Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 11, 1 November 1995 — OHA run like a political Mom and Pop store [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]
OHA run like a political Mom and Pop store
by Billie Beamer Trustee-at-large In a "moni and pop" operation the owners feel free to rob the cash register at their pleasure because it is their profits to spend without need for accountability. Unfortunatel\
your trust funds of $10.000 petty cash; $25,000 cash and $193 million have been treated as personal funds for the taking by OHA's polilieal moms and f)ops. Lacking in professional management and fiscal expertise, OHA power holders pattern their style after the legisiative committee politics of control by a prevailing majority party. Too often, provident care of our
resources is sacriticed for power maintenanee. Salary increases, special privileges and other rewards preserve the rule of the junta (faction). Key personnel seem to be chosen by their willingness to do the bidding of the brokers. Imposed on all is the ethic of, 'submit to survive,' whieh is an insult to employ-
ee integrity. OHA is managing by crisis. It will take professionalism, courage and tenacity to correct. The crisis we face did not occur in isolation, it has been added to for years.
Our Chairman of five years, since '91, has not monitored or implemented the necessary controls. We have no accounting of fiscal major expenditures. To accumulate large eash funds without policies for management provides opportunities for imprudence. The typical unauthorized $500,000 transfer from a cash account with just two signatures, of Deputy Moepono and Administrator Carpenter. should have required at least two trustee signatures. The Chairman and the BF&P Chair allowed them the signatory privileges, without board consultation. • Neither reported the transfer of a half million dollars to the Board. • Neither Carpenter nor Education Officer Rodenhurst notified the Education Committee Trustees of the transfer. • Ncither did Education Chair Trustce
Kealoha rcport to his trustce committee members who should have approved or reviewed the transactions in the first plaee. • More critical is that in this questionable transaction, $200,000 was transferred in excess or manuahi of what was needed for scholarships, and why?
• That the junta trustees see nothing wrong with this unauthorized act is alarming, because their operating procedure is to keep minority Trustees out of the loop. Those few of you who say $150,000 in defense fees for five trustees is too mueh, are recommending that we submit to the hlaekmail of $30,000. To dare suggest I withdraw my minority assessment, is irresponsible ignorance of the severe future
implications of the abandonment of our fiduciary rcsponsibility. Now, a complaint has been served against Chair Hee by a terminatcd cmp!oyee, Manin Wilson, who is blowing the whisde about the $10.5 million unapproved transactions. To cover-up is to compromise credibility. We annuallv Dav $400.000 in workmen's
compensation suits. We have settled past suits for more than $200.000 and more are pending. We have funded two other managers for their polkieal high threes. It is just business
sense that when planning to negotiate a settlement OHA's criterion must be to settle so that it will never be faced with funding the $ame kind of litigation over and over again. Paying off inefficiency opens 'Pandora's box of ills' thereafter, every dismissed cmployee will demand a mustering out pay. Is a coverup to provide a false 'pono' to be chosen over integrity? The only qualification demanded of a Trustee is that we be Hawaiian. And for those who say we must settle in the Hawaiian Way, to what Hawaiian are you referring? The crook or scrupulous? The thinking or stupid? The takers or givers? The devious or forthright? The prudent or imprudent? The courageous or cowardly? Do you want a Trustee fiduciary or a Trust spendthrift? Call 594-1899 for a copy of the minority report and other reports.
OHA is managing by crisis. It wili take professionalism, courage anel tenacity to correct.