Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 4, 1 April 1994 — How does OHA spend your trust funds? [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

How does OHA spend your trust funds?

bv Rowena Akana Trustee -at-large What do the OHA trustees do with your money? It's a question we don't hear enough. Here are three examples: one exemplary, one typical, and one appalling. First, the good news. The

Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan fund provides loans to qualified Hawaiians ready to I start a new business i or expand an exist- I ing one. The pro- I gram is for Hawaiians who eannot qualify for eonventional financing.

Linda Colbum, OHA eeonomie development officer, has administered the federal program with resounding success. The program was originally a five-year demonstration project from 1987 tol992. As of September 1992 the fund made 99 loans totaling $3.6 mil-

lion. Since then, OHA has matched the funds for the federal progam. The standing committees asked Linda Colburn to do a job, and then stood back as she and her staff did it. You could ask for better management, but you wouldn't find it.

Second, the usual news. In 1992, with mueh fanfare, the Board of Trustees unanimously designated $10 million for scholarships and language programs. The Education Foundation, as it is called, even has a board whose mem-

bers — educators, professionals and other community members — we appointed to govern the foundation. The eight other trustees and the office administrator used the foundation as an example of an office success in planning. after I

said the office managed too few planning successes. "Education is the key to success," Trustee Abraham Aiona, chairman of the Budget and Finance Committee, said last month. "Through this education foundation we ean be assured that our young people will be able to enrich their (lives) and raise their eeonomie status in Hawai'i." To date, Trustee Aiona has refused to send the $10 million action item to the board, no explanation given. Why? The education foundation idea is sound, its board members appear eompetent, and the need is certainly there. For whatever reason, Trustee Aiona has refused to sign the action item — the one move that would free it for funding. Don't expect any scholarships until the committee chairman ean let go of the money. And for the truly odd, how about a $159,000 healing ceremony for battle-scarred Kaho'olawe? Two years ago,

OHA signed a contract giving Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana discretionary powers to subcontract any work. Ever hear how it went? Neither has the board. OHA has not appropriated the money to fund a report on what work was subcontracted, to whom, or for how mueh. The 'Ohana selected Kalama Productions to film the ceremony. Have you seen the film? Neither has the board. We're not even sure if David Kalama was allowed to direct any filming, or if any film is available to watch. I sent two written responses formally asking the 'Ohana how they spent your money. I'm still waiting for an answer. If the board spent your money wisely, we haven't heard how. OHA is in the business of improving the lot of Hawaiians, but it doesn't always behave like a well-run business. OHA needs to create a corporate culture that allows our staff to be the stewards of our policies,

rather than merely the managed masses. Peter Block, author of the book Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-lnterest, has some advice. "Stewardship is a willingness to be accountable for the well-being of an institution. It's a willingness to act without needing to control those around us. It's really a strategy to intimately connect an organization with its marketplace. Whereas, if people who are at the top of an institution are in charge of how it's governed, it slows things down, it costs more money, the cycle time is longer and accountability at the bottom is sacrificed."

Block was talking about corporate efficiency, but apply it to OHA. Can you imagine the possibilities? Trustees should be stewards. Look for that trait the next time you talk to one of us on your board.