Prime Minister Hon. James Marape said today he was pleased to receive the audited financial accounts for Mineral Resources Development Company Limited (MRDC) for the years 2018 and 2019.

“The audited financial accounts for both years that were presented to me were impressive,” he said. 

“The reports for both 2018 and 2019 were unqualified, or clean, reflecting that the accounts were properly kept in accordance with compliance requirement under international accounting standard.

“The only exception was an emphasis of the impact of COVID-19 on investment in the 2018 accounts, which is understandable, given the adverse impact the pandemic had on businesses in the country and globally.”

The Prime Minister commended the board and management of MRDC for working hard to meet its compliance obligations, while growing the assets under management.

“When we passed the MRDC Authorization Act 2020, I stressed that MRDC was incorporated under the Companies Act and therefore must be independent and perform as a company, in compliance with company law, its Constitution and Trust Deed requirements,” he said.

“I am very pleased that the MRDC Board and the management under the leadership of the former Chairman and the Managing Director Mr Augustine Mano has worked hard to deliver on the intent of that legislation.

This is a milestone achievement.” The company’s 2018 financial statements received by the Prime Minister were accompanied by an Audit Opinion of the Auditor General, which carried out an independent audit of the accounts.

“MRDC has been subjected to public criticism regarding various matters relating to project benefits for landowners. The board and management have been questioned in various forums about the status of audit of the company accounts,” PM Marape said.

“Despite these criticisms, the board and management have worked tirelessly on these matters, and I am pleased that the result has been a clean audit report of the company’s financial statements for 2018 and 2019.”

The Prime Minister, who is trustee/shareholder of the company, said he expected the audited financial accounts for the subsequent years of 2020 and 2021 to be completed within Q1 next year.

The Prime Minister said he was also pleased to learn that apart from MRDC’s accounts, almost 90 per cent of MRDC’s 16 subsidiaries had also attained unqualified audit outcomes for their respective financial accounts, and the MRDC Board and management intended to bring all audits up to date by 2023.

“The audited financial accounts for both years that were presented to me were impressive,” he said. 

“The reports for both 2018 and 2019 were unqualified, or clean, reflecting that the accounts were properly kept in accordance with compliance requirement under international accounting standard.

“The only exception was an emphasis of the impact of COVID-19 on investment in the 2018 accounts, which is understandable, given the adverse impact the pandemic had on businesses in the country and globally.”

The Prime Minister commended the board and management of MRDC for working hard to meet its compliance obligations, while growing the assets under management.

“When we passed the MRDC Authorization Act 2020, I stressed that MRDC was incorporated under the Companies Act and therefore must be independent and perform as a company, in compliance with company law, its Constitution and Trust Deed requirements,” he said.

“I am very pleased that the MRDC Board and the management under the leadership of the former Chairman and the Managing Director Mr Augustine Mano has worked hard to deliver on the intent of that legislation.

This is a milestone achievement.” The company’s 2018 financial statements received by the Prime Minister were accompanied by an Audit Opinion of the Auditor General, which carried out an independent audit of the accounts.

“MRDC has been subjected to public criticism regarding various matters relating to project benefits for landowners. The board and management have been questioned in various forums about the status of audit of the company accounts,” PM Marape said.

“Despite these criticisms, the board and management have worked tirelessly on these matters, and I am pleased that the result has been a clean audit report of the company’s financial statements for 2018 and 2019.”

The Prime Minister, who is trustee/shareholder of the company, said he expected the audited financial accounts for the subsequent years of 2020 and 2021 to be completed within Q1 next year.

The Prime Minister said he was also pleased to learn that apart from MRDC’s accounts, almost 90 per cent of MRDC’s 16 subsidiaries had also attained unqualified audit outcomes for their respective financial accounts, and the MRDC Board and management intended to bring all audits up to date by 2023.