Vice-President of IMANI Africa, Kofi Bentil, has questioned the decision to charge applicants for forms in the ongoing security services recruitment, arguing that upfront payments are unnecessary.

Speaking on Newsfile on JoyNews on Saturday, Mr Bentil suggested that the recruitment system could have been structured to allow applicants to submit their details online without paying for forms in advance.

He noted that since the process is largely digital, applicants should be able to apply and proceed through the various selection stages before any payment is required.

“If you are going to do it online, you don’t need to charge them ahead because there are ways you can do it without charging. There is a screening process,” he said.

He added that fees, if necessary, could be introduced later, once candidates have progressed further in the recruitment process and are closer to enlistment.

“I think you can charge an application processing fee for those who get beyond a certain point, but I find it problematic that they charge people this kind of money at the very first stage. Clearly, this seems intended to raise funds, and I think that is wrong,” he said.

Mr Bentil warned that unsuccessful applicants could become agitated, potentially leading to unlawful behaviour, especially given the limited number of vacancies despite the requirement to pay for forms.

He also called for a policy change to end the current system.

“When you do this, you build up anger in the youth, and it is wrong. If they want to make amends, they should refund the money. But we should have a policy that says we won’t do this again,” he said.

The remarks come amid ongoing controversy over the security recruitment exercise, as stakeholders argue that fees paid by unsuccessful applicants should be refunded.

Earlier, the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, revealed that although about 105,000 young people have successfully qualified for the medical stage of the ongoing recruitment into Ghana’s security services, only 5,000 positions are currently available.

Meanwhile, more than 500,000 people have applied for the exercise. The forms were sold at GH¢200 and GH¢250 per form.

Read also: Refund GH¢113m collected from unsuccessful applicants — Ntim Fordjour to Interior Ministry