Social advocacy group, Citizens Forum, has petitioned the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) over the recent recruitment issues at the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS and the Civil Service of Ghana.

The group is asking the Commission to, among other things, investigate and make pronouncements on the propriety of financial processes and administrative procedures relative to the Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921) and the Financial Administration Regulation 2004 (LI 1802).

The group indicated that their action is intended to secure the correct procedure to guide all public sector agencies in future recruitment processes and to stop the long-age practice where monies are siphoned from vulnerable, unemployed youths by public sector agencies under the guise of such recruitment.

It may be recalled that in November 2017, the GIS advertised for prospective applicants who wanted to be enlisted into the service to purchase application vouchers at a cost of GHS50 and fulfill other requirements.

GIS later disclosed that 84,360 people applied and a total amount of GHS4, 218,000 was realised from the sale of forms.

Similarly, the Civil Service engaged in a recruitment process with an aptitude test for applicants on January 4, 2018 at the Civil Service Training School, the St. Thomas Aquinas School both at Cantonment and WAEC Hall at Ridge.

Citizens Forum stated that a total of 3,000 people applied with each paying an initial amount of GHS10 and an extra fee of GHS 50, amounting to some GHS180,000.

“It is even more frightening when one sits to take stock of the monies being accrued unfairly as a result of these processes. A simple computation of the numbers and figures from recent recruitment exercises as sourced from the Speech of the President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo when he met the Press recently, gives the following estimates;

Ghana Police Service – 158,734 applicants with an amount of GHS 7,936,700 realised.

Ghana Immigration Service – 84,360 applicants with an amount of GHS 4, 218,000 realised.

Ghana Revenue Authority – 5, 9991 applicants with an amount of GHS 2,999,550 realised.

Civil Service – 3000 applicants with an amount of GHS180,000 realised.

Armed Forces – 26,032 applicants with an amount of GHS1,301,600 realised.

"A total number of 332,117 unemployed youths were at the receiving end of this ‘extortion’ with a total amount of GHS 16,675,850 realised for these agencies with a base rate of GHS 50 per applicant.

“It is the considered opinion of the group that the conduct of these services and many other public institutions in respect of these recruitment exercises is insensitive and capricious and constitutes an avenue to collect monies from already traumatised, unemployed Ghanaian youth who are vulnerable and increasingly losing hope in the Ghanaian project,” a release from the group on Wednesday, January 31 stated.