The Bank of Ghana has attempted to justify why it spent an amount of $504,000 on Gold watches for some staff of the company as end of service benefits.

According to the bank this was meant to show appreciation to deserving staff who had served for well over 30 years in the company.

The bank in a statement said “end of service benefits, as part of the conditions of service for staff, is a longstanding tradition of the Bank, an obligation the Bank has always fulfilled to boost staff morale and commitment to the goals and ideals of the institution. The award scheme has been the convention of the Bank since the 1970s.

“In the year 2012, the Bank decided to procure the gold watches once every two years (i.e. 2012/13 etc.) in order to control cost and make savings on foreign exchange.

“Deserving members of staff should have served a minimum of 30 years and are due for statutory retirement from the Bank.”

The statement went on further to say “the procurement process for the period 2016/2017 commenced in January 2016, before the appointment of the current Governor.

“No procurement rules were breached in presenting sole sourcing justification to the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) for approval.

“PPA is an independent public institution whose work cannot be influenced by the Bank or any other institution.

“At all times, the Bank abides by good governance principles that ensure a robust and effective internal control systems and processes.”

The Bank of Ghana’s statement comes on the back of media reports that it had blown over 500,000 dollars on 72 pieces of gold watches and used the sole sourcing procurement process in doing so.

Meanwhile Member of Parliament for the Effutu constituency, Alex Afenyo Markin has slammed the Bank of Ghana for the act and indicated that he would call for a parliamentary probe into the matter.

By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @3news.com