Garvin Karunaratne, former Government Agent, Matara

I first met Mr P.C.Imbulana, in 1962 when I assumed duties as Assistant Commissioner for Agrarian Services in the Kegalla District. It was during the rule of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Mr Imbulana was in the opposition. My duties were to implement the Paddy Lands Act and to attend to the collection of paddy under the Guaranteed Price Scheme .

The Paddy Lands Act being a leftist programme was generally disliked by the United National Party to which Mr Imbulana belonged . I therefore expected him to be against the working of the Paddy lands Act. However I was proved wrong. Strangely he was with the people- the farmers and the welfare of the farming community was always his concern. Political nuances was not in him. He was always with the people whom he loved.

It did not take long for us to become close associates.. If there was any progressive movement in agriculture he was there. His lunch table with an array of at least ten curries was always laid down to any person coming to meet him and often I got dragged to a tasty meal.

I got moved to Colombo, to Anuradhapura, to Kandy to Nuwara Eliya and after the United National Party was victorious in 1965,we met again, myself working as Assistant Commissioner of Agrarian Services in Colombo and he being the Deputy Minister in Agriculture. We often met at the Ministry and also at Sravasti.

In 1967 I got posted as the Additional Government Agent at Kegalla and Ruwanwella, Mr Imbulana’s electorate was in the Kegalla District and we had the occasion to meet regularly. That was the time when the Prime Minister Mr Dudley Senanayake started directing the paddy cultivation programme and the Ministry of Agriculture was always in the forefront. Mr Imbulana as the Deputy Minister in Agriculture had his hands full.

I had a lot to do with him. I yet remember meeting him again and again trying to get the Ministry of Agriculture to continue loans to farmers on the old basis at 2-3% interest. Till then, for over ten years, agricultural loans to farmers via cooperatives was handled by the Agrarian Services Department and loans were given at 2-3% interest. I had myself handled agricultural loans to cooperatives and we did perform a yeoman service. Down came the order that Agrarian Services Department was no longer to handle loans and instead it was handed over to the Commercial Banks and the interest rate was immediately jacked up- to some 12%. Both of us put up a major fight but a petty Additional Government Agent and a Deputy Minister of Agriculture did not have sufficient clout. I am of the opinion that the increase in the interest of agricultural loans that then took place was one of the reasons why the United National Party was defeated at the 1970 general election. We did really try our best.

We lost touch and in 1973 I moved to foreign lands for studies, to the UK,  the USA. I next ran into Mr Imbulana when I happened to visit Sri Lanka in 1993. He was then the Governor of the Central Province. He accused me of working for foreign countries and not for Sri Lanka. He had heard of my work in Bangladesh where as a consultant I had designed a new youth employment creation programme which at that time had guided over a million youths to become employed. The confrontation ended with my agreeing to draft a development programme for the Central Province. I spent two weeks at his Residence, travelling all over the Central Province, meeting officials and assessing current development programmes. It ended in my drafting a Report for Self Employment Creation and Poverty Alleviation in the Central Province.

The Programme was to develop the entire Central Province in agriculture and livestock with appropriate small industries. The planning process was to commence from the village, studying the potential of existing home gardens and land extents on a per plot basis and studying the resources of the area. This was to be done by the Grama Niladhari who will be helped by the specialist officers of the various departments. The aim was to provide for activity in productive enterprise, the full development of the land and thereby generating incomes. It was aimed at finding employment to everyone in the village and to streamline government activities to achieve that aim.

The Minister Mr Imbulana was highly taken up with the programme and decided to implement it immediately in selected Grama Sevaka areas. Two villages were selected as a pilot project. The Grama Niladharis and the Agricultural Overseers of the area were given two weeks’ training at the Mahaberitenna Farm. . where training was commenced. I commenced training sessions at both villages- at Hasalaka and a village near Gampola. Plans were drawn up and expertise were obtained from a few retired officers- The Government at the Center did not totally approve the programme, but  Mr Imbulana continued it on his own steam. A former colleague of mine, Balachandran once a Deputy Director of Livestock and KB Ratnayake my former Superintendent of Development Work at Kegalla provided voluntary service to further the programme. However, The Programme had to be abandoned because the ruling United National Party lost at the general election in 1965.

So ended the attempt by me and Minister Mr Imbulana to usher in a programme of development for the Central Province. It is my opinion that if only this Programme had been implemented it would have ushered development like the Youth Self Employment Programme designed and implemented by me in Bangladesh in 1984, which is yet going strong- having bagged over three million youths into viable self-employment.

Mr Imbulana was one of the few Ministers who were really concerned with development. He did play his part well. It was Sri Lanka that was unfortunate. The timing was wrong for the programme. It commenced at the tail end of the United National Party rule.

Minister Mr Imbulana’s career stands out as admirable, a lesson for the politicians of today. He is one of the distinguished political personalities that adorned Sri Lanka.

(This programme is detailed at pages 321 to 341 of my book: How the IMF Ruined Sri Lanka and Alternative Programmes of Success: Godages:2006)

Garvin Karunaratne, former Government Agent, Matara

12/10/2022