Earlier this month, thousands of Ghanaian youth had to apply for only 500 spots in the Ghana Immigration Service recruitment exercise.

[contextly_sidebar id=”kUv5alV9CRBW4g21KhHlJX4gsOCqNFlS”]The group is asking the Commission to among other things, investigate and make pronouncements on the propriety of financial and administrative processes surrounding GIS and other public institutions’ recruitment, relative to the  Public Financial Management Act 2016 (Act 921) and the Financial Administration Regulation 2004 (LI 1802).

Speaking on Eyewitness News, the Communications Director for the Group, Benjamin Alpha, explained that their petition is to also establish a standardized procedure that will guide public sector agencies in future recruitment exercises.

“Public service agencies like the Immigration Service cannot fix fees and collect same without recourse to Parliament, and we want CHRAJ to make a determination on that,” Alpha explained.

The Ghana Immigration Service received about 84,000 applications at the end of its 2017/2018 application process.

The number, which is seen as an exponential increase from previous exercises,  has been explained to be as a result of the worsening unemployment situation in the country.

Many have since described the Immigration Service’s Ghc 50 charge for the sale of e-voucher cards for the online application as unfair, after it emerged that the Service will only recruit 500 out of the total number of applicants to fill the limited available positions.

The Service has however explained that, though restrictions were given in a bid to regulate and limit the numbers, applicants who were not qualified still flouted the rules and purchased the vouchers.

“Inherent in the requirements and processes were restrictions to regulate and limit the number of applicants, such as age, height and even the period for the sale of e-voucher was also limited. Yet we had applicants who did not meet the basic requirements but went ahead to purchase the vouchers.”

Despite these concerns , the Immigration Service assured that “every money collected is well accounted for and will be judiciously used for the intended purpose.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the Regional Police Commander, COP Rev Ampah-Bennin, the adverts are meant to defraud unsuspecting members of the public.

The Regional Command explained that “the fraudsters assure their victims of protocol selection for United Nations Operations” and that they should “part with sums of money ranging between GHS 1,000.00 and GHS 2,000.00”.

Although the Police are not certain about the number of people who may have fallen victim to the scam, it said the fraudsters usually call unsuspecting persons via, 0505570000 and 0557416657.

It said the fraudsters usually introduced themselves as either the Deputy Regional Commander or other senior officials of the Police Service.

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By: Joseph Ackon-Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, the Immigration Service’s mode of application is fraudulent, and meant to exploit desperate unemployed people.

[contextly_sidebar id=”eRxSDZhvncIrIQ3PmMGIATI4n7UMLn8V”]In a Citi News interview, Mr. Quashigah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Keta Constituency, said he was ready to lead the charge for the legal action against the Service.

The practice of selling forms for vacancies in the various security services has been the practice in Ghana for many years.

Mr. Quashigah’s comment comes in the wake of news that the Ghana Immigration Service received about 84,000 applications at the end of its 2017/2018 application process.

The number, which is seen as an exponential increase from previous exercises, has been explained to be as a result of the worsening unemployment situation in the country.

It later emerged that the Service will only recruit 500 out of the total number of applicants to fill the limited available positions.

While others have described as unfair, others believe the Immigration Service’s Ghc 50 charge for the sale of e-voucher cards for the online application was unfair.

Mr. Quarshigah said the Immigration Service must be made to provide details about this year’s exercise and answer key questions that bother on how it conducted the exercise.

“The Immigration Service will need to answer some pertinent questions. We do not think that unemployment must be an avenue for some other agencies to cash in and defraud young, desperate, vulnerable men and women of this country. That is grossly unfair. I am encouraging all young people from whom the Immigration Service collected GH¢50 previously, to take an action and go to court. I am ready to lead that charge on their behalf,” he said.

Citi News gathered that, the Immigration Service made about GHS 4.2 million in total sale of e-voucher cards.

