The Member of Parliament for Builsa North, James Agalga, has voiced strong objections to the government’s defence of engaging in backlog recruitment into the various security services rather than issuing new advertisements for fresh recruitment.
The Builsa North MP dismissed the government’s justification as untenable, citing the irrelevance of a backlog after several years due to factors such as age and medical conditions.
This follows the minority’s claim that the government is engaging in unlawful recruitment of some NPP thugs into various security services ahead of the December 2024 general elections.
The caucus alleged that all NPP Parliamentary Candidates have been offered 30 slots for recruitment into the various security services in a calculated attempt to compromise the December polls.
Speaking to Umaru Sanda on Eyewitness News on May 20, 2024, Agalga stated: “… I recall, I did a press conference and took on the government, and the defence the government put on at the time was very lame. All they said was that a backlog had been created. Some adverts were made in 2018 and they were now trying to clear the backlog. So, I will not be surprised if they come back and say to the hearing of the Ghanaians that it is the backlog they are just trying to clear from 2018, and now we are in 2024. Six years down the line they will come and say they are clearing a backlog.
“But you know that when you first apply, age is a factor. After a year or two, you cannot be talking about backlog. If you progress to the medical stage, after two years or four, your medical condition would have deteriorated. So, this talk about backlog clearance is untenable. I mean, it is a joke; talk to any security expert and they will tell you that it is not done anywhere. It is only in Ghana that you hear that the advert for recruitment was made way back and there is no new advert to clear the backlog,” he stated.
Furthermore, Agalga pointed out budgetary allocations for recruitment in the current year, emphasising the absence of public advertisements.
“The budget is the starting point. In that statement, clearly, a budget allocation was made for recruitment for this year. It takes a minimum of six months to train a recruit, and we are approaching June, so this is the time they are seeking out names for prospective applicants, and I am saying there are no applicants because there are no adverts in the system,” he added.
However, the government’s Spokesperson on Governance and Security, Palgrave Boakye-Danquah, refuted that claim and stated that the minority’s claim is untrue.
“This has not been done in any government of the fourth republic to recruit political people into the security services. The service, from the military to the police and the others, has been extremely professional and devoid of any political influence,” he stated.
Addressing the allegation of no advertisements, Boakye-Danquah pointed to evidence of an open application process.
“It is important to note that there was even a publication online; just a simple look online will tell you that the Ghana Armed Forces forms for 2023/2024, the application portal was opened in December 2023. Just a cursory look at that, he can find that. The portal is www.gafrecruitment.iml.gh,” he stated.
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