Security Analyst, Adib Saani has criticized the Ghana Police Service for charging successful 2024 Police Recruitment Exercise candidates GHS980 for medical examinations, citing it as exploitative and damaging to the institution’s reputation.
The Ghana Police Service has announced that the Police recruitment exercise which was first advertised in August, has moved to the next stage with the invitation of successful candidates for medical examination.
In a statement signed by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Grace Ansah-Akrofi-Akrofi, successful candidates will commence the medical examination on Thursday, November 7 to Friday, November at designated locations in Accra.
The statement further indicated that all successful candidates are to pay GHS 980.00, which is the cost of the medical examination.
However speaking on Starr midday news with Naa Dedei Tettey, security analyst, Adib Saani asserted that this directive by the Ghana Police Service is exploitative. He emphasized that He highlighted that the successful candidates may be unemployed and may not be able to afford the cost despite being qualified for the role.
“It is exploitative and very unfortunate and a big dent in the reputation of the Ghana Police Service because these are individuals who are not employed. They are desperate, they are looking for jobs. So why are we taking advantage of them? This is a big shame and I think it should be rescinded.
“Besides, to pay over GHS 900 to go for medicals, and yet you don’t get qualified. I think it’s a bit unfair. And Ghana is the only country I see this happening,” he remarked.
He continued, “I mean, you go to other jurisdictions and these people (candidates) are celebrated because they have decided to avail themselves to serve the country even if it demands them putting their lives on the line. So why would we still charge them money to serve the country? And when you do that, it becomes also dangerous because from scratch you make it look like it’s all about money. And so when they are finally recruited, they also do things to recoup the money they paid before they got recruited to the very final stage.”
Mr. Saani also opined that the medical examination fee charged to candidates is both “unacceptable“ and “unfair”.
He further stressed the need to scrap or rescind the medical examination fee in order to ensure equal opportunities for qualified candidates.
