The Deputy Minister for Defence, Ernest Brogya Genfi, has clarified that the planned recruitment of 12,000 personnel into the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) will cover both officer enlistment and recruits intake over a period of three and a half years.
In an interview, Mr. Genfi explained that the announcement was first made by the Minister for Defence, Dr. Edward Omane Boamah, during the Government Accountability Series on Monday, July 21.
According to him, the recruitment will be spread out, with an estimated 3,000 personnel taken on each year.
He noted that the intake will include both officers and other ranks, and is part of a broader plan to strengthen the capacity of the Armed Forces.
Mr. Genfi also highlighted a structural change introduced under the previous administration, which extended the maximum years of service for personnel in the other ranks from 25 years to 30 years. That policy, which has been in effect for the past five years, expires this year freeing up room for new intakes.
He further revealed that the previous government left behind a backlog from 2021, involving around 3,000 qualified applicants who were not given the opportunity to undergo training despite having completed the necessary processes.
A recent visit to the military training schools, he added, showed that there had been no intake of other ranks for the past 17 months.
Mr. Genfi stated that all these assessments informed the decision by President John Dramani Mahama, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces, to approve the recruitment and enlistment of 12,000 personnel over the next three and half years.
