The Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources has created a new template aimed at assisting landowning units in preparing their financial statements for auditing purposes. During a review of the 2022 Audit Report on the Economic Sector on Thursday, the Ministry’s permanent secretary, Raijeli Taga, announced that extensive one-on-one training sessions have been conducted with landowning units to facilitate this process.
Taga emphasized the ministry’s commitment to good governance and transparency, acknowledging the recommendations provided by the Auditor-General’s Office. “We have collaborated closely with the Auditor-General’s team to develop a template for the audit financial statements (AFS) that landowning units will utilize,” she stated.
In 2023, the team consulted with 14 landowning units, conducting four face-to-face awareness sessions and communicating via email with ten units. Taga noted challenges in reaching landowners due to their daytime commitments, often necessitating special appointments for training sessions.
For 2024, consultations will continue with ten landowning units, primarily through email and phone interactions, focusing on the new template related to trust fund accounts. The ministry plans to hold further face-to-face awareness sessions and workshops for trustees in the second quarter, backed by a budget of $8,000.
Additionally, the ongoing amendment of the Land Use Act aims to replace the mandatory submission of annual financial statements by trustees with an annual trustees’ workshop. The finance team of the ministry will also monitor compliance with lease agreements as guided by the consultations with the Auditor-General’s Office, which aided in the design of the new template currently in use.