Secret Recruitments: Provide names of NPP PCs who have been given 30 police slots – Henry Quartey challenges Ato Forson

The Minister for Interior, Henry Quartey, has refuted the claim by the Minority Leader, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson, and other members of the Minority Caucus that the government has given 30 recruitment slots each into the country's security services to parliamentary candidates (PCs) of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

He stated that the allegation by the minority leader cannot be true because it would imply that over 80,000 people would be recruited into the Ghana Police Service and the other security services.

Henry Quartey, who made these remarks in an interview on Neat FM, on May 21, 2024, said that no secret police recruitment is currently ongoing as alleged by the Minority Leader and his colleagues.

He explained that although there is going to be recruitment this year, there would be no sale of forms because the government wants to clear the backlog from previous recruitments.

“We will indeed be recruiting, but we haven’t started yet... Over the last four years, people have queued to buy forms. After everything, the Ghana Police Service, for instance, would recruit about 2,000 people, but up to 100,000 people buy the forms.

“So, the government decided that what we are doing is that we will not sell forms. If we do that, we are not being forthright with Ghanaians. We are going to clear the backlog, that is what we are about doing,” he said.

He added, “The suggestion that we are giving parliamentary candidates 30 police appointments is not true. And so today, I’m challenging Ato Forson to come and mention the names of the candidates who have been given 30 recruitment slots. If he is not able to do that, he hasn’t been fair to Ghanaians.”

What Ato Forson Said:

The Minority Leader alleged during a news conference that all parliamentary candidates of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have been allocated 30 slots each to select party loyalists and supporters to fill positions within the security services, including the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Army.

Dr. Forson urged President Akufo-Addo and the government to halt what he described as undemocratic behaviour. He emphasised the need for transparency and fairness in the recruitment processes within the security sector.

“Notwithstanding the fact that the Minority raised serious concerns about the criteria adopted by the NPP government to recruit personnel into the security services, it has persisted in taking additional steps in the last few days that we have seen.

“The NDC Minority can authoritatively state that not long ago, the NPP government again illegally and fraudulently has given out 30 slots to all NPP parliamentary candidates across the country for recruitment into the security services,” he alleged.

He suggested that the move was part of attempts to manipulate the upcoming election; adding that NDC MPs are committed to upholding the integrity of the electoral process and preventing any actions that could undermine the country's democracy.

Watch Henry Quartey's remarks below:



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