Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 2, 1 February 1994 — Regaining the trust [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Regaining the trust

by Rowena Akana Trustee-at-large What a year. The centennial observance of the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, the stirrings of a Hawaiian constitutional

convention, even an offical apology from the United States government. But to end 1993, the state auditor wrote that OHA's trustees didn't meet or quite understand the fiduciary responsibilities owed to Hawaiians.

To me, 1993 seemed to indicate the same theme: with all the promise before it, OHA was still losing the trust of the Hawaiian people, figuratively and literally. The first six excerpts that follow are from my writings: Hawaiians cannot eat promises; they cannot sleep under good intentions; they cannot thrive on land held in their trust but outside their reach. ...

Other sovereign peoples and public trusts have long-range plans with clear-cut objectives and concrete goats. If we are to improve our lot as a sovereign people, OHA needs lo mend its

leaks, chart its course and get out of drydock. A ship in port is safe, but that' s nol what ships are built for. Honolulu StarBulletin, Jan. 21, 1993 We are trustees.

not legislators. Why run OHA like a mini-government when opportunities abound to make it so mueh better (and) more responsive to the needs of the Hawaiian people? ... In December, PoliticallMedia Research polled 413 elhnie Hawaiian votersfor the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The respondents indicated deep dissatisfaction with OHA's track record.

Sixty percent were not satisfied with OHA' s performance, while 86 percent thought OHA' s annual goals, objectives, priorities and budget should be better defined and implemented. Not too encouraging considering the majority of those respondents want what OHA is supposed to help them accomplish — sovereignty and self-sufficiency. Ka Wai Ola O OHA, February 1993 As the federal government debates whether to close Barber's Point Naval Air Station, ... Bellows Air Force Station ... as a Hawaiian-managed and planned community ... would be priceless for so many with so few housing options. Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Apr. 2, 1993 One ofour agency's missions is to seek and coordinate funds for Hawaiian programs . We now have some funds, but we have not coordinated them with our pro-

grams. UnfortunateIy, we haven't coordinated our programs, their directions or destinations either. Voice of Hawai'i, September 1993 (Run) OHA more like a trust, less like a government. ... Here's a brief explanation of how the board ean do this: 1. Make a list of priorities. Decide what's most important to Hawaiians (health care, housing, education, etc.). lf heallh is our top priority, plan to fund health programs with the largest specifie amount possible. Simple, ifyou follow the plan. 2. Plan for the long haul. We must (a) commission a study to develop a long-range (not shortor medium-range) eeonomie plan; (b) write it into our bylaws; and (e) employ the principal and interest accordingly. Ka Wai Ola O OHA, October 1993 Last month I said OHA never forged a cohesive spending plan for its reparation payment. The

other OHA trustees and administrators wrote an open letter that took exception to my puhlie discourse on this issue. The open letter insists that, "The functional plan ofthis office operationalizes the Master Plan" and that "the priorities identified in the Master Plan guide our decisions on use oftrust funds." lf the plan guides decisionmaking, the decision-makers are not following the guides. Ka Wai Ola O OHA, October 1993 OHA' s administration should update the master and functional plans, complete and organize the manuals into a single coherent working document, assure that OHA's funds are properly classified as trustfunds, and take steps to improve internal eommunieation. Marion M. Higa, State Auditor, December 1993