Litia Cava 
The 2023 Audit Report warns that the Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources’ unresolved revenue arrears could endanger its financial security.
Despite receiving an unmodified audit opinion, confirming that its 2023 financial statements were fairly presented, the Ministry has faced compliance issues in several areas.
Most notably, the Ministry has failed to submit the draft financial statements for individual Land-Owning Units (LOUs) for audit, as required by the Land Use Regulations 2011.
For 2023, the Ministry’s revised budget stood at $24.5 million, with actual expenditures totaling $23.1 million, leaving $1.4 million unspent.
Much of this unutilized funding stemmed from salary adjustments due to vacancies and unspent project funds for the Large and Small Island Groundwater Development projects.
In terms of trust funds, the Lands Trust Fund ended the year with a balance of $7.8 million, following $3.5 million in revenue and $2.5 million in expenditures.
However, the Minerals Trust Fund faced a significant deficit of $1.64 million, a sharp drop from the previous year’s surplus of $381,180.
This decline was mainly attributed to higher-than-expected expenditures and a reduction in revenue.
The combination of unresolved revenue arrears and failure to comply with regulatory requirements according to the report highlights a pressing need for the Ministry to improve its financial management to secure its future operations.
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