Berned Mornah’s Message to HE John Dramani Mahama

A MESSAGE TO HIS EXCELLENCY, JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA ON RECENT SECURITY SERVICES RECRUITMENT CONCERNS

1. Introduction

Your Excellency,

Warm greetings from your village brother, Bernard Mornah of Sankana.

2. Growing Interest in Security Service Recruitment

Over the past period, more than 500,000 young men and women across the country applied to join the various security services, driven largely by the desire to secure a livelihood. While recruitment into these services has traditionally followed structured selection criteria at regional centers, the current process has raised serious concerns among many applicants and observers.

3. Concerns Over Physical Requirements

A significant portion of disqualifications appears to stem from factors such as height and minor physical attributes. However, physical stature is a matter of nature, not merit. In today’s modern security environment, operations increasingly rely on intelligence, technical expertise, and strategic thinking rather than purely physical characteristics. Denying capable individuals the opportunity to serve based on such criteria risks excluding thousands of potentially valuable personnel.

4. Challenges with the Aptitude Test Process

The aptitude test process has presented notable challenges. Many candidates were disadvantaged due to unstable electricity supply and poor internet connectivity. Several applicants were unable to complete their online tests due to power outages or network disruptions, leading to automatic disqualification.

5. Recruitment Expansion and Lingering Questions

It was encouraging to learn of the directive to increase recruitment numbers from 20,000 to 40,000 over four years. However, if approximately 105,000 candidates are deemed qualified, the criteria used to limit opportunities for the rest must be reconsidered to ensure transparency and fairness.

6. Youth Unemployment and Systemic Pressures

There is a growing mismatch between education and employment. Each year, thousands of trained professionals enter the workforce with limited opportunities, pushing many toward the security services as one of the few viable options for stable income.

7. Financial Burden on Applicants

Each candidate reportedly paid approximately GHS 220 during the application process, amounting to over GHS 110 million collectively. Shortlisted candidates are also required to pay between GHS 1,600 and GHS 2,000 for medical examinations. The extraction of such significant sums from unemployed citizens for a process already supported by government resources raises serious concerns about equity and fairness.

8. Recommendation: NHIS Support for Medical Screening

It is recommended that medical screening for qualified applicants be covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to ease the financial burden on applicants and promote inclusivity.

9. Call for Equitable Resource Management

Addressing these disparities requires bold leadership and prudent management of national resources. Ghana is richly endowed with minerals—including gold, lithium, diamonds, bauxite, salt, oil, manganese, and iron—yet many citizens continue to live at the fringes of poverty. There is an urgent need to reassess the structure of ownership and benefits derived from these resources. A more assertive national policy that ensures greater state participation and equitable distribution of wealth is essential. No nation develops sustainably without maintaining meaningful control over its natural resources.

10. Conclusion and Appeal

Further reforms centered on fairness, accessibility, transparency, and affordability will help restore public confidence in the recruitment process. The aspirations of hundreds of thousands of Ghanaian youths must not be undermined by systemic inefficiencies or avoidable barriers.

11. Final Submission

Your Excellency, I respectfully submit.