Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, Elikem Kotoko, has drawn attention to the socioeconomic hardships driving many applicants to the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) recruitment exercises, following the tragic stampede at the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra.
Mr Kotoko commended President Mahama for his swift intervention but stressed that the incident should serve as a wake-up call to modernise the recruitment process.
“I must commend President Mahama for taking swift action. I think this should be a wake-up call for us to relook into overhauling the entire process of recruitment, where, in modern day, you still want people to physically assemble at a place before you can actually assess them,” he said.
He advocated for a more decentralised and structured approach, warning that overcrowding at a single venue heightens risks.
“We should be looking at other avenues, like splitting it so that too many people do not converge at one place,” Mr Kotoko explained.
Highlighting the deeper issues behind the tragedy, he observed that many applicants are driven by economic necessity rather than a genuine desire to serve.
“Many people who are seeking recruitment into the services today are not doing that by reason of any sincere commitment to want to serve Ghana. Many are as a result of unemployment and want to find a way to survive. Ordinarily, if they had given people a choice, they would have opted for something else, but here they have no choice,” he said.
The stampede at El-Wak on Wednesday, November 12, 2025, claimed six lives and left 28 others injured. Five of the injured remain in intensive care, while twelve are in critical condition at the 37 Military Hospital.
In response, the Ghana Armed Forces have suspended the recruitment exercise in Accra until further notice, although similar processes in other regions are continuing
