Director of Communications for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Richard Ahiagbah, has expressed strong concerns over the practice of requiring applicants to pay for enlistment forms in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment process, describing it as exploitative and long overdue for reform.
His comments follow the tragic stampede that occurred during the GAF recruitment exercise on Wednesday, November 12, which claimed six lives and left several others injured.
Ahiagbah argued that in a country already struggling with high unemployment, charging young people to simply access recruitment forms places unnecessary financial pressure on applicants and creates barriers for deserving candidates.
Speaking on Channel One TV’s weekend news analysis programme, The Big Issue, he stressed that asking applicants to pay for forms undermines the integrity of the recruitment.
He called on the government and the GAF to review the recruitment process, ensure that it is transparent, and remove any barriers that could put applicants at risk or give room for exploitation.
He noted that while the GAF provides an important avenue for service to the nation and career opportunities, processes that profit from aspirants should not be tolerated.
“Has the payment of enlistment forms been part of their recruitment? Because that for me is an extortion that must not be allowed to continue,” he stated.