The Police administration and it sister institutions namely the Immigration Service, the Fire Service, Immigration Service, Prison Service, have announced a well-planned recruitment processes beginning next week.
It comes two days after a stampede marred the Ghana Army Forces’ (GAF) department of this year’s recruitment exercise, leading to the deaths of six young ladies.
Some 28 applicants were affected—12 in critical condition, five in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). A similar occurred in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region resulting in five additional injuries.
Addressing the media on Friday November 14, the Interior Minister, Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak, said the portal for recruitment will be opened on Monday November 17.
He announced that the recruitment processes for the agencies will be fully digitised to eliminate manual queues and prevent further tragedies during national enlistment exercises.
Tthe Minister said the new system will replace paper-based procedures with an online application platform designed to streamline and harmonise recruitment across the security services.
“Our hope is to have a seamless process. Everything will be moved from paper to paperless. You can start the process and finish with your mobile phone from the comfort of your home with the code, which will be published on Sunday, November 16.
The process we’re developing is a robust, centralised e-recruitment portal to ensure harmonisation,” he assured.
Mr. Muntaka Mubarak said the transition to a fully digital, end-to-end recruitment system is expected to significantly reduce congestion, enhance safety, and improve efficiency in future national recruitment exercises.
Drawing lessons from last Wednesday’s incident at the El-Wak Sports Stadium, he said there will be multiple screening centres in every region with between 10 to 15 centres in Accra alone.
Applicants are sternly warned to follow the instructions issued or they will be disqualified.
Also, no screening center will accommodate more than 1,000 people at a time, with a target of 500 persons in the morning and another 500 in the afternoon.
Any applicant who shows up in the morning when he/she has been scheduled for the afternoon, will be instantly disqualified.
To avoid overcrowding, the screening exercise will be done in turns. The Police Service will complete its screening before another Agency starts its screening, ensuring no congestion. The screening process will also be staggered to prevent simultaneous screenings at the same location.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Defence Minister, has also revealed that families who lost their loved ones during the stampede will automatically have a member enlisted in the Military to appease the lost souls.
Ernest Yaw Brogya Genfi, made the announcement when he led a delegation to condole with a family of the one of the deceased at Enyan Maim near Mankessim in the Central Region.
“Due to what happened, the recruitment in Accra has been suspended by the President, so that we will ensure that measures are put in place to avoid a repeat of such incidents.”
“The President has sent us to inform you that the State will stand with the families in the burial and funeral arrangements for the families. The President has also asked us to inform you that all those who wanted to wear the military uniform but died in the process, their families should present a replacement for those people to be absorbed into the military. So, the authorities representing the government in the region will engage you in that regard for the family to decide on who can be enrolled into the military.”
Prior to that, the delegation visited other families in Accra for the same purpose.
By Gifty Boateng