As the Ministry for the Interior moves forward with fresh recruitment into the Ghana Police Service, security expert Emmanuel Kutin has offered a pragmatic reality check on the government’s promise to end “protocol recruitment”.
Speaking on The Pulse on Joy News on Monday, January 12, Mr. Kutin cautioned that the deep-seated culture of influential figures securing slots for protégés—known locally as the protocol system—is a societal construct that will take significant time and education to dismantle.
His comments follow recent assurances by the Interior Minister, Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, that the current recruitment drive is strictly based on merit.
Mr. Kutin argued that the blame for the protocol system does not lie solely with political heads but rather with the complex social fabric of Ghana. He noted that the Interior Minister often finds himself in an impossible position when high-ranking traditional and religious leaders make requests.
“As it stands now, and by the nature of our politicking, just imagine a chief calling on the Interior Minister, like Otumfuo, saying, ‘I want these people.’ You can’t say no. [Imagine] a senior pastor or an Islamic cleric; you can’t say no,” Mr Kutin explained. “It’s not any fault of the Interior Minister per se, it is by the making of our society. That’s why I say it will take a gradual process.”
He emphasised that until the citizenry is educated on the inherent dangers of circumventing standard procedures, the pressure on ministers to satisfy “big men” will persist.
The analyst observed that the rush to declare the system “protocol-free” often leads to political double-speak. He suggested that instead of flatly denying the existence of such slots, leaders should be honest about the gradual nature of the reform.
“Otherwise, politicians will always deny it—like he’s [Alhaji Muntaka] denied it—and try to paint it in another way, that the police already have people who are helping them, like the band, medical doctors, and stuff like that,” Mr Kutin remarked.
He warned that premature claims of total eradication only serve to mask the reality that the security agencies have become a desperate “avenue for employment” rather than a calling for those truly interested in service.
Mr Kutin noted a worrying trend where the security agencies are viewed as a solution to national unemployment rather than a specialised vocation.
He recalled a time when finding willing recruits was a challenge because the focus was on the “interest to serve”
“The system has told us that people are looking for opportunities. Let’s open up the opportunities and recruit appropriately, and those who really have the interest to serve the country,” he urged.
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