Meanwhile, the Head of Public Affairs at the service, Supt. Michael Amoako-Atta, said the Service did no wrong with the sale of voucher cards as the money generated will be used to cater for the costs incurred during the recruitment process.

“We were using facilities of GCB and they are going to charge us and it is going to be come from this GHc50. Every phase of the process, like today, we have rented the venues across the country and we are paying monies for it. We are paying for logistics, ambulances; we are also going to pay for the marking of scripts. We are going to pay for the software we are using and other things along the line. Currently, I don’t know the percentage that will be coming from GIS. We might even delve into our own IGF until the process is over. We have to also pay for cleaning of the centres as well,” he said.

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By: Jona Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking on Eyewitness News on Thursday, Director of Public Affairs at Ghana Immigration Service, Superintendent Amoako Atta also attributed the fact that thousands of forms were purchased to the love of Ghanaians for public sector jobs.

“For this particular recruitment, because we reduced some of the requirements, a lot were able to get in to apply as compared to the previous requirements. And yearly too, recruitment numbers have been increasing depending on the number of graduates that enter into the system. Last year we had about 34,000 applicants,” he added.

[contextly_sidebar id=”1yn6k3tci9jWVG2TLLewhVq0qlsxBmUY”]The Immigration Service received about 80,000 applications from people seeking to be enlisted into the service after it announced the commencement of the recruitment exercise in the last quarter of 2017.

This represents a rise of well over 100 percent from the previous year, which saw 34, 000 people apply.

About 47,000 were, however, shortlisted for screening on Thursday, January 4, 2017.

Meanwhile, the Immigration Service has stated that it will recruit only 500 people out of the enormous number of applications received.

When asked whether the huge numbers are unusual and a security threat, Superintendent Amoako Atta said he could not “categorically say it was” but added that “looking at the figures one may be pushed to say so.”

Despite the suggestions that the large numbers which gathered at the various screening centres indicate a worrying unemployment problem, Mr. Amoako Atta was of the view that because other security agencies including Police and Fire Services are also currently recruiting he was hopeful that a lot more will gain employment in the other agencies.

The Immigration Service Public Affairs Director further appealed to private companies to employ more Ghanaians in a bid to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.

“It looks like a lot of attention is on public sector employment. There are a lot of opening in the private sector but it looks like everyone wants to get employed in the public sector. So definitely recruitment drive in these areas is always on the high. So that will account for people pushing to the public sector or government employing them and government will certainly not employ all of these numbers looking at the wage bill. So if private sector will also open up and take up some of these numbers, it will balance the recruitment drive on the public side,” he added.

Thousands of job seekers queue for screening

Thousands of potential recruits queued at various allotted centers across the country on Thursday to take part in the screening exercise within the Immigration Service recruitment process.

In the Volta Region for instance, 0ut of the total number of 3,928 applicants from the region, 521 applied as graduates, 372 as Higher National Diploma Holders, and the rest are WASSCE Certificate Holders.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The GIS’ Head of Public Affairs, Superintendent Michael Amoako-Atta explained that the money would go into covering the costs incurred during the recruitment process, among other things.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Sqcq6BXQ8k4DjJmm5dqyqybzoYE0OP7z”]He noted that the GIS contracted the services of the Ghana Commercial Bank and “it is going to come for this GHc 50.”

“Today, for instance, we have rented the venues across the country and we are paying money for it. We are paying for hiring ambulances in case of emergencies, we are going to pay for the software we are using and other things that are going to happen along the line.”

Supt. Amoako-Atta added that “As I speak now, I don’t even know the percentage that will be coming to the GIS. What we are spending, we delve into our own IGF [Internally Generated Funds] to support the process until it is completed.”

Some have accused the GIS of cynically extorting the youth desperate for work, especially since only 500 of the 84,637 applicants will eventually be selected.

All things being equal, the Ghana Immigration Service accrued GHc 4,231,850 from this recruitment exercise. The e-vouchers for the recruitment, which were sold in November 2017, were priced at GHc 50.

