2011 Inaugural Address By The Honorable Sebastian L. Anefal ...

uncertainty. Given these uncertainties, the Administration has wrestled with thechallenge of addressing increasing needs with rapidly dwindling resources.Nevertheless, it is prudent to await the outcomes of the anticipated SecondEconomic Summit, reassess the financial health of the government and theeconomic predicament before venturing too far into pursuing our developmentgoals and objectives in the ensuing fiscal years.The subsequent annual budgets should lay out our plan to meet emergingchallenges and strengthen the private sector – but fulfilling our obligation tomaintain a balanced budget while striving to maintain the most importantfunctions of government and minimizing harmful impacts on our citizens.Specifically, our ultimate objective is to stabilize and grow the local economy bycontinuing to develop our economic base to ensure sustainability and greater selfrelianceover the long-haul. We will continue to reform the current budget formatto ensure that all proposed expenditures are relevant to priority developmentareas as identified in the FSM Strategic Development Plan.I seek the cooperation of the Eight Legislature on these basic principles ofallocation of limited financial resources to ensure that we stay the course of oursustainable development agenda. I encourage the FSM National Government’sbudget allocations to be aligned with those basic principles.Moving ForwardMy friends and fellow citizens of Yap, in moving forward, let us be reminded thatwe have rough seas ahead of us. With that in mind, we must carefully consider17