The Majority caucus in Parliament has rejected calls by the Minority for the refund of approximately GH¢113 million paid as application fees by disqualified applicants in the ongoing recruitment into the country’s security services.
Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga, speaking on the floor of the House on Monday, March 16, described the demand as baseless and misplaced, pointing out that no such refunds were made during similar recruitment exercises under the previous administration of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“You cannot be discussing refunds now. Let us discuss how we can fix the economy so that jobs can be created for these young people. How can the money be refunded? The young ones are looking for jobs, not the money,” Mr Ayariga stated.
The Majority Leader defended the government’s decision to open the recruitment process to allow more than 500,000 young Ghanaians to apply for roughly 5,000 available positions, describing it as a deliberate effort to promote fairness, transparency, and equal opportunity.
“What we are doing is giving every young person a fair opportunity. We could have simply gone and selected our foot soldiers and given them the jobs the same way the NPP did, but we are not doing that,” he emphasised.
He further noted that the overwhelming number of applications is a clear indication of the high levels of youth unemployment in the country, and urged Parliament and the nation to focus attention on broader economic measures to generate sustainable employment rather than on refund debates.
Mr Ayariga assured that the government remains committed to revitalising the private sector and implementing policies that will create more job opportunities for the youth in the medium to long term.
The Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, however, countered that the Majority’s position undermines the government’s own “reset agenda” and fails to address the legitimate concerns of thousands of applicants who paid fees but were disqualified without securing employment.
The ongoing 2026 security services recruitment exercise covering the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana National Fire Service, and other agencies, has generated intense public interest and debate after the Minister for the Interior, Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka disclosed that over 500,000 persons had applied to join the various internal security agencies with a limited slot of 5,000 available.
Meanwhile, President John Dramani Mahama following a meeting with the various security heads and the sector ministers, has directed an increase in the recruitment target from 20,000 to 40,000 over a period of four years.