SIGRAH ~2- yy The views, observations, and recommendations made by the Report of the 1973 Visiting Mission to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands make it unnecessary for me to reiterate several important and critical matters and concerns so well outlined and so fully treated in that report. I would like, therefore, if I may, to comment on some of the points made by the report, and to make my own observations as to the recommendations made by the Mission in terms of what development is desirable and how we should now go about achieving our objectives. At the outset, we would like to add our support to the recommendation of the Visiting Mission that Micronesia needs and snould now have a well-coordinated developmental plan - coordinated and balanced development program aimed toward specific goals. Such a program must take into account the political and economic realities of our part of the world. Without such a plan, Micronesia cannot hope to achieve the full utilization of its human and natural resources for its own satisfaction. There is a need for us in the words of the Missions' report, “to formulate general guidelines for development priorities," and "to propose a new, balanced and realistic developmental plan." The suggestion that we invite the United Nations Development Advisory Team through the Eccnomic Commission for Asia and the Far East and the experts from the United Nations Development Program and Asia Develop- ment Bank “to rethink the ways in which Micronesia's Economy should and could. be developed," will be actively explored. We are hopeful in the meantime that the formation of the Trust Territory Planning Coordinating Committee will soon be able to address itself to some of the work in this area, particularly in coordinating physical planning at the local level in the various districts. In this connection, I am happy, however, to report that during the most recent session of our Congress, several legislative measures were introduced dealing with Micronesiz-wide development programs. It is hoped that one of them will be enacted and signed into law so that we may report to you next year that a coordinated development scheme has been begun. Aside from a need for overall planning, we agree with the other observations of the 1973 U.N. Visiting Mission as to the existence of other obstacles to our development. One of these results from Micronesia's being locked into the Administering Authority's budgetary system and apparatus. administrative As the Mission pointed out, it is virtually im- possible to plan, initiate, and foster the kinds of planned development needed and desired, given our present budgetary system and financial constraints. We find ourselves at the small end of a rather large administrative apparatus which does not lend itself to independent planning and budgetary implementation to meet the long range needs and requirements of Micronesia. The uncertainty of budgetary level froin year to year for Micronesia and the fluctuation in the level of expenditures available to us, at any given period have combined to impede and frustrate our efforts to carry forth effective programs and realistically assess our progress and past accomplishments. ~more--