But Supt. Amoako-Atta further described such sentiments as unfortunate.

He noted that the GIS even “put a restriction on the duration of the sale [of forms]. We could have left it open for two months or three months to make money. People were even calling after we closed the sales to extend it.”

Today, the GIS conducted an aptitude test for persons seeking to be employed onto the service.

In Accra, about 13,205 applicants who passed the screening exercise on Thursday were hosted at the St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School for the test.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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In Accra, about 13,205 applicants who passed the screening exercise on Thursday, were hosted at the St Thomas Aquinas Senior High School for the test.

The over 47,000 shortlisted applicants out of 84,000 applications, were screened across the country on Thursday.

The Immigration Service is expected to recruit only 500 people nationwide after the exercise.

Some of the applicants who spoke to Citi News after the aptitude test say they answered 50 questions.

“It was okay; it was more of logical reasoning, patterns, symbols and others. In all, we answered 50 questions,” one of the potential recruits said.

“The questions were cool. Me I started with the English because I was okay with it and ended with the Mathematics. We are just hoping for the best. This is not the first time I’ve written aptitude test,” another one added.

Immigration defends making  excess money from sale of vouchers

In a related development, the Ghana Immigration Service has defended its decision to sell e-voucher to over 84,000 youth when the service plans to recruit only 500 people.

The Service had received a lot of backlash from Ghanaians when it was estimated that GIS bagged some GHc4.2m from the sale of its forms.

But Head of Public Affairs at the service, Supt. Michael Amoako-Atta, said they did no wrong, and that the money generated will be put to good use.

“It is not a matter of Immigration Service making money from the recruitment exercise. This process started in November 2017 and it will end when we get the number that we intend to recruit and train. The sale of the e-voucher was going for GHc50,” he said.

“We were using facilities of GCB and they are going to charge us and it is going to be come from this GHc50. Every phase of the process, like today, we have rented the venues across the country and we are paying monies for it. We are paying for logistics, ambulances; we are also going to pay for the marking of scripts. We are going to pay for the software we are using and other things along the line. Currently, I don’t know the percentage that will be coming from GIS. We might even delve into our own IGF until the process is over. We have to also pay for cleaning of the centres as well,” he added.

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By: Godwin A. Allotey & Marie-Franz Fordjoe/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin

The post Shortlisted Immigration Service applicants write aptitude test [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

About 15,000 youth in the Greater Accra Region alone had converged on the El Wak Stadium for the latest phase of the Ghana Immigration Service recruitment procedure.

The prospective applicants were lined up from the stadium down to the Second Circular Road leading into cantonments.

Nationally, about 84,000 people applied to be employed across the country, but the number that were enlisted for the screening was  47,477.

But only 500 are expected to be selected to join the Service.

The bulk of the of the applications for this year’s exercise was received from the Greater Accra Region, followed by the Ashanti and Brong Ahafo Regions.

The phase two of the recruitment comprised a physical screening and document verification screening exercise, which started on Thursday, January 4, 2018, and will end on Friday, January 5, 2018 with an aptitude test.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post The huge crowd at El Wak for GIS recruitment exercise [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The applicants are part of a nationwide exercise by the Service to shortlist both graduates and undergraduates for recruitment.

Out of the total number of 3,928 applicants from the Volta Region, 521 applied as graduates, 372 as Higher National Diploma Holders, and the rest are WASSCE Certificate Holders.

Aside crosschecking the validity of their certificates, heights, and weights the stature of applicants are also being checked.

The Volta Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Immigration Service, Philip Essuman, told Citi News successful applicants would be made to write an examination on Friday, January 5, 2018.

He said those without valid certificates and did not complete their National Service would be disqualified.

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr. Archibald Letsa, who visited the recruitment grounds briefly to monitor the exercise challenged the officials to ensure a smooth and fair process.

Across the country, the exercise is taking place in all ten regional capitals.

