The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) claims that the money collected from prospective employees will be put “to good use”. What that does mean? Does is imply that the GIS has monies in a cupboard sitting somewhere in its headquarters put “to bad use?”
The GIS is clearly, criminally exploiting helpless unemployed youthful jobseekers in Ghana, What the GIS is doing is perhaps, the first of its kind in the world – collecting money from job applicants who are not even sure of securing the position for which they are applying for.
This sought of behaviour is uncalled for, unconscionable and clearly unconstitutional in a young democracy such as Ghana’s. The authorities in Ghana must step in and arrest the clearly dirty situation and nib it in the bud.
The reasons giving by the GIS for its fraudulent act does not hold water. If the GIS are incapable of financing its own recruitment exercise, as it claims, how on earth can it pay the salaries of the 500 people it intends to employ? Politicians of all political parties in Ghana should step in and save the thousands of helpless young men and women of further exploitation by a state institution such as the GIS.
Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament, Richard Quashigah was right when he observed that “when people normally try to find jobs, they don’t pay for the application letter they send to the various organizations which they are seeking employment. For a very long time we have been taking monies which I think is wrong.”
Did any of the senior long-standing personnel of Ghana Immigration Service pay monies when they first applied for the positions they are currently holding? How much?
Parliament should make it illegal for state institution such as the police, the fire service, the prison service as well as the Ghana Revenue Service to sell so-called employment vouchers to job seeking youth. The youth of Ghana, who have been let down for a long time deserve a better treatment. No civilized nation on earth will treat its most precious human resource – the youth – this way.