EDITORIAL
Top Home Lands Dept. shortcoming isn't fiscal

A sharply worded financial audit of the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands received received major media attention this week. But a close reading of the audit and the department's response to it suggests that the public should worry less about bookkeeping than the fact that the department continues to lack the resources to carry out its mandate.

It seems as if the bulk of State Auditor Marion Higa's complaints boils down to disagreements between her certified public accountant and the department's CPA.

There is no doubt that the department could be much more assertive about dealing with delinquent loans, but this audit ignores the larger public policy question of just how willing the department should be to evict delinquent Hawaiians who may have waited a lifetime to get their leases.

The audit points out the department's mandate is to lease homesteads to native Hawaiians who have at least 50 percent Hawaiian blood. "As of June 30, 2001," says the audit, "the department has awarded 7,192 homestead leases. However, it has over 31,000 applications for such leases."

That, and not accounting, is the department's biggest shortcoming.

The good news is that the department is steadily increasing the number of leases granted each year. But the number of applications has also increased.

Higa is correct that careful fiscal accounting will enable the department to use its resources more efficiently — but, we think, only marginally. The real issue is how to increase those resources to get Hawaiians off the waiting list and onto the land.