Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 12, 1 November 1994 — Choosing your leaders at OHA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Choosing your leaders at OHA

by The Rev. Moses K. Keale, Sr. Trustee, Kaua'i & Ni'ihau Well, it's election time again! Everybody want: to tell you what they have accomplished. How the; have made your life better and fought for yoi against all odds. The real question you should asl yourself is, "īs my life better than it

was four years ago? How mueh has really changed, and have our elected leaders met even the least of our expectations?" In the OHA elections, what is really at stake is your future and the future of your children and your children's children. After 14 years of service, I beg you to understand that OHA is a big corporation owned by its stockholders and you are the stockholders while we, the

trustees, are the directors of this corporation, and the officers and employees of OHA are the eompany — serving you — building and guarding your company, your assets. The management of this corporation is most important. If this corporation is mismanaged, you lose. If it is managed well, you win. On November 8 the Hawaiian people will hold their annual corporation stockholders' meeting. This is called the OHA Special Election! You get to choose your leaders for the next four years. You are responsible for the ehoiee of leadership whieh will either meet your expectations or mark your downfall. How do we go about choosing the right leaders? You must listen carefully and evaluate the words you hear and read. Are you being told the truth? Have the promises that were made to you been met fully without reservation or deceit? Have promised actions been delivered? Are the monetary assets of your trust working for you or are they working for others? May I suggest some questions that you should be

asking or seeking truthful answers to, so that your decisions on who you elect to fill these positions of trust are proper decisions? / 1. Education has been identified as your number j one eoneem. Where have the promised efforts e gone? Why have we not turned over to the Education Foundation the $10 million

we promised so that it will help our children excel in education? 2. Housing and shelter are important to all Hawaiians. Where are the housing programs whieh actually build homes and provide shelter? There have been numerous financing plans whieh juggle large sums of money and make great headlines, but where are the houses for the people? 3. Over a million dollars was given awav last month under the erants and

aids program. How many of these grant applicants went through the proper process and procedure and how many of them were dropped on the table as someone's pet project? 4. With more than $160 million in the trust, why are we being coerced to go into debt by floating bonds for undefined programs and projects? 5. Finally, with all our written procedures, why must we give away so mueh of our cash resources through non-bid contracts, raising reasonable doubts about whether we are receiving cost-effec-tive retums on our expenditures? Think about these questions. Investigate for yourself and eome to your own conclusions. Support those who have demonstrated care and eoneem for you and look for replacements for those who have violated your trust. You are in the driver's seat. Don't blow it again! The next Mahele has begun in earnest. Make sure it works for you! Go to the polls and vote! Look for absolute trust, honesty, humility, dedication, and commitment to service. Find those with these attributes and put them on the board to serve you!