Minority leader in Parliament, Alex Afenyo-Markin, has again rubbished the ongoing recruitment exercise by the security agencies.
According to the Effutu constituency Member of Parliament (MP), he has no confidence in the process underway because the government from the onset has shown nothing but dishonesty.
The MP and lawyer argues that, the government has no capacity to employ the huge numbers it called for and that it is only engaged in scamming the teeming youth.
He said the government is only interested in collecting GHc1, 600 each from them but has no commitment to employ them.
The expression of uncertainty and disappointment come after government through the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, last week announced that, out of the 500,000 applicants only 5,000 can be employed.
Speaking in a video sighted by TheNewRepublic, Afenyo-Markin decried the nonchalant attitude of the government and its refusal to take criticisms.
“We speak the truth always but our colleagues dabble in propaganda. Look at the recruitment they did, it turned into scam. You said 500,000 have bought forms, you have introduced aptitude test to disqualify. When you are done, you say some 200, 000 have qualified for medicals meanwhile the vacancy is 5000”.
He said, he has encouraged his constituents who applied to be part to withdraw from the medical test stage because it will amount to nothing. He labelled the entire process as a scam which should not be given further attention.
The MP argued that, it will be a waste of money and precious time to go through the medical test because in the end they will not be chosen because obviously there is no vacancy.
“Someone is going to pay 1,600 for medicals —-even if 20 percent pass for medicals, it means 20,000 [have qualified] how would you take them? I have told Winnbea youth that if they have received a message to attend medicals they should not go, it is a scam because if you go and borrow to pay for this medical even if you pass they will say you have failed. When we advise the government it does not take it.”
The MP expressed concern about the government attitude to criticism and expression of divergent views.
“The NDC government now if you talk to them then they are angry, if you counsel them then they are angry. Even if you offend your own brother then he is angry. What you are indulging is not good, Ghana is talking but they are nonchalant. So the youth are going to travel for medicals when you know you have no jobs for them. After all the ordeal he should go and borrow?”
His position comes on the heels of a directive by President John Mahama to the security agencies to employ up to 40, 000 recruits. The latest by the President means that under his tenure, every year, they would have to employ 10, 000.
Before reaching this juncture, Afenyo-Markin earlier in February, accused the government and the Minister of engaging a private firm in the exercise saying they are duping innocent citizens, threatening those involved in the illegality will be candidate for jail in future.
His comments were made when the President addressed Parliament in his State of the Nation (SoNA) in Februaryt.
The minister took offence and asked that his colleague to be referred to the Privileges Committee so that he can substantiate his claim. He dared the minister to ensure the sitting is made public else he won’t attend. Later, he retracted his claim and apologized for his comments.
By Gifty Boateng