A Honiara Magistrate has criticised the Ministry of Finance and Treasury (MoFT) for failing to implement basic payroll compliance systems.
Principal Magistrate Emily Zazariko Pakoa made the criticism this week when sentencing former Teacher Cecilia Tome to four years in prison for the larceny of $1.38 million in public funds.
“The essence of putting compliance procedure in place to raise red flags as soon as errors were committed had obviously escaped the attention of the ministry, hence the whole reason behind the offending at hand,” she said.
Magistrate Pakoa highlighted evidence showing that the ministry’s lack of proper compliance procedures enabled the prolonged payroll error that later became the subject of criminal proceedings.
The court referred to the testimony of the Chief Payroll Officer, who admitted that adequate compliance mechanisms were not in place at the time.
Magistrate Pakoa said millions of dollars had “no doubt vanished” because the ministry failed to detect irregular payments early.
She said investigations were only initiated after concerns were raised with the Ministry of Education and Human Resource Development’s (MEHRD’s) Teaching Services Division, and not from internal detections by MoFT through payroll controls.
Magistrate Pakoa said without these reports, the wrongful payments by Tome could have continued, given the pattern of substantial withdrawals and transfers over seven months.
While acknowledging institutional failures, the magistrate also stressed that individual accountability remained paramount.
Government employees are expected to uphold high standards of integrity, especially with public funds.
She also rejected suggestions that the failure by Tome to report the error could be excused by a lack of personal connections within MoFT, pointing out that multiple avenues were available, including through banks.
The case arose from a 2017 payroll error, which saw more than $3 million mistakenly paid into Cecilia Tome’s bank account.
Tome was first charged with Embezzlement by Servant for embezzling $1.3 million of these funds.
In her 2021 trial, her lawyer successfully argued a “No Case to Answer,” and Principal Magistrate Tearo Beneteti acquitted her, citing insufficient evidence and that Tome had no role in the payroll error.
The prosecution appealed Tome’s acquittal, and the High Court ordered a re-trial.
The re-trial, conducted on a Simple Larceny charge, led to her conviction and a four-year jail term. She was given 14 days to appeal the sentence.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
Solomon Star, Honiara
