Ivan Samarawickrema who passed away peacefully in his sleep a few weeks ago, was quite independent even at the age of 95. His wife Nelly, having predeceased him , he spent his last few years under the care and love extended by his son Malik along with the dedicated support of his brothers Anil and Lalin and their families who spent most of the time with him meticulously attending to all his comforts.
During my frequent visits I used to share some of our past experiences, and he had a perfect memory and was quite alert to all the socio economic and political developments not only in our country but all over the globe.
Samarawickrema was undoubtedly one of the most respected public servants of our times, who demonstrated through action what is really meant by “excellent performance” in the number of positions he held in the public service. I had the distinct fortune to commence my public service career in 1963, as a District Land Officer in the Polonnaruwa District under his direct supervision when he functioned as the Government Agent of the District. Many years later, as Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Lands, I had another opportunity to work with him when he was Secretary to the Ministry of Mahaweli Development during its peak phase of implementation of the gigantic project.
However, my indelible impression of Samarawickrema as a colossus in development administration is mostly based on my five year experience of working under him in Polonnaruwa, from 1963 to 1967. As a novice in the public service, looking forward to acquire an experience in all aspects of public service, Samarawickrema proved to be a role model of an ideal public servant who excelled in the knowledge of all statutory aspects as well as the practical aspects of comprehensive regional development.
By the time Samarawickrema took over as the GA of the Polonnaruwa District in 1962, I recall, the region had still been going through the initial phases of development. Prime Minister D S Senanayake had restored the major reservoirs, opened up thousands of acres of irrigable lands, and settled tens of thousands of families in the human settlement schemes.
These activities had been followed by C P de Silva as AGA, about a decade previously. However, the district had still not been able to achieve much of the optimum benefits of those initiatives due to numerous problems pertaining quite naturally, to a vast population with varied backgrounds, originating from different parts of the country, and newly settled in a galaxy of irrigated settlement schemes with minimum facilities. As a rare coincidence, by the year 1962, C P de Silva had not only been elected to Parliament from the Polonnaruwa District but became the Minister of Lands Irrigation and Power, who along with all other Parliamentarians was naturally expecting the best performance from public servants.
Hence , the government’s decision in 1962, to appoint Samarawickrema who had by then earned a reputation as an efficient public servant, as the GA, — Polonnaruwa. The first non – civil servant to be appointed to such a position, was obviously due to the clear recognition of his excellent suitability to ensure an accelerated development of a district such as Polonnaruwa which had the capacity to make a positive impact on the national economy.
Since I had the opportunity to join the team of District Land Officers, I was assigned the Minneriya region, which extended from Elahera in the south to Wadigawewa bordering the Trincomalee District.
I had no option but to perform while learning from A to Z on the job, not only under the guidance and vigilant supervision of the GA, but additionally , the watchful eyes of a well informed Minister, C P de Silva who used to pay frequent visits to Polonnaruwa often by train.
As the GA, Samarawickrema provided an inspiring leadership in briefing all of us on the statutory provisions, state policy and procedures, administrative principles , guidelines etc , He requested us to be sensitive to peoples’ problems, visit the field as frequently as necessary, resolve any problems through a transparent process, consult him if necessary, and take responsible decisions.
One of his frequent statements was, “for all the achievements I will always give you full credit, and for any failures, I will take complete responsibility” That provided us the courage to proceed with our functions armed with a sense of pride and self confidence.
Samarawickrema very effectively coordinated and provided leadership to all the other public sectors such as, irrigation, land surveys, agricultural extension and supply of inputs, livestock development, marketing etc. His wide public sector experience, and excellent leadership qualities and cordial public relations enabled him to motivate all the other sectors to achieve highest levels of productivity.
Samarawickrema had a clear vision for the future and long term needs of the district. For example, decisions were taken to demarcate and preserve sufficient lands for future development needs of the district,such as schools, hospitals, government housing, industrial parks etc.
One such initiative was his decision to demarcate and reserve a large extent of land in the Polonnaruwa New Town for a future national level school. Within two years , he was able, with the support of Minister C P de Silva to steer the establishment of the present Royal Central College, Polonnaruwa.
The unprecedented levels of achievement led by Samarawickrema have to be assessed in the context of a multiplicity of problems and challenges he had to contend with.
Foremost were the paucity of even the basic infrastructure facilities and the acute shortage of skilled manpower in almost all the sectors. Official transport facilities were grossly inadequate. Even the GA was not provided with an official vehicle until a car used for the Non Aligned Summit was released to him a few years later.
All these had contributed to the general reluctance of public servants to be transferred to the district, leading to an overall shortage of skilled and qualified staff in almost all sectors.
As a visionary, Samarawickrema was quick in resolving these inadequacies and paid immediate attention to the improvement of office, housing and transport facilities for the Kachcheri staff. Welfare, sports and recreational facilities were improved. A Public Services Club was built to serve as a centre for social gatherings. Weekend cost- shared excursions to destinations such as Anuradhapura, Sigiriya, Vavuniya etc, were most popular. Cultural activities were encouraged, and I recollect the staging of plays such as Maname, Nari Bena, etc and an all night performance of the Kohomba Kankariya by traditional dancers from Kandy. Samarawickrema was blessed to have an equal visionary in his wife Nelly, who was a live wire in providing them with any assistance where necessary. Their three sons, Anil, Malik and Lalin who were by then schooling in Colombo used to spend their entire vacations with the parents often accompanied by close relations and friends, who used to freely join the children of other public officials in sports and recreational activities, which invariably included a few Sunday visits to the then salubrious and coconut palm fringed Pasikudah beach, and many jungle trips to enjoy abundant wild life.
All these facilities initiated by Samarawickrema not only improved the overall productivity of the public services but transformed the public service perception of Polonnaruwa as a “ difficult station” to that of “an interesting place to work “ facilitating the Kachcheri and other offices to attract skilled staff.
Accordingly, within a short span of time, Samarawickrema managed to build up a group of dedicated competent public servants, not only to the Kachcheri, but all other key sectors such as Irrigation, Surveys , Land Development, Agriculture, Livestock Development, Cooperative Development etc. He provided an inspiring leadership motivating them to enjoy the work as a team.
Some of the key aspects of his administration were the respect for, and the sincere appreciation of the performance of every competent public servant, which were often publicly acknowledged even in the presence of a visiting Prime Minster or Ministers.
For me personally, I regard Samarawickrema as the key personality that infused in me an indelible sense of duty, dedication and responsibility, which guided me throughout my professional career, facilitating whatever little achievements I have made in the Public Service for which I owe him a deep sense of gratitude. I am certain many of my colleagues in the public service who had similar opportunities share my sentiments .
For many generations of residents of the Polnnaruwa District, the name of Desamanya Ivan Samarawichrema , their “ Apage Disapati “ is being remembered , and held in high esteem, as a genuine personality who sincerely had their welfare at heart, understood their problems and a person who had made a selfless effort for the resolution of many of the key problems thus rendering not only their quality of life, but also that of many a generation yet to be born, more comfortable.
They too may share my wish “May Samarawickrema attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.”
(The writer is Former Secretary, Ministry of Public Administration and Home Affairs)