Government considers mandatory drug tests before public service recruitment – Muntaka

The Minister for the Interior, Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, says the government is considering mandatory drug testing for people seeking employment in the public sector. He said the Ministry of the Interior is preparing an Information Paper for Cabinet on the proposal, which is intended to prevent people with drug-related challenges from entering the public service. “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 remarks at the commissioning of a newly constructed six-unit first-floor classroom block at Sakafiya Islamic Senior High School. He said the proposal followed findings from this year’s security services recruitment exercise, during which more than 100,000 applicants underwent medical screening, including drug and mental health assessments. According to the Minister, more than 6,000 applicants were disqualified after the additional screening, including more than 4,000 who tested positive for drugs and about 2,000 who 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 said the findings had reinforced the need for government to strengthen measures to address drug abuse among prospective public servants. He acknowledged, however, that drug use was not limited to prospective recruits, saying some personnel already serving in the security services were also struggling with 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 government could not knowingly recruit and train people 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.

Concern over drug abuse in schools The Interior Minister also expressed concern about the increasing presence of drugs in secondary schools. He alleged that some students were selling tramadol and other harmful substanc… The government is considering a major policy shift that could make drug testing a mandatory requirement for people seeking employment in the public sector.