IERPP: Only 1% of security applicants successfully hired

The Institute of Economic Research and Public Policy (IERPP) has revealed that only one per cent of applicants in the recent security recruitment exercise were successfully employed, raising serious concerns about the integrity, fairness, and purpose of the process.

Addressing a press conference at the Ghana International Press Centre on Tuesday, 17th March 2026, under the theme “E-Merit Recruitment Saga: From Hope to Heartbreak,” a Director of the Institute, Dr. Kwasi Nyame-Baafi, described the development as a troubling reflection of deeper structural weaknesses within the country’s labour market.

He noted that although Ghana’s headline unemployment rate showed a modest decline from 14.9 per cent in 2023 to 13.6 per cent in 2024, and further to 13.1 per cent in the fourth quarter, the underlying realities paint a far more worrying picture. According to him, youth unemployment remains disproportionately high, with 22.5 per cent recorded among persons aged 15 to 35, and an even steeper 32 per cent among those between 15 and 24 years.

Dr. Nyame-Baafi pointed out that young people constitute nearly 70 per cent of the unemployed population, a situation he said underscores the growing disconnection between Ghana’s youthful population and productive economic opportunities. He added that the phenomenon of young people not in employment, education, or training (NEET) remains significant, with rates of 25.8 per cent for ages 15–24 and 22.4 per cent for ages 15–35.

He further observed that urban unemployment continues to outpace rural levels, with 15.9 per cent recorded in cities compared to 10.4 per cent in rural areas, attributing the disparity to congestion and limited job absorption capacity in urban growth centres.

“This is not a cyclical challenge,” he stated. “It is a structural fragility that requires deliberate and coordinated policy action.”

Against this backdrop, the IERPP Director referenced the “Jobs for All” policy agenda advanced by the National Democratic Congress, noting that it had promised large-scale job creation through initiatives such as a 24-hour economy, a 10-billion-dollar “Big Push,” a three-billion-dollar digital jobs programme, agro-industrial zones, and youth enterprise schemes.

He described the policy as a “contract of hope” with Ghanaian youth but stressed that recent developments in the security recruitment process suggest a growing gap between policy ambition and actual outcomes.

Citing data from the exercise, Dr. Nyame-Baafi disclosed that over 500,000 applicants paid a non-refundable fee of GH¢220 each, generating an estimated GH¢110 million. However, only about 5,000 individuals were recruited, representing a success rate of just one per cent.

“In effect, approximately 495,000 applicants contributed about GH¢108.9 million without securing employment,” he explained. “This translates into roughly GH¢22,000 collected per successful recruit, raising fundamental questions about the design and intent of the exercise.”

He further indicated that the use of internet-based testing in a country with uneven digital infrastructure had effectively excluded thousands of otherwise qualified candidates, with only about 20 per cent reportedly able to complete the process successfully.

The Institute also raised concerns about the broader fiscal implications, noting that Internally Generated Funds (IGF) of the Ministry of the Interior are projected to rise significantly from GH¢678.3 million in 2024 to GH¢1.114 billion by 2026.

Within this context, Dr. Nyame-Baafi warned that high-volume, low-conversion recruitment exercises risk evolving into revenue-generating mechanisms rather than genuine employment avenues.

“If this model were to be scaled to recruit 40,000 personnel at the same one per cent success rate, Ghana would require about four million applicants and could potentially generate GH¢880 million. This is not only administratively impractical but socially regressive,” he cautioned.

He also questioned the centralisation of recruitment processes at the ministerial level, arguing that it sidelines the professional autonomy of security agencies. Additional concerns were raised about the expansion of eligibility criteria without a corresponding increase in absorption capacity, as well as the imposition of non-refundable application fees in a system where rejection rates exceed 99 per cent.

The IERPP is therefore calling for an independent investigation into the recruitment exercise, including a full audit of financial flows, procurement arrangements, technological systems, and selection procedures.

“Transparency is not optional. It is essential to restoring public trust and institutional credibility,” Dr. Nyame-Baafi stressed.

Beyond the critique, the Institute proposed a set of corrective measures, including the development of a structured, multi-year plan to absorb affected applicants into the workforce. This, he said, should involve skills mapping, sector matching, and phased recruitment across key sectors such as healthcare, education, ICT, agriculture, and security services.

He further advocated stronger public-private partnerships to expand employment capacity, alongside short-term bridging programmes designed to equip young people with job-ready skills within three to six months.

Crucially, he emphasised the need to transition to a merit-based, transparent, and non-fee-paying recruitment system, supported by a dedicated National Youth Employment Taskforce with clear performance benchmarks.

“The policy choice before us is clear. Ghana can either monetise unemployment or systematically reduce it. One extracts value from desperation; the other builds value through productivity. Only one is sustainable,” he added.