Waipareira Trust in crisis over claims

By JON STOKES maori issues reporter

The Waipareira Trust is in crisis following claims of mounting debts and unauthorised asset sales - with two board factions trading claims over the status of the organisation.

A group of five trust members claimed yesterday that an interim executive committee had been appointed and that the trust's chief executive, Reg Ratahi, had been suspended.

The group said it had called for an "independent audit to ascertain the financial position of the trust".

Associate Maori Affairs Minister John Tamihere, who is a former chief executive of the trust, said on Saturday that a meeting of trustees on Friday had voted to "suspend the chief executive and to bring in auditors to find out what is going on".

But trust deputy chairwoman Naida Glavish has disputed claims that the chief executive has been stood down and has questioned the authority of the five members who attended Friday's meeting.

"The allegations are absolutely not true. The chief executive has not been suspended."

She said nine to 10 trust members had agreed to attend a special meeting this Wednesday to try to resolve the crisis and address allegations.

"Who are these people, to appoint an interim executive committee?"

She said the group had acted unconstitutionally.

The division erupted after a Weekend Herald article following the release of a report by trust member Airini Tukerangi.

In it, Ms Tukerangi alleges Mr Ratahi, chairman Eynon Delamere and chief financial officer Bruce Bryant committed the trust to loans worth millions of dollars and sold assets without board approval.

She has called a meeting of Waipareira whanau for tomorrow to seek answers from the trust's leaders.

Ms Glavish said the trust had two internal and three agency audits a year.