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| Sunday, 15 September 2002 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Asoka de Z. Gunasekera: A courageous achiever
Attaining the highest position in a chosen career is, for most of us, a dream, but for Asoka de Z. Gunasekera, all this was possible due to hard work, dedication and sincerity. He has many firsts to his credit and could have settled down for a high salary and comforts abroad, but chose to be in Sri Lanka to serve his Motherland. Born to a family of lawyers, young Gunasekera wanted to become a lawyer himself, not to practise, but to gain professional qualifications. "My dream was to join the public service and reach the highest position. I achieved this through years of hard work, sincerity and dedication," he said. He passed out from the Law College as an Attorney-at-Law in 1967 and practised for a while before joining the public service as Coordinating Secretary to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications in July 1977. Career With Minister Shelton Jayasinghe's demise in December 1977, D.B. Wijetunga took over the Ministry. He also took over the Ministry of Power and Energy and the Ministry of Highways and appointed Gunasekera as a Legal Consultant to these two ministries. "I worked for D.B. Wijetunga from 1977 to 1985 which was a great privilege. I moulded myself differently due to his good qualities. D.B. Wijetunga was a super human and there was so much I learnt under him. He maintained excellent PR and goodwill and this was a reason for him being popular among the government and the opposition." Gunasekera recalled many incidents of 50 per cent of the salary being paid to interdicted employees because Wijetunga did not want the wife and children to suffer because of the man's wrongdoings. In 1982, Gunasekera was appointed Additional Permanent Secretary while continuing as a legal adviser. In 1989 he was appointed Secretary to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, in which capacity he continued until 1994. Gunasekera was appointed Acting Secretary to the Ministry of Policy Planning in 1993 by D.B. Wijetunga in addition to his post at the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry. Between 1977 and 1994, he had worked under seven ministers. They were Shelton Jayasinghe, D.B. Wijetunga, Vincent Perera, Sunil Abeysundara, Alick Aluwihare, A.M.S. Adhikari and Mangala Samaraweera. "I also had the opportunity of chairing the World Habitat Day programme for three consecutive years under the direction of Prime Minister R. Premadasa. During this period, we were able to raise Rs 35 million to build houses for the poor. "In the first year, we gathered over 500,000 people from Colombo to the Galle Face Green. The following year, we were able to collect over Rs 10 million by requesting everybody to purchase Sevana lottery tickets. During the third year of my chairmanship, we adopted a programme of 'Hands across Sri Lanka' on the lines of 'Hands across America'. "Everyone held hands with a view to building a brotherly attitude irrespective of caste and creed while singing a song composed by Premadasa. We also sold Sevana lottery tickets and raised about Rs 25 million." Telecommunications During his tenure of office, the telecommunications sector initiated the process of de-regulation and privatisation. The first private sector cellular service, Celltel, was given a licence in 1987 followed by Callink, Mobitel and Dialog. Card and coin public telephones, data services and electronic banking were some of the services introduced during his term of office. Private sector "Since I wanted to get a taste of the private sector, I retired prematurely in 1994 and joined the IWS Group as a Group Director. IWS has 18 companies. I was also invited by the Carsons Group to join Guardian Investment as a Board Director." He is also a Director at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute and Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau. Social service Gunasekera said: "In 1983 I was appointed a District Governor of Lions International and was adjudged among the top 10 district governors of the world. I also won six President's Awards in addition to many other awards. "At the Lions Club, we developed 52 villages through the 'National development through community service' programme. Villagers were trained on primary health care, vocational training and education and within a short spell, we were able to make them self-sufficient by upgrading their skills, attitudes and behaviourial patterns." The first school for the mentally retarded and physically handicapped was also built under his direction. It was the first time the European Union had given an outright grant of Rs 4.5 million for a non-government institution and also the first instance a theme and logo of a district governor of a Lions Club was depicted on a stamp. Now the school is managed by a Trust while steps are being taken to build chalets for the children. Each chalet will house 10 children and a foster mother. Gunasekera is Sri Lanka's unanimous candidate for the office of international director for the Lions International Board of Directors. He will represent 16 countries in South Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Since 1984, he has been functioning as the Chief Adviser of Lions International 306C. Chairman He just relinquished the chairmanship of the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) though he could have held office for one more year, as he is expected to take over the presidency of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL) next month. "In my opinion, it is not ethical to hold office in two chambers. Therefore, I decided to relinquish my duties at the CNCI and pave the way for newcomers," said Gunasekera. "The greatest aspect of leadership is to delegate the responsibilities and ensure that the work is done." His plans for NCCSL are many and Intrad 2003 stands tall among them. The Chamber has already started planning the Intrad 2003 scheduled for August next year on the theme 'Infrastructure'. Family Gunasekera was born to a family of two boys and two girls in Balapitiya. His father was Wijepala de Zoysa Gunasekera, a lawyer by profession. "Though I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth, my mother showed us that everybody had to face difficulties. She was a strict disciplinarian, but a loving and devoted mother. She and my father were the greatest influences in my life," he recalls. Going down memory lane, Gunasekera said that when they were young, they were given strict orders to return home by six o' clock in the evening and had to inform their mother of their whereabouts. But the rules were relaxed on the day he passed out as an Attorney-at-Law. "Mother gave me money and permission to do whatever I want and to come home at any time, but the contacts had to be given. "She was a great inspiration and so was my father, but I lost him at 11 years which was difficult to handle," says Gunasekera. |
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