In all, about 84,000 people applied, with only five hundred needed to be engaged by the Service nationwide. Each applicant spent Ghc50 cedis during the online application process.

This confirms the worsening unemployment levels in the country. Some 15,000 people converged on the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra for the screening exercise.

The applicants in long winding queues caused severe vehicular traffic around the stadium area as they waited outside the gate to enter the stadium.
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By: King Norbert Akpablie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post V/R: 3,928 job seekers queue for Immigration Service screening appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Generally, about 84,000 people applied to be employed across the country. But only five hundred are expected to be selected to join the Service nationwide, according to the Immigration Service.

Ghana’s youth unemployment has reached alarming levels as thousands of graduates pass out from the universities each year.

Citi News’ Felicia Osei reports that the applicants, made up of mostly unemployed youth are being taken through various stages including screening, body and height check.

The huge number of applicants has caused severe vehicular traffic as job seekers queue from the gates to gain entry into the stadium.

The Ghana Immigration Service on Wednesday cautioned the public to be wary of fraudsters parading themselves as officials of the Service in the ongoing recruitment exercise.

The Service said the deadline for the submission of applications online for recruitment has passed.

The Head of Public Affairs at the Immigration Service, Superintendent Michael Amoako-Attah, said some people are trying to take advantage of the ongoing process in order to defraud unsuspecting applicants.

According to him, the Service is no longer accepting applications, hence persons who attempt to sell application vouchers should be reported to the law enforcement agencies.

The Immigration Service’s decision to automate the recruitment process was anchored on the relative success of the process used in recent police and fire service recruitment exercises.

The use of the online portals and e-vouchers was to make the process more transparent and discourage the payment of bribes and the use of middlemen who defraud potential recruits.

And according to Superintendent Amoako-Attah, the process has been very secure, with applicants given unique numbers by which they could be tracked and communicated with.

“For those who are qualified, we have their numbers. We have a unique ID number for each qualified applicant. So from the first day they enrolled onto our database, we’ve been communicating with them, and they know the source of our information.”

The recruitment exercises in the various security agencies in the country have traditionally been fraught with challenges, particularly the activities of fraudsters who target potential recruits.

However, in recent times, the agencies have attempted to address these challenges by taking their processes online.

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By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Over 15,000 undergo GIS recruitment exercise at El Wak Stadium appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Service is expected to screen the qualified applicants later this week, after the deadline for the submission of applications for recruitment passed.

[contextly_sidebar id=”aA39hmFwJjEyVSfjVuo8n5JJucqmsYnW”]However, the Head of Public Affairs at the Immigration Service, Superintendent Michael Amoako-Attah, has noted that some persons are trying to take advantage of the ongoing process in order to defraud unsuspecting applicants.

According to him, the Service is no longer accepting applications, hence persons who attempt to sell application vouchers should be reported to the law enforcement agencies.

“At this level, the sale of e-vouchers has been closed and the online portal has also been closed. The public should be aware of this and not give in to anybody who comes round selling immigration recruitment e-vouchers. It’s illegal and will be fake. The public should be wary of such people and report them to the police if anyone should approach them with such an offer,” he told Citi News.

The Immigration Service’s decision to automate the recruitment process was anchored on the relative success of the process used in recent police and fire service recruitment exercises.

The use of the online portals and e-vouchers was to make the process more transparent and discourage the payment of bribes and the use of middlemen who defraud potential recruits.

And according to Superintendent Amoako-Attah, the process has been very secure, with applicants given unique numbers by which they could be tracked and communicated with.

“For those who are qualified, we have their numbers. We have a unique ID number for each qualified applicant. So from the first day they enrolled onto our database, we’ve been communicating with them, and they know the source of our information.”

The recruitment exercises in the various security agencies in the country have traditionally been fraught with challenges, particularly the activities of fraudsters who target potential recruits.

However, in recent times, the agencies have attempted to address these challenges by taking their processes online.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi & Anass Seidu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Immigration Service warns against fraudsters in recruitment exercise appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.