Documents seen by the paper confirm that on July 22, 2016, the central bank sent a request to the Public Procurement Authority to sole source the procurement of ladies and gents gold watches from Messrs A Swiss Watch Company.
The request letter indicated that "BoG intends to use part of its 2016 budgetary allocation to fund the procurement of 24 units of 18 carat ladies gold watches and 48 units of gents gold watches," all Tissot Gold Watches from the local dealer.
The reason for spending over half a million dollars on 72 pieces of watches, according to the BoG, is "as an award to deserving members of staff who had served with the Bank for thirty years or more and are due to retire compulsorily from the service of the Bank in the years 2016 and 2017."
Our information is that the Public Procurement Authority quickly approved the request for this purchase to be single sourced.
A press release issued yesterday by the Communications Department of the central bank said the procurement of the gold watches was part of “the implementation of the end of service benefits of some deserving members of staff of the Bank.”
“The Bank of Ghana wishes to state, among others, that: 1. 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,” the statement explained.
It added: “2. 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. 3. Deserving members of staff should have served a minimum of 30 years and are due for statutory retirement from the Bank.”
According to the statement, the procurement process for the gold watches commenced in January 2016, before the appointment of the current Governor, adding: “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 statement concluded.