The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has disclosed that recruitment into the security services under the previous administration led by Nana Addo and Dr Bawuia was marred by significant lapses, resulting in the deaths of some recruits during training.

According to the Minister, investigations revealed that several of the affected recruits had undetected underlying medical conditions, including diabetes, which were not identified during the recruitment process.

Alhaji Muntaka stated that as part of the government’s reform agenda under President John Dramani Mahama, the Ministry has introduced an online aptitude testing system for recruitment into the security services.

He explained that the digital platform is designed to eliminate human interference, which he said has historically created avenues for corruption and compromised standards.

The Minister noted that the new system aims to enhance transparency, fairness and credibility in the recruitment process while ensuring that only qualified candidates progress to subsequent stages, including medical screening.

Responding to concerns raised by the Minority Leader, Alexander Afenyo-Markin, regarding challenges associated with the online recruitment system, Alhaji Muntaka defended the reforms, describing them as necessary to restore integrity and public confidence in the security services recruitment process.

He assured Parliament that the Ministry remains committed to refining the system to address any operational challenges while maintaining strict adherence to merit-based standards.