Hawai`i Free Press - By Andrew Walden - April 7, 2019
Legislators are moving HB172 and HB402 to transfer as much as $139M in ceded lands arrears to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) and boost the cap on OHA’s annual ceded lands payments from $15M a year to $35M a year....
...Both bills make the increase in ceded lands payments contingent on public release of a “fiscal and performance audit” of OHA's LLCs.
OHA has told legislators again and again, in testimony between February 28, 2019 and April 4, 2019, “the audit is ongoing” -- but internal documents provided to Hawai'i Free Press show OHA and its LLCs have effectively stopped the audit by refusing to provide auditors with necessary records since last fall.
The documents--being made public for the first time--include a November 27, 2018 CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA) audit status report and November 30, 2018 letter to Trustees Chair Colette Machado from Trustee Hulu Lindsey, a March 8, 2019 timeline, and an April 2, 2019 “Tentative Timetable,” all “prepared by (auditor) CliftonLarsonAllen LLP….”
March 28, 2019, OHA, testifying before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, claims: “The term of the contract is from Sept. 4, 2018 through April 30, 2019. The audit is ongoing and the Board’s commitment remains firm.”
False.
OHA Trustees’ Committee on Resource Management (RM) agenda for Wednesday, April 10, 2019, includes “New Business: Action Item RM #19-02: ‘Amendment to extend the Time of Performance for OHA Contract #3284.’” 3284 is the audit contract. The proposal is to “extend the Time of Performance…from April 30, 2019 to December 16, 2019.”
Why?
“Due to a delay in the contractor obtaining records requested….”
CLA’s timeline shows the LLCs and OHA administration repeatedly refusing to provide key documents without which the audit cannot proceed.
In a November 14, 2018 interview with auditors, OHA CEO Kamana’o Crabbe—also a manager of some OHA LLCs--refused to discuss the LLCs with auditors.
CLA indicates it has not been paid by OHA on at least two “outstanding invoices....”
