Security Service Recruitment: Government Should Refund Disqualified Applicants – Afenyo Markin

The Minority Speaker in Parliament, Hon. Alexander Afenyo-Markin, says the government should act swiftly to ensure applicants who have been disqualified from the ongoing recruitment process are refunded.

The lawmaker emphasized that the entire process has been hectic and, as a way of appeasing potential recruits who failed to meet the pay mark for the aptitude test, they should have their monies refunded.

He stressed that if they do not get the opportunity to join any of the security services while their refunds can’t be paid, then the only way is out is for these young people to be placed on the list for next year’s recruitment process.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Tuesday, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Effutu criticized government’s decision and the high commands of all the security agencies to have over 250,000 young people buy forms, while only 5,000 are expected to be recruited, does not promote fairness.

He argued that having only 5,000 people picked out of the over 90,000 people who sat for the aptitude test should be probed into, adding that most of these people turn to them (MPs) for help when they are disqualified.

“Beyond this we may have to even look at the number of people who have bought forms and have gone through all this hell and whether there is a way that if they don’t get the opportunity, they get their monies refunded.

If they can’t refund, then there must be a system to move them to next year. Because over 250,000 people have bought forms, 90,000 plus are going through aptitude tests, and we are being told only 5,000 will be taken. All these monies and revenues, and it is us that they come to, and that is a secondary issue,” he stated.

The 2025/2026 security recruitment in Ghana is currently in the medical screening stage as of March 2026, following the release of aptitude test results for the police, fire, prisons, and immigration services.

The process is highly centralized, with screenings occurring at designated centers for qualified applicants, where qualified candidates who passed the aptitude test are required to begin their medical screening on March 16.

However, the Ministry of the Interior has warned against relying on intermediaries, stressing that the process is merit-based.