Interior Minister Mubarak Mohammed Muntaka announced that the ongoing recruitment exercise for various security services in Ghana will only absorb 5,000 applicants in its first phase. This limited intake is a direct consequence of fiscal limitations, a constraint highlighted during a press conference in Parliament on Wednesday. The recruitment process, which includes the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Prisons Service, Ghana Immigration Service, and Ghana National Service, initially saw over 400,000 applicants prepared for aptitude tests and medical examinations after a preliminary documentation phase disqualified fewer than 30,000 individuals.

To manage the large pool of qualified candidates down to the absorbable number, the Minister explained that a pass mark of 65 percent was strategically set for the aptitude tests. Alhaji Muntaka acknowledged that many young people seeking employment might be disappointed by the limited opportunities in this phase, but he urged restraint, assuring the public that this would not be the government's last recruitment drive. The government's broader objective remains to create jobs across various sectors for the nation's youth.

Security expert Dr. Ishmael Norman, President of the Institute for Security, Disaster and Emergency Studies, has vocally supported the Interior Minister's decision to prioritize a merit-based system for security sector recruitment. Speaking on Joy News' PM Express, Dr. Norman described the move as both bold and necessary, especially in a political environment often influenced by patronage. He commended Mohammed Muntaka Mubarak as a