The Member of Parliament for Manhyia South, Nana Agyei Baffour Awuah, says the government’s decision to charge applicants in the ongoing security services recruitment exercise risks exploiting the vulnerability of unemployed young people.

According to him, the huge number of applicants about 500,000 people  reflects the scale of Ghana’s unemployment crisis rather than simply interest in security jobs.

Speaking on JoyNews AM Show on Monday, March 16, Mr Awuah noted that many applicants were encouraged by government policies and promises that appeared to signal expanded employment opportunities.

“And so it wasn’t surprising that about 500,000 people applied for that position the government charged GH¢200 from each applicant. That for me is very unfortunate. It looks like we are exploiting the vulnerability of the Ghanaian youth,” he said.

His comments come amid ongoing public debate about the recruitment exercise into Ghana’s security services, where hundreds of thousands of applicants competed for a very limited number of positions.

Mr Awuah disclosed that although over 500,000 applicants submitted applications, only a little above 105,000 successfully passed the medical screening stage. However, he explained that the available recruitment slots remain extremely limited.

“The obvious truth is that they only have available slots for about 5,000 applicants,” he said, highlighting the large gap between the number of hopeful applicants and the positions available.

The MP, who also serves as Vice Chairman of Parliament’s Subsidiary Legislation Committee, said the Minority in Parliament has raised concerns about the process, arguing that the situation exposes the broader employment challenges facing the country.

Taking what he described as a broader perspective beyond partisan politics, Mr Awuah said Ghana’s unemployment crisis has persisted across successive governments.

“As a politician, when discussing this issue, I can imagine that you would want me to take it from the perspective of the failures of the government. It’s rich because it puts us in good stead,” he said.

“However, I would like to take it from a bigger perspective, which is that we are really a nation in crisis and it’s unfortunate that politicians are taking advantage of the situation without a solution to it.”

He referenced remarks by John Dramani Mahama during his inaugural State of the Nation Address, where the President told Parliament that about two million Ghanaians are currently unemployed.

Mr Awuah also recalled that unemployment had already become a major national issue before the previous administration left office in 2017, with some graduates even forming groups such as the Unemployed Graduates Association to draw attention to their plight.

He further pointed to the introduction of the Nation Builders Corps (NAPCO) by the New Patriotic Party government as an attempt to manage the growing unemployment challenge.

According to him, more than 800,000 young people enrolled on the programme with the hope of eventually being absorbed into the wider economy.

However, he noted that economic difficulties following the COVID-19 pandemic and Ghana’s engagement with the International Monetary Fund forced government to suspend the programme.

Against this backdrop, he said government’s decision to extend the age limit for security recruitment from 25 to 35 years, together with promises surrounding the proposed 24-hour economy policy, raised expectations among many young people that more jobs would be created.

“The moment you extend the age range and promise a three-shift system under the 24-hour economy, people naturally expect that recruitment will increase,” he said.

According to him, these expectations partly explain why the number of applicants surged to about half a million, even though only a small fraction will ultimately secure employment.

Mr Awuah said the debate around the recruitment exercise should therefore prompt a broader national conversation about sustainable job creation and long-term solutions to youth unemployment in Ghana.