Henry Quartey, the Interior Minister, has clarified that although government is making recruitment into the security services, it is not true that it is being done secretly.
He has also dismissed claims by the Minority that government has given 30 slots each to the Members of Parliament belonging to the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
In an interview on Accra-based Citi FM Monday, May 20, 2024, Mr. Quartey indicated that the security services have not advertised the recruitment for this year’s enlistment because there is already a backlog of persons who have purchased forms the previous years and couldn’t get enrolled.
He explains the intention is to recruit those persons without making new applicants pay for forms, adding that the services are soon going to come out with the eligibility criteria.
His comments come on the back of allegations by Dr. Cassiel Ato Baah Forson, Leader of the Minority in Parliament to the effect that government was covertly enlisting people into the security services, and has also given 30 slots each to the NPP MPs.
Mr. Quartey described the allegations as unfortunate, coming from an MP and a leader who has served under the Interior Ministry before.
“It is rather unfortunate that MPs and of course a leader, Minority Leader and a former deputy minister of Interior could actually spew this falsehood into the public. MPs currently are about 137…it cannot be possible, it is not and it cannot be possible. I am rather disappointed in this approach…Yes, we are recruiting but it is not a secret recruitment. We haven’t even started. The agencies are going to send the eligibility criteria. I am sure by this week they will do that.”
“What we are saying rather is that look in the last couple of years people have gone to buy forms. And for some reasons, they could not gain admission into the security and intelligence agencies. So we thought it wise that we don’t have to advertise anymore for people to continuously pay monies because you have a certain number of people that per the clearance you have to recruit.
He reemphasised that government has not given 30 slots to NPP MPs as alleged by the Minority caucus.
“But I want to say on authority and I want to say again on authority that giving 30 slots to MPs is false. It is not true. It has never happened before and I am surprised that they want to go on this tangent,” he reiterated.
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