WANT to pursue reforms? Lead by innovation? Ensure accountability and transparency in governance? There is one document that matters most in any administration. It is passed annually and tells voters, taxpayers and citizens the priorities and the allocations. That is the General Appropriations Act or GAA. GAA is one law that holds sway and is vital to any administration. The GAA is the most important piece of legislation any Congress is mandated to enact. It sets the direction of any administration. If the leader follows the principle of futures thinking, one can set priorities for the five years in office. The sixth-year budget ensures continuity, building from the gains of the past administration and enabling the new government to focus on its plans. That is why the first-year budget of any administration is a way to transition without any break in service and governance with the changing of the guard.
The leader must think not just of a year but draw the vision he wants to pursue in the full term, establishing each year as a stone to add to the foundation of his administration. A leader cannot think of just one year for the simple reason that every budget is an allocation issue, highlighting priorities and completing the tasks by the fifth year as identified in the first year. Five years of budgeting is mapping how a leader wants to build the country and improve public service.
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