Te Kohanga Reo happy with Ministerial report

Press Release

Wednesday 19th March, 2014

Te Kohanga Reo happy with Ministerial report

The Kohanga Reo National Trust Board members are gratified by the results of the report commissioned by the Minister of Education, Hon Hekia Parata, into the board’s use of public funds.

The report by the international accounting firm Ernst and Young shows that there was no misuse of public funds, and that the Kohanga Reo Trust practices are what it would expect of an organization of that size and complexity.

The Kohanga Board co-operated fully with the investigation and has already implemented changes Ernst and Young suggested to strengthen its systems.

The Trust board acknowledges, as the report did, that the investigation was confined to the activities of Te Kohanga Reo National Trust, which is the recipient of the public funds from the government.

The report did not look at the activities of the services provider company Te Pataka Ohanga (TPO), which is owned by the Trust, because TPO does not directly receive public funds.

The Trust Board acknowledges that there is an investigation going on into the activities of TPO by the Charity Services branch of the Department of Internal Affairs.

That investigation is ongoing. The directors of TPO are co-operating with that investigation and will address the results of that investigation when they are known.

Tena tatou katoa.

Takuta Timoti Karetu and Tina Olsen-Ratanas

Co-chairs, Te Kohanga Reo National Trust Board

ENDS

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