Let Them Face The Music

The busting of 38 Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) recruits for using forged appointment letters is a tip of the iceberg of the rot that has afflicted the country in recent times. There are many of such cases which have eluded the radar of scrutiny, as it were, in the recruitment process in not only our security services, but also others in the public segment. The massive politicisation of the country is responsible for the development whose anomalous repercussions, all-pervading as they are, raise a lot of questions about whether we, as a people, really seek the country�s growth and interest. The use of forged documents to gain employment into the GIS is bad and worse when those making the false presentation are being assisted to evade punishment. We have learnt with constraints about how after the revelation ministers and an MP are maneuvering to douse the heat generated by the scandal, thereby getting the suspects off the hook. It is a worrying development�the sudden politicisation of security service recruitment in the country. The process is now tightly kept in the armpits of political activists who use it to attract persons to their political grouping, regardless of their meeting the entry standards. When recruitment is due, political activists get busy, with constituency offices buzzing with activities as applicants flaunting their party ID cards come and go. In Hohoe and its surrounding areas, for instance, a former MCE for the municipality disclosed last week how the National Security Coordinator had activated a flurry of activities regarding recruitment of his loyalists into the Police Service. He is said to be doing this because he wants his son to be nominated by the ruling party�s delegates in the constituency as a parliamentary candidate. Under such circumstances, driven by a mad political obsession to promote their interests, politicians holding government appointments are bound to bend the rules so their cronies can be recruited into security services. The GIS story flows from this and we are pained to see such anomalies happening all because certain politicians seek to promote their interests even at the peril of our national interest. It is our position that the suspects must be dealt with according to the laws of the country if found guilty, the efforts of the politicians notwithstanding. Institutions must be strengthened in this country so that posterity will not frown upon our disservice to the cause of our nation. We are pleased to learn that the suspects are being handed over to the police for investigations to commence. Perhaps, it is at this stage that the politicians with interest in this matter will engage more powerful politicians to kill the case. Unfortunately, Ghanaians have readied themselves to see what the outcome of the case will be. We, on our part, will be on standby, ready to report to the good people of Ghana what happens to these foot-soldiers who used fictitious documents to gain admission into the GIS training centre.