Accra: A former Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Henry Kwabena Kokofu, has alleged that thousands of recruitment slots in Ghana's security services are allocated through protocol arrangements, leaving ordinary applicants with very limited opportunities.
According to Ghana Web, Kokofu made these allegations during an appearance on Channel One TV, where he lamented what he described as the institutionalisation of corruption within the system. He claimed that recruitment processes are heavily influenced by protocol lists associated with various institutions, including Parliament and Jubilee House. Kokofu alleged that in instances where there are 5,000 recruitment slots, as many as 4,000 are reserved for protocol, leaving only 1,000 slots for ordinary applicants.
He further highlighted the plight of many young Ghanaians who are eager to serve their country but find themselves compelled to pay money during recruitment processes due to the limited number of available slots. Kokofu criticized the system for institutionalizing criminality and extorting money from these young people.
Kokofu argued that although the recruitment institutions are aware of the number of candidates they can absorb, they still advertise widely and allegedly encourage applicants to make payments. He called for an audit to expose the scale of the problem, suggesting that transparency and fairness in the recruitment process are lacking.
His comments have sparked further public debate about the transparency and fairness of recruitment into the country's security services, especially regarding the influence of protocol arrangements.