Aggrieved applicants to demonstrate against Police

A number of disappointed applicants for the ongoing recruitment exercise by the Ghana Police Service (GPS) in the Ashanti Region have threatened to demonstrate against the GPS for what they call “unfair ” criteria for the selection of recruits into the Police Training School.

They also threatened to go to court with evidence of malpractices that characterised the recruitment exercise. They critcised the GPS for conducting double medical screening and also for what they described as poor selection of applicants through a written examination.

A spokesperson for the aggrieved applicants who pleaded anonymity in an interview with the Daily Graphic, alleged that in 2012 the GPS enlisted applicants presented by Members of Parliament, Ministers, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), Traditional Rulers, among others. 

He further alleged that this year, the applicants were made to go through medical screening and other related exercises and were waiting to be called for training only to hear that some of their colleague applicants had been invited for a written examination while others were not invited.

Background

Some applicants were invited to write an examination from Friday, August 8, 2014 to Sunday, August 10, 2014.

A copy of the invitation letter made available to the Daily Graphic dated July 31, 2014, was signed by the Director General/Human Resource Development, Commissioner of Police (COP) Patrick Eden Timbillah.

The spokesperson added that those who passed the examination were still part of the batch that was enlisted and who had gone through medical screening but were made to go through medical screening again, a situation which, he said ,called for some level of seriousness on the part of the police authorities.

With suspicion of foul play in the entire recruitment exercise, he said some of  the applicants think that “something is very wrong somewhere” and that the anomalies if not brought to public notice for correction and condemnation would continue to jeopardise the reputation of the GPS and the government as a whole.

Reaction of the GPS

The Director of Public Affairs at the GPS, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Cephas Arthur, who spoke to the Daily Graphic in an interview dismissed the allegations. He said the recruitment exercise had had challenges of inadequate funds and facilities to cater for the allowances, feeding and accommodation for applicants who would be selected for training at the police training school, hence the suspension of the recruitment exercise in 2012.

He also said the recruitment process could not be completed in 2012 because the country was at the brink of national elections and that the police were much needed to provide protection, adding that again, recruitment could not be continued in 2013 due to the 2012 election petition hearing at the Supreme Court where the police resources were garnered towards protection.

 DSP Arthur explained that some applicants were invited for the examination, leaving others during the current enlistment exercise  because they might have failed the medical screening.