Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 2, 1 February 1999 — ʻInoʻino ka ʻĪilo ʻeleʻele [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

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ʻInoʻino ka ʻĪilo ʻeleʻele

ANO'AI E HAWAI'I, nā kini o ka 'āina. Maka'ala ka 'īlio 'ele'ele nāna e haehae ka'aha. For the many years that I have served you, I have refrained from using Ka Wai Ola as a forum to lash out at other trustees or for airing OHA's dirty linen. Because of what is going on at OHA, I have no other way of alerting you, the reader, except to use my eolumn to inform you on what is happening at the trustee level. Perhaps I would be smart not to heeome involved, not to take sides, not to cry out at the injustice, but that's not me. I am bent

with kaumaha at what is going on here. I cannot remain silent, for to do so would be tantamount to condoning such petty, punitive and capricious actions. Let me tell you in summary what's happening. Ever since OHA got money, and operating budgets were prepared, the BOT has budgeted money for neighbor island trustees to travel back and forth to O'ahu where the offices and stafif are located. Practice has been to submit requests for transportation to the chair of the board, the fiscal deparīment verifies the money is there and the chair signs the requesL This simple process is necessary so trustees living on

other islands ean fulfill their oaths to serve. In fact, state law requires that all elected officials

fiom neighboring islands should be paid a standard travel allowanee whenever they travel to other islands for official business. A recent request for the month of .ianuary by Trustee Colette Machado to the chair of the board so that Trustee Machado ean eome to the office to perform her duties was denied. Trustees are not paid for part-time work, but for full-time work. Someof us have no other employment, so we should not be expected to pay our way to the office. Roe Akana denied Machado's request for a monthly transportation pass ffomMoloka'i toO'ahuand backagain. It's not as if Trustee Machado had applied for transportation to Maine to celebrate the dedication of an Indian museum. She needs transporta-

tion to do her work in the office. She has in effect been rendered unable to fulfill her oath to serve her people. For those of you who voted for Colette, you are not being fully represented. No ke aha? 'A'ole hiamoe. „ My strong advice to the board leadership comes ffom Hawaiian proverbs and I quote: 'E 'ao lū'au a kualima. (Offer young taro leaves to the godsfive times to rectify a mistake.) Lu'ulu'u ihola au ka pukana a ke aloha i kū pū'olo waimaka a kau'ōnohi. (/ am burdened by the pains oflove, heavy with tears from my eyes.) ■

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