Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 13, Number 4, 1 April 1996 — Management of the OHA trust [ARTICLE]

Management of the OHA trust

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is a semi-autonomous state agency whose mandate is to improve the condition of native Hawaiians and Hawaiians. The agency has remained loyal to that mandate since its inception and continues to do so now. As a state agency it is bound by regulations that aim to guarantee effective and forthright running of the office. OHA has abided by regulations; regular legisiative and financial audits attest to this. However, in the past several months some in the Hawaiian community have questioned OHA policy and practice raising concerns about our performance and accountability. The following address some of the eoncerns raised about the management of the OHA trust.

Q. Does OHA neeel clarification of its trust obligation? A. OHA's trust obligations are clearly defined by state law and trustees are very aware of these obligations and of the legal consequences if they misuse OHA funds in breach of their fiduciary responsibilities. Q. Is OHA expending money without a plan, or priorities, and in need of a complete re-assessment? A. The OHA Board has approved a master plan and separate divisional functional plans are used by office leaders to guide decision-making. Trustees, administration, and officers regularly look to these plans when developing programs for the Hawaiian community. Both plans are available for public review at OHA's offices. A. OHA accountants and fiscal staff closely monitor all staff expenditures and ensure strict eomplianee to procedure. There exists a system of checks and balances that ensures no one person has sole control over the entire process. If money is needed for a particular expense, a number of people, some in the fiscal division, some in administration, have to sign off on any request. All expenditures are documented and independent financial audits are carried out every year. OHA has always been issued a elean opinion. Q. Is the administrator of OHA only accountable to the chairman and not the Board of Trustees? A. The administrator is appointed by a majority vote of the Board of Trustees and may be removed, for cause, by a 2/3 vote of the Board, in accordance with state law. Ttf& āclrflin)str§tof, thbfefo'rd, servdS"at th£ Wtfl bffhe Bbard. AS'Sticih';fie'or she is aCcoōrrtk)le to the entite Boārcf, tfot Justthe~diairman": Article 7lhof OHA's bylaws reflects this arrangement. Q. Is OHA's administration in need of complete reorganization by the state Legislature? A. OHA is administered in strict eomplianee with all state and federal statutes, and with accepted accounting standards. Independent financial audits carried

out by Deloitte and Touche attest to this eomplianee. A legislative audit carried out in 1993 also found no serious problems with OHA management. OHA is administered in accordance with the highest standards of public administration and there is no need for a complete reorganization by the state Legislature. 1995 was perhaps OHA's most successful year in terms of delivering real and measurable programs to better the lives of Hawaiians, and 1996 promises to be even more productive. Q Does OHA laek a legislative program agenda? A. OHA has a very specific legislative program agenda. On January 16, 1996, the legislative review committee met jointly with the land and sovereignty committee and approved OHA's 1996 legislative package. A majority of OHA's trustees were present and at that meeting, and they adopted nine measures as elements OHA's 1996 legislative package. Q. Is OHA spending more on legal fees than on educational services for Hawaiians? A. OHA is dedicated to providing high-quality educational services and opportunities to Hawaiians and has appropriated $400,000 for various education programs and another $2 million for the acquisition of the first Hawaiian immersion school in Hilo. OHA has also spent millions of dollars on other programs for Hawaiians. Defending the rights of Hawaiians is also a critical part of OHA's role. Hiring attorneys is sometimes essential to accomplishing OHA's mission. Examples of this are OHA's efforts to protect Hawaiian water rights in Waiāhole and preserving the ceded lands trust in Leiali'i, Maui. In some years legal fees may exceed educational costs. However, they represent only a small portion of the money the k , agency spends on prfig^rpS!qpq,s^ps.J^ll)9fj;9)HA's aiPR.rgRriatipnsair9gārdless of where the mqpeyf4$, upee),-,^^ by g. keeping with their fiduciary responsibiiities. Q. Has OHA disclosed all information about its accounts? A. lnformation about all OHA funds and accounts are available to the OHA board and subject to careful and continuous audit by independent auditors.