The Ministry of Lands and Mineral Resources has acknowledged that its leasing system is outdated. Permanent Secretary Raijeli Taga made this statement during the review of the 2022 Audit Report on the Economic Sector. She emphasized that the existing leasing system is incompatible with the newly revised financial system (FMIS).
Taga noted that the outdated system has hindered efforts to clearly define aged arrears versus current ones. “We are working on a new system that will enable us to monitor and track arrears more effectively, with the goal of reducing them,” she stated.
Finance Manager Marika Qalo addressed the topic of revenue arrears for the financial years 2021 to 2024. He reported that the arrears for the 2021-2022 financial year amount to $35.8 million, while for 2022-2023, the arrears decreased to approximately $32.8 million, and for 2023-2024, they stand at $32.2 million. These figures include the current year’s rental.
Qalo mentioned that there has been a reduction in revenue arrears over the past three years, in comparison to land rent revenue collection. For this financial year, the Ministry collected around $24.3 million in total revenue, with $21 million coming from land rent alone. In the previous financial year, the total revenue collected was $23 million, with land rent collection at $16.4 million.
He further stated that there is a budget allocated to upgrade the current leasing system, thanks to an IT audit conducted which enabled the ministry to secure funding for this financial year.