interior, arguing that it may have affected transparency and accessibility during the recruitment process.
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