The African Chamber of Content Producers (ACCP) has issued an appeal to the government, calling for a halt to the medical stage of the ongoing security services recruitment until legitimate public concerns surrounding the Artificial Intelligence-based aptitude test are investigated and resolved.

In a press release issued on Saturday and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, the Chamber expressed deep concern that the recruitment process was moving forward despite numerous complaints from applicants about system failures, accessibility challenges, and financial burdens imposed on Ghana’s youth.

The ACCP noted that serious questions have been raised by Parliamentarians, civil society, and thousands of applicants about the AI-driven recruitment system, the application process, and the conduct of the aptitude test.

Despite these unresolved issues, the process is already advancing to the medical screening stage without any independent review.

“It is fundamentally wrong to proceed with the next stage of recruitment while legitimate concerns from hundreds of thousands of young Ghanaians remain unaddressed,” the statement read.“You cannot ask unemployed youth to keep paying for a process that many believe was flawed from the start.”

The Chamber highlighted the significant financial sacrifices made by applicants, noting that over 500,000 young Ghanaians paid registration fees totalling approximately GH¢113 million, only to be disqualified through a system many could not navigate.

“First vouchers. Now medicals. How much must young Ghanaians pay just to chase opportunity?” the ACCP questioned.

“Recruitment should not become a financial burden for job seekers. We have received several petitions from members of the Chamber across the country who are frustrated with the situation at hand. If serious concerns exist, why rush to medicals?"

Data from the Interior Ministry revealed that over 506,000 Ghanaians applied for fewer than 5,000 available positions, with approximately 75,000 university graduates and more than 330,000 Senior High School certificate holders among the applicants.

The pass mark for the aptitude test was reportedly set at 65 per cent specifically to reduce the number of qualifying candidates due to limited space.

The ACCP echoed concerns raised in Parliament about the disproportionate impact on applicants from rural communities.

Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin had earlier called for the scrapping of the AI-based tests, noting that applicants from areas such as Pusiga and Bunkurugu who lack digital literacy are placed at an unfair disadvantage.

“You cannot suddenly call someone from a rural community who has limited knowledge of IT and ask them to write an aptitude test using AI. If they don’t have the means, they fail,” Afenyo-Markin had stated on the floor of Parliament.

Many applicants were forced to travel long distances to urban centres, spend money at business centres, and navigate technical glitches, only to be disqualified through no fault of their own.

The ACCP emphasized that the AI recruitment system was introduced with the promise of building transparency and trust in public sector recruitment. However, moving forward while ignoring legitimate complaints risks undermining public confidence even further.

“Trust cannot be built by ignoring legitimate concerns,” the Chamber stated. “Fair recruitment builds trust. Ignoring concerns destroys it.”

The Chamber stressed that, as an organization dedicated to promoting local content development, it believes government must work collaboratively with citizens to create systems that truly serve the people.

The ACCP is therefore calling on the Ministry of the Interior to take urgent steps before proceeding further. The medical stage of the recruitment process must be paused immediately to allow for an independent review of the AI-based recruitment system.

All complaints raised by affected applicants must be addressed transparently, and in cases where system failures prevented fair participation, the government should consider refunding the fees paid by those applicants.

“A fair review must happen before the process continues,” the statement insisted. “Opportunity should not come with endless fees. Young people deserve fairness, not frustration. Fix the system before asking applicants to spend more money on medical examinations.”

Speaking on behalf of the Chamber, Nana Dwomoh-Doyen Benjamin appealed directly to the government to consider the merits of the claims raised by thousands of Ghanaians.

“We understand the logistical challenges of recruiting from over half a million applicants. But the solution cannot be to design a system that penalizes those who lack digital access while ignoring technical failures that disqualified qualified candidates,” he said.

“The government must pause, review, and fix the system before asking applicants to spend more money on medical examinations. Fairness is not negotiable. Our young people deserve nothing less.”

The ACCP reaffirmed its commitment to working with government and stakeholders to develop local content solutions that are accessible, transparent, and beneficial to all Ghanaians, regardless of their location or economic status.

The ACCP is a pan-African institution dedicated to promoting local content sovereignty across all sectors. Through advocacy, certification, and flagship initiatives, it works to ensure that systems and policies affecting Africans are developed with their full participation and in their best interest.