Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Youth Wing in Ayawaso Central, Owoahene, claims that Interior Minister and Member of Parliament for the constituency, Henry Quartey, has hoarded jobs within Ghana’s security agencies for “party boys.”
Speaking at a community dialogue, Owoahene who seems to be praising Henry Quartey’s efforts, called them “unprecedented.” For him, the MP’s influence has led to employment opportunities for many party youth in agencies like the Fire Service, Immigration Service and Prison Service even at the expense of deserving Ghanaians.
“Henry Quartey has helped over a thousand people. For instance, some of my family members have benefited from these job offers,” Owoahene said.
While some see this as a commendable move to uplift the youth of Ayawaso Central, others argue that the recruitment process into the security services has been marred by favoritism and secrecy.
In July 2024, the Minority in Parliament threatened to summon Henry Quartey over allegations of a backdoor recruitment process for 11,000 personnel.
The Minority, led by James Agalga, Ranking Member of the Defence and Interior Committee, expressed concerns that the recruitment process lacked transparency.
Mr. Agalga cited the Ghana Police Service’s declaration that all applicants from the 2021-2022 recruitment cycle had been processed, suggesting that any new hires should come from fresh applications advertised to the public.
“The police have cleared all applicants from the 2021-2022 recruitment exercise, so there is no backlog. Any new recruitment must be open, transparent, and fair,” Agalga stressed,
He established that in previous administrations, such processes were preceded by public advertisements to ensure fairness.
