Through bombs and basics at Central Bank

This week’s Reminiscences features W. A. Wijewardena, the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. He is a self-made man, and it was through hard work that he made his way to the very top on his own. His life story is so inspiring that he can be taken as a role model for the young generation. As the President of the British Management School (BMS), now he works with young minds helping them to reach the frontiers of new knowledge.

“I was born in a village called Dambara about five miles away from Horana. I never saw my father and after about one year my mother also died. So I became an orphan in my early childhood. By the time our father died, the age of my eldest sister was 13 years. She gave up her studies because she had to look after her six young siblings. Fortunately for us there was some property owned by my father and therefore we were able to get some regular income. Life was difficult, but thanks to the system of free education in this country, we were able to continue our studies.”

Banking career

“I attended Maputugala Maha Vidyalaya for my primary and secondary education. That was the most popular school in the Kalutara district and it used to send a large number of students to the university at the time. It was five miles away from Horana but three miles away from my home. As we didn’t have transport facilities, we had to walk to the school early in the morning. We walked to the school barefoot; I started wearing shoes only when I entered the university,” said Wijewardena.

“I sat for my A/L exam in 1966 and got very good results. There was a choice for me – either to go to Peradeniya to do an arts degree or join the Vidyodaya University to follow a degree in Public Administration. There was no one to support me financially; therefore I found a job as a clerk at the Colombo University. I selected Vidyodaya University because the lectures in the Public Administration course were conducted in the evenings, so during the day time I worked as a clerk and attended lectures in the evenings.”

He performed brilliantly in his course work and secured a first class - “the very first class in that subject in 12 years,” as he explained. Then he was appointed an Assistant Lecturer at the Vidyodaya University. Later he was also selected as a Staff Officer at the Central Bank. “At that time the salary of the Central Bank at the recruitment level was lower by some Rs 110 than what was offered in the universities. Yet, I decided to opt for a banking career thinking of future prospects. So I joined the Central Bank as a staff officer in 1973.”

In 1976 he went to the United Kingdom on a British Council scholarship for his postgraduate studies. Having obtained his Master’s degree in Public Finance from the University of York, he returned to the island and resumed his work at the Central Bank.

Wijewardena’s illustrious career at the Central Bank spanned over a period of 37 years. He has practically worked in all the key areas in the Bank and held many important positions such as Acting Director of Economic Research, Superintendent of Currency, founding General Manager of Credit Information Bureau, Superintendent of Employees’ Provident Fund. Finally he was elevated to the position of Deputy Governor a post which he held for nine years.

Central Bank bomb blast

He has worked under seven Governors starting from H.E. Tennekoon right up to Ajith Nivard Cabraal. “Each of the seven Governors had certain distinct qualities we could learn from. I learned discipline from Herbert Tennekoon, intellectual curiosity from Dr. Warnasene Rasaputram, on-time delivery and pragmatism from Dr. H.N.S. Karunatillake, unstressed approach to work from H.B. Dissanayake, creativity and ability to see beyond from A.S. Jayawardena, management proficiency from Sunil Mendis and finally, the art of mobilizing people with diverse interests from Ajith Nivard Cabraal,” Wijewardena reminisces with gratitude.

It is with a sense of deep sadness that he remembered the harrowing experience of the Central Bank bomb blast in January 1996. About 1,200 employees were injured and 41 lost their lives.

“My office was located in the CBD building on the eighth floor, opposite the Central Bank main building. Somebody told us that something was happening down there in the street. So we were at the window looking at the commotion downstairs without knowing the danger of being close to glass. Then there was a minor employee in the department who alerted us to the danger and he forced us to run back. So we all ran to the middle of the office.

Then the bomb went off and we narrowly escaped death. So it was the wisdom of that minor employee who saved our lives. The very next day Governor A. S. Jayawardena asked me to take over the Employees’ Provident Fund in addition to my substantive post as the Director, Rural Credit. EPF was leaderless because its senior officers had been badly injured. Most of the records had been destroyed along with their copies.

We had to reconstruct the records and make EPF operational. We moved into a temporary place at Battaramulla. There were millions of accounts and if we failed to reconstruct them, there could have been riots on the streets. Not only that were we able to reconstruct the accounts, we also used that opportunity to move away from the old technology to a new technology and modernize EPF. That process is still being continued by my successors.”

Avid reader

Wijewardena is a man of many talents. He has been an avid reader from an early age. “I have been reading a lot. During my school days I contributed many short stories to national newspapers. English language was alien to me. At Maputugala Maha Vidyalaya we didn’t have an English teacher and I got an F grade for English at O Level. But I was determined to learn English and I did so between A Level and entry to University. It was a self learning exercise by using a book published by BBC called “English Through Sinhala.”

My advice to anyone who is scared of English is that make a hard effort and you will eventually be a winner. And after that English came naturally to me.” Now he has taken to creative writing which he does both in Sinhala and English. “My Little Princess” was his first anthology of short stories. In 2008, he published his first novel “Rivers flow atop the Mountains.”

Presently he serves as the President of the Business Management School (BMS). This is an educational institute in Sri Lanka which conducts its programmes in partnership with several British universities such as Northumbria University, University of Leicester, University of Derby, Edinburgh Napier and University of Surrey.

When asked about the role of private universities in Sri Lanka, Wijewardena said: “There is no doubt that Sri Lanka’s state universities have been doing a commendable service to the country. But the demand for higher education is such that the state alone cannot meet the growing demand right now. Therefore, we have to get the private sector involved in higher education. Without such combined efforts, you can’t make this country a knowledge hub in the region.

I have been advocating this idea even when I was at the Central Bank. An independent body should be there to rate and rank higher educational institutions as a guide to students and parents. Competition is necessary to enhance the quality of education. We want to be competitive, and our association with the British universities is aimed at maintaining high quality British standards in Sri Lanka’s higher education.”