Former Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has criticised the government’s handling of the ongoing security services recruitment exercise, arguing that the surge in applications was largely caused by its own policy decisions.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile programme on Saturday, March 14, Mr Mercer said the government should not be surprised that some people are describing the recruitment process as a “Ponzi scheme,” insisting the situation was self-inflicted.

“I am not surprised people are calling this a Ponzi scheme because all this is self-induced,” he said. “Previously, the eligibility bracket was 18 to 25 — a seven-year bracket. Then you increased it by ten years, moving the age limit from 25 to 35. What did you expect would happen? The numbers would increase by that decision alone, when IMF conditions limit your recruitment space to 5,000.”

His comments follow the announcement by Interior Minister Mubarak Mohammed-Muntaka that only 5,000 applicants will be recruited into the country’s security services in the first phase of the nationwide exercise.

Addressing a press conference in Parliament, the minister explained that although hundreds of thousands of candidates had progressed through various screening stages, the government could only recruit a limited number due to fiscal constraints.

He noted that after the documentation stage, fewer than 30,000 applicants were disqualified, leaving roughly 400,000 candidates eligible to proceed to the aptitude tests and medical examinations.

Mr Mohammed-Muntaka added that the pass mark for the aptitude tests was set at 65 per cent to significantly reduce the number of candidates qualifying for the medical stage.

While acknowledging that many young people might feel disappointed, he urged applicants to remain patient, assuring them that the government was working to create employment opportunities across different sectors of the economy.