Minority Leader alleges criminal conduct at Interior ministry in software deal

The controversy over the government’s engagement of a private software developer, Tribe Net, for the ongoing personnel recruitment into the state security services has intensified, spilling beyond heated parliamentary exchanges into open threats of imprisonment from the Minority Leader, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin.

The disagreement focuses on the President John Dramani Mahama government’s decision to replace the traditional, paper-based, manual system of aptitude tests for prospective recruits with an AI-powered platform.

The current exercise has long been criticised as cumbersome and vulnerable to human interference, but the minority leader doesn’t see the new arrangement as the solution, alleging apparent technical challenges and corruption.

Furthermore, the software seems costly, as the Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, revealed that its procurement was approved by the Public Procurement Authority (PPA), and that the Police Service, Fire Service, Prison Service, and Ghana Immigration Service have all endorsed it.

However, the software’s cost is unknown, and it remains unclear whether the Interior Ministry purchased it as a single package for all services or whether the security agencies acquired it separately at different prices before deploying it.

The Minority Leader first raised concerns about the ongoing recruitment exercise using the AI-powered platform for aptitude testing. He highlighted difficulties for prospective recruits, particularly those in areas with limited internet access, and has since expressed his intention to pursue the matter further.

He has suggested a conflict of interest and read criminality in the deployment of the Tribe Net platform, warning that an unnamed Mahama appointee, a woman, could face imprisonment in the future.

“The person behind Tribe Net, who has been duping innocent Ghanaians, will be exposed. We know her, and very soon she will be exposed,” Minority Leader threatened in Parliament, in the presence of the President, John Dramani Mahama, on Friday, during the 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA).

This was despite an earlier explanation by the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, that the software has eliminated human interference and is necessary to ensure a free and fair recruitment process.

The Effutu MP noted that, under the arrangement, applicants are not answering questions based on their prospective fields.

Speaking on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, 26 February, Afenyo-Markin stated that the Tribe Net methodology sidelines the leadership of the security services and makes the process costly and inaccessible for many young Ghanaians.

“The entire process is now centralized at the Ministry of Interior, a private software developer has been tasked to create a data collection platform which is empowered to run the process through the use of AI-generated aptitude examination with minimal visible involvement of institutional leadership of the affected services,” he said.

The Minority Leader further explained that the system is disadvantaging applicants in rural areas with poor internet connectivity and imposing extra financial burdens on them.

“It is becoming expensive for some of the recruits in assessing this one. They need to buy a scratch card, have access to the internet, and have access to a computer, and it is difficult, especially in areas where internet access is a challenge,” Afenyo-Markin noted.

The Effutu MP called on the House, through the Majority Leader, Mahama Ayariga, to consider this and have the Minister of Interior brief the House to provide clarification, while urging the Mahama government to review the recruitment methodology to ensure the process is fair, accessible, and reflective of local realities.

“Mr Speaker, it’s a matter that concerns all of us. The current ongoing recruitment by the Ghana Immigration Services, Ghana Prison Service, Ghana National Fire Service and the police. The methodology has changed. What we have been told and have become aware that, Mr Speaker, the entire process is now centralized at the Ministry of Interior”.

“A private software developer by the name Tribe Net has been tasked to create a data collection platform which is empowered to run processes through the use of AI-generated aptitude examination with minimal visible involvement of institutional leadership of the affected services”.

“This AI-generated platform, being operated by the Tribe Net software developer, does not involve the Police, Immigration, Prisons, or Fire. So, Mr Speaker, what it is that a person who is supposed to do an aptitude test does not answer questions in the area where he is applying?”

Afenyo-Markin warned that if the situation was not handled properly, it would compound the difficulties of unemployed youth who were already financially constrained. He maintained that the matter was not partisan, but affected constituents across the political divide, some of whom had reportedly spent more than GH¢2,000 without clarity on the next stage of the process.

However, the First Deputy Speaker, Bernard Ahiafor, who was presiding, cautioned the Minority Leader against delving into specific allegations in the absence of the Interior Minister. The Akatsi South MP indicated that while he had no objection to inviting the sector minister to respond to the issues, he was concerned about making detailed accusations without the official present to answer them.

In response, Afenyo-Markin said he would be guided by the Chair’s direction and refrained from elaborating further, but reiterated his request for a closed-door sitting with the Minister in view of the seriousness of the matter.

However, on Friday during the SONA, he continued his onslaught in the presence of IGP Christian Tetteh Yohuno, Patience Baffoe-Bonnie, the Director-General of the Ghana Prisons Service; Samuel Basintale Amadu, the Comptroller-General of Immigration (CGI); the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt. Gen. William Agyapong; Aaron Kanor, the Commissioner of Customs; and Daniella Mawusi Ntow Sarpong, Chief Fire Officer of the Ghana National Fire Service.

These institutions are conducting recruitment exercises, with those under the Interior Ministry having deployed Tribe Net for the aptitude test.

While seconding the motion for the adjournment of the House, Afenyo-Markin, who was eager to score political points, told Speaker Alban Bagbin that his side would retaliate against NDC MPs’ display of pictures of ex-Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta to mock him during the SONA, over his refusal to return to Ghana and face criminal prosecution.

He charged, “We are happy they are showing a picture, trying to embarrass the former finance minister. We’ve seen, but very soon, soon and very soon, let me assure you, that somebody, a senior appointee who is in charge of this Tribe Net. Who is in charge of Tribe Net? Who’s going to jail?

“So the one behind Tribe Net, the one who introduced Tribe Net to the ministry, who is chopping money. Mr Speaker, we are happy you are showing. Very soon, we’ll bring a picture. That you’ll see the one in charge of Tribe Net, duping innocent Ghanaians, duping their unemployed youths. There are many youths who are looking for jobs, and this Tribe Net, with the connivance of an appointee of the government, would be exposed. So you continue with Ken Ofori-Atta, soon and very soon, it will be your turn”.

Earlier on Thursday, the Interior Minister, who was in Parliament, denied the Minority Leader’s allegation that the security services were unaware of the Information Technology (IT) firm’s platform for the ongoing aptitude test.

Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak explained that the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), Ghana Police Service (GPS), Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), and the Ghana Prisons Service (GPS) had each signed individual contracts with the IT service provider and directed the Minority Leader to the PPA.

He urged Afenyo-Markin to confirm the contract with the PPA, citing the Patrick Timbilla incident, in which the senior police officer was interdicted over a recruitment exercise in which money changed hands.

“I will charge him to check with the Public Procurement Authority whether each of the services signed an individual contract with the service provider,” he said while responding to the claim on the floor of Parliament.

The Minister noted that the measures put in place to address extortion and other challenges associated with the recruitment process.

He described the process as smooth, stating that 80 per cent of potential recruits had completed the test without issues.

Alhaji Mohammed-Mubarak further emphasised that only qualified applicants would be recruited into the security services, revealing that arrests had already been made in cases of attempted manipulation revealing that the week before, “Just last week, two officers were arrested because they were trying to assist 14 applicants to enter the process”.

Afenyo-Markin said the recruitment cost was a burden on legislators, as constituents often rely on them for assistance, and clarified that his remarks were not intended to disparage the Minister. He also promised to provide all relevant records and facts to substantiate his claim.

“Minister, I will not take undue advantage or run your Ministry down. The point I have raised is well-founded, and I will use the appropriate procedures to furnish you with all the records I have,” Afenyo-Markin said.