President John Dramani Mahama has directed an expansion in ongoing recruitment into the country’s security services following a high-level meeting with heads of the various agencies.

According to a statement from the presidency dated Monday, March 16, the President met with security chiefs, the Minister for the Interior and the Acting Minister for Defence to review the ongoing recruitment exercise across the security agencies.

Following a briefing on the process, President Mahama instructed that the number of personnel to be recruited be increased substantially.

The statement noted that “the number of men and women to be recruited to the various security agencies should be increased from twenty thousand (20,000) to forty thousand (40,000) over a four-year period.”

The President also emphasised the need for integrity in the recruitment process. He directed the leadership of the security services to ensure that the exercise is conducted with the highest standards of accountability.

“The Heads of the Security Agencies [must] ensure transparency and fairness in the recruitment process,” the statement said.

Those present at the meeting included the Chief of Staff, the Secretary to the President, the Senior Presidential Advisor on Governmental Affairs and the National Security Coordinator.

Also in attendance were the Inspector General of Police, the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service, the Director-General of the Ghana National Fire Service, the Comptroller-General of the Ghana Immigration Service and the Director-General of the Narcotics Control Commission.

Below is the statement by the presidency

The directive follows revelations by the Interior Minister that only 5,000 applicants will be considered for the current phase of the recruitment, which relates to the 2025 intake.

Following his revelation, the ministry has since received public criticism for selling over 500,000 vouchers despite knowing it does not have the capacity to employ more people.