The Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) has condemned the Central Bank's display of opulence in a recent gold watch saga and is calling on the president to probe the matter.

AFAG wants the president to get to the core of the issue and ensure that the Ghanaian public is made aware of how their taxes are being put to use. 

The group in a statement Thursday says Bank of Ghana (BoG) spending $504,000 in a sole sourcing deal to order gold watches as part of an end of service is reckless and needless adding "scandals of this nature cannot continue to happen and swept under the carpet within the public sector."

"At a time when unemployment rate, especially among the youth keeps rising, the economy is struggling and the Ghana Cedi is one of the worst performing currency across the globe, it is unbelievable that the BoG would rather focus on blowing over half a million dollars of the taxpayers money on buying gold wrist watches for staff of the organization," the group said.

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) was reported by the New Statesman newspaper of seeking approval of the PPA to single source the procurement of ladies and gents gold watches valued at EUR 450,000 to Messrs ‘A’ Swiss Watch Company Limited.

A document chanced on by the newspaper dated July 22 says the bank wants to buy an 18 karat of ladies gold watches that is 25 units and 18 karat of gents gold watches which is 48 units.

However, AFAG says it is very worrying that, over the past seven years, the politics of patronage by the NDC government inevitably has rewarded the wasteful use of public resources with one punished so far.

They say because such persons have always been shielded from prosecution or harbored for convenience other public institutions are emboldened to repeat same.

"Mr. President the scar still remains because of the inactions of the attorney general and possibly the lack of commitment of government to prosecute. Ghanaians forever remember the comical approach to Woyome's trial and among others Subah, Gyeeda, Asongtaba,Waterville,$4 million world cup scandal, lavish expenditure by former CHRAJ boss (over $145000 for hotel rental at Best Western), Smarty's deal," the statement said.

"Mr. President while some communities are wallowing in abject poverty and hoping for a KVIP or borehole just to live, another state institution with unlimited access to public resources are busily engaged in opulence. This is not fair and against the basic principle of equity," the said.

According to AFAG, failure to probe into the BoG gold watch saga will call for a mass action adding it would clearly state its next line of action next week.