Security Services Recruitment Portal won’t open in 2027 for new applicants – Muntaka

The security services recruitment portal will not be opened to new applicants in 2027, Interior Minister Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has announced.

• The security services recruitment portal will remain closed to new applicants in 2027.

• Qualified applicants from the 2025/2026 exercise may be recruited, subject to financial clearance.

• Affected agencies: Police, Prisons, Fire and Immigration Services.

Instead, the government plans to recruit from the existing pool of applicants who successfully passed the screening and medical examinations during the 2025/2026 recruitment exercise but have yet to be called for training.

The affected agencies include the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana Prisons Service, the Ghana National Fire Service, and the Ghana Immigration Service.

According to the minister, the next recruitment intake will depend on the availability of financial clearance, with qualified candidates from the previous exercise expected to be considered for available positions.

Mr Mohammed-Mubarak disclosed this when he led heads of the various security agencies before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, during its consideration of the 2025 Auditor-General’s reports.

He explained that the decision to suspend applications from new candidates followed a directive from the president.

“Next year, there will be no new applicants. We are not going to open the portal,” he told the committee as quoted by Graphiconline

Despite the decision not to accept new applications in 2027, the Interior Minister expressed optimism that another batch of security personnel could be recruited during the year.

He said he was pushing for financial approval to recruit an additional 10,000 personnel but could not confirm when the next batch would begin training or how many applicants would eventually be selected.

The committee chairperson had questioned the ministry about the plans to address the concerns of applicants who had completed the recruitment process, received notifications, and were still waiting at home to be called for training.

She also raised concerns about the December 31 expiry of financial clearance, citing the Ghana Immigration Service as an example.

In response, Mr Mohammed-Mubarak explained that although the ministry had secured financial clearance to recruit 10,000 personnel, the number of applicants who successfully completed the recruitment process exceeded the available vacancies.

He added that personnel currently undergoing training were expected to complete their programs by the end of December, potentially creating room for another intake.

However, the minister stressed that financial resources remained a major constraint on recruitment.

“Resources are not unlimited,” he said.

Mr Mohammed-Mubarak disclosed that the Ghana Police Service currently had approximately 50,000 personnel, significantly below the estimated requirement of between 70,000 and 80,000 officers.

He explained that even if the government granted financial clearance to recruit an additional 20,000 or 30,000 personnel, the available training facilities would not be sufficient to accommodate all recruits simultaneously.

Consequently, recruitment and training would have to be conducted in batches to match the capacity of the available facilities.

The minister’s comments suggest that the next phase of recruitment will depend not only on financial approval but also on the ability of the security agencies to train new personnel.

The committee chairperson also raised concerns about applicants who had successfully completed the recruitment process but exceeded the prescribed age limit while waiting to be called for training.

Responding, Mr. Mohammed-Mubarak said the ministry would consider the matter when it arose.

He indicated that he would consult his team before making a decision rather than handle the issue independently.

The concerns come amid uncertainty among successful applicants who have been waiting for months for their training appointments.

The Interior Minister also addressed the situation of female applicants who became pregnant after passing their medical examinations but before receiving invitations to begin training.

He said such applicants had been asked to return home and deliver their babies before being considered for recruitment.

According to him, the affected women would be considered during the next recruitment round.

The clarification provides some direction for applicants who have already completed the required recruitment stages but remain outside the training process.

With the recruitment portal set to remain closed to new applicants in 2027, attention will now turn to financial clearance, the available training capacity, and the selection of qualified candidates from the existing pool.