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Editorials
Thursday, February 15, 2001OHA trustees accused
of mismanaging agencyThe issue: The state auditor has accused the Office of Hawaiian Affairs of poor leadership and staff performance.
STATE Auditor Marion Higa's audit of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has yet to be made public, but the response by OHA trustees indicates it is blistering. The audit apparently questions whether the agency has had proper leadership and followed professional standards, citing specific shortcomings. The most important corrective action may be to heed the audit's recommendation that OHA hire a full-time internal auditor, but perennial dissension on the OHA board of trustees is more likely to be the real problem.
Higa's draft report to the Legislature faults OHA for failure to establish priorities, an outdated master plan, inadequate planning for expenditures and lack of coordination with other plans and policies.
Trustees are accused of failing to uphold their fiduciary duties, poorly managing the public land trust and using expense accounts for personal gain. One trustee spent $1,000 of OHA money for beauty salon expenses and another loaned $8,000 to relatives interest-free.
The most costly shortcoming alleged by Higa was the loss of more than $2.1 million caused by OHA's failure to hire international investment managers. OHA invested $34 million last September in international equities.
OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona called Higa's assumptions about such losses "retrospective," which is hardly an adequate response.
Former Chairman Clayton Hee acknowledged that, in hindsight, OHA should have avoided international investments last year. However, the qualifications of those assigned to manage such investments are a valid subject of criticism.
Allegations regarding the OHA staff's professionalism suggest an agency in disarray, which is hardly surprising to anyone who has observed the agency over the years. The report says not all staff members are qualified for their jobs and that OHA has been plagued by the departure of key staffers who were. Those problems probably reflect the dissension that has plagued the board for much of the time since OHA's creation in 1980.
An end to that bickering among trustees is needed for OHA to focus on its mission to provide for the welfare of Hawaiians. The newly elected board members must put aside their differences and concentrate on increasing the agency's effectiveness.
Taiwan president backs
down on nuclear plant
CHEN Shui-bian may have saved his presidency by cutting a deal with the Nationalists who control Taiwan's legislature and had threatened to seek his ouster through a recall vote. The agreement to resume work on a nuclear power plant is welcome because it provides an opportunity to end months of feuding.
The plant has become the symbol of the first division of political power in Taiwan's history. The Democratic Progressives won the presidency in an upset election last March. But the Nationalists, who had run the government for half a century, still control parliament.
In his campaign, Chen pledged to cancel a fourth nuclear power plant for Taiwan. Chen's Democratic Progressive Party has long been opposed to the project, accusing the former Nationalist government of railroading it through the parliament.
The government stopped work on the partially completed, $5.4-billion plant in October. Premier Chang Chun-hsiung called the facility an environmental risk and shut off funding.
The move ignited months of controversy and political paralysis, producing a collapse of the local stock market and public confidence.
The opposition-controlled legislature was furious that lawmakers were not asked to approve the decision. The Nationalists support the plant on the ground that the island needs additional energy to power economic growth.
The government argued that it had authority to cancel the project without parliament's consent, but that position was rejected. The agreement was hammered out after Taiwan's highest court said the government had erred and ordered the contending sides to negotiate a settlement.
In return for restoring funding for the plant, the government obtained a pledge from the opposition to cooperate with the administration to achieve its goal of eventually phasing out nuclear power in Taiwan.
The agreement represents a retreat for the president but was necessary to restore normalcy. Taiwan's fledgling democracy must learn to deal with limitations of power, a fact of life in many countries with more mature systems.
A measure of reconciliation is particularly important in view of the need for unity in dealing with Beijing's demands for unification with the mainland.
Chen's party has advocated independence for Taiwan, a position that infuriated Beijing. China was alarmed by his election victory. Since then, however, Chen has softened his stance considerably and no longer threatens to declare independence. Beijing has remained suspicious of his intentions and has actually favored its old enemy the Nationalists, who have shunned formal independence.
The nuclear plant issue threatened to tear the government apart. With it evidently settled, Chen and the Nationalists may find ways to resolve their other differences.
Published by Liberty Newspapers Limited PartnershipRupert E. Phillips, CEO
Frank Bridgewater, Acting Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
