President John Dramani Mahama has dismissed claims that recent security service recruitment exercises were influenced by favoritism, insisting that measures were put in place to ensure fairness through the use of digital systems.

Speaking during an engagement with the Ghanaian community in Philadelphia in the United States, President Mahama explained that the introduction of technology was a deliberate effort to address long-standing public concerns about bias and patronage in public sector hiring.

“There have been a lot of complaints that people get recruited based on who they know. This was an attempt to use digitalization to sort through the first wave of applications. The computer doesn’t know who you are. The intent was in good faith but the response was overwhelming,” he stated.

According to the President, the recruitment exercise recorded an unexpectedly high level of interest, with about 500,000 vouchers sold despite an initial target of 5,000 recruits.

He acknowledged that the overwhelming response posed challenges but maintained that the process was designed to be transparent and merit-based.

President Mahama further disclosed that following a review of the exercise, the government has decided to expand the recruitment to accommodate more applicants.

“We held a meeting and decided to expand the recruitment, and all those who applied don’t need to pay again,” he assured.

He emphasized that additional steps would be taken to strengthen transparency and ensure equal opportunity in future recruitment into the security services, reaffirming government’s commitment to fairness in public sector employment.