Interior Minister proposes mandatory drug testing for public sector recruits
The Minister for the Interior and Member of Parliament for Asawase, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, has disclosed that his Ministry is preparing an Information Paper for Cabinet on a proposal to make drug testing mandatory for persons seeking employment in the public sector.
According to Mr Muntaka, the proposed policy is intended to ensure that individuals recruited into the public service are not already struggling with drug-related challenges.
He said the initiative was informed by findings from this year’s security services recruitment exercise, during which more than 6,000 applicants were disqualified after medical screening revealed drug use and mental health conditions.
“Very soon, the Ministry of the Interior will be taking an Information Paper to Cabinet, and one of the things that we are going to do is to ensure that nobody gets into public service until we do a drug test on you,” he said.
Mr Muntaka made the disclosure at a ceremony to commission a newly constructed six-unit first-floor classroom block at Sakafiya Islamic Senior High School.
He said the latest recruitment exercise exposed the need for government to adopt stronger measures to tackle drug abuse among prospective public servants.
According to the Minister, more than 100,000 applicants underwent medical screening, which included drug testing and mental health assessments in addition to the conventional physical and laboratory examinations.
He said more than 4,000 applicants tested positive for drugs, while about 2,000 others were disqualified on mental health grounds.
“It is shocking for us this year’s recruitment exercise. When we decided to test for drugs, over 6,000 people were disqualified because they tested positive for one drug or the other,” he said.
“If we hadn’t done this, many of them would have gotten through into the civil service,” he added.
Mr Muntaka, however, acknowledged that drug abuse was not confined to prospective recruits, noting that some personnel already serving in the security services were also battling drug-related problems.
“Some of the officers that we have in the service, some already are into drugs. And we are taking steps to help them to get out of it,” he said.
He stressed that the government could not knowingly recruit and train additional personnel who were already abusing drugs.
“We are not going to be allowing new people to be trained when we know you are already on drugs,” Mr Muntaka stated.
Warning over drug abuse in schools
The Interior Minister also expressed concern about the growing presence of drugs in secondary schools, alleging that some students had resorted to selling tramadol and other harmful substances to their colleagues.
He urged headteachers and school authorities to pay closer attention to students and activities that could expose young people to substance abuse.
“Today, in some of our secondary schools, some of the students themselves are hiding to sell tramadol and other harmful drugs to their colleagues,” he said.
“This is why we are calling on the headmaster to pay attention to these students and what they are doing.”
Mr Muntaka also cautioned students against peer pressure and claims that substances such as Indian hemp or tramadol could enhance academic performance.
“Drugs destroy you forever,” he warned. “What is the use of that exam if by the time you get A-AAAA, you have destroyed yourself?” he asked.
He said drug addiction could be difficult to overcome and have serious consequences for an individual's mental health and future prospects.
The Minister urged students facing poverty and other socioeconomic difficulties not to lose hope or resort to drugs.
“Your future is way ahead of you. Your future is much brighter ahead of you,” he told the students.
Muntaka recounts humble beginnings
Mr Muntaka also drew on his personal experience to encourage the students to remain committed to their education despite financial challenges.
He recalled growing up as the son of a cocoa seller and helping his mother sell items such as bananas, groundnuts and mangoes on the streets of Kumasi.
“I am a cocoa seller’s son. My mother was selling cocoa in our home,” he said.
He said given the circumstances of his upbringing, he never imagined that he would one day become a Member of Parliament.
“If somebody had told me 40 years ago that one day I could even become a Member of Parliament, I would never have believed it,” he said.
The Minister also compared his educational journey with that of his first son, who began medical school at the age of 17.
“My first son started medical school when he was 17 years. And the day he entered [university] to start his medicine, I told him, 'Eman, you are very lucky. You are starting medicine at 17. At 17 years, I was still in primary school,'” he recalled.
He urged students not to allow financial difficulties or the need to support their parents to make them believe that they had no future.
“Don’t let the challenge of today- because your mother is poor, because when you go home, you have to go and help your parents to do one thing or the other- you think that hope is lost. No. There cannot be lost hope,” he said.
New classroom block commissioned
The newly constructed six-unit first-floor classroom block at Sakafiya Islamic Senior High School includes an office and a six-seater water closet facility.
The facility is expected to provide students and teachers with a more conducive environment for teaching and learning.
Mr Muntaka said investments in educational infrastructure were aimed at preparing young people to become responsible citizens and contribute meaningfully to national development.
“Students, all these things that we are doing, all this investment that we are putting in, it is for you to be better citizens than us,” he said.
He urged the students to make good use of the new facilities and remain focused on building a positive future for themselves and the country.