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Allegations of misconduct against treasury secretary

On 10th July 2018, the Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee (BSAC) made a decision to suspend Secretary for Treasury and Finance, Ms Brenda Tohiana over allegations of misconduct. The suspension will remain in force until such a time a Board of Inquiry, established by the BSAC, report its findings.

Under the Bougainville Constitution and the Bougainville Senior Appointments Act 2014, responsibility for dealing with disciplinary matters involving constitutional and senior officers rests with the Bougainville Senior Appointments Committee. This is to ensure that the process is fair and impartial, and free of political interference. Where allegations of misconduct are raised against a senior officer, the Committee is required to foll strict procedures. If the Committee considers that the allegations should be investigated, it must appoint a Board of Inquiry to conduct the investigation and report back. If the Board of Inquiry is satisfied that misconduct has occurred, there are a range of punishment options available to the Committee, including removal from office.

In this case, Ms Tohiana has been provided with details of the allegations and has been afforded the opportunity to respond. These matters will now be fully investigated and Ms Tohiana will be provided with full natural justice.

I understand that people will want to know the details of the allegations set out in my petition, but it would not be fair to Ms Tohiana for those details to be made public at this stage. The formal procedures should be allowed to take their course. It should be sufficient for me to say that I found the allegations very concerning, requiring me to take this action.

As the Chief Secretary, I will not tolerate corruption and misconduct within the public service. Bougainvilleans are entitled to expect the highest form of integrity from their public servants. I call on any person with any evidence of misconduct on the part of any public servant to come forward so that appropriate action can be taken.

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