The quintessential public servant who was affable and helpful

Dunstan (BBDM) Perera who was one of the earliest recruits to the Central Bank in 1950 passed away peacefully at the ripe old age of 92. Dunstan Perera did pioneering work on Sri Lanka’s National Accounts.

In the early 1950’s the Central Bank commenced its own series of National Accounts as it was found impractical to rely solely on the Department of Census and Statistics which was the statutory authority for the preparation and publishing of statistics relating to Sri Lanka. The need for the Central Bank to publish its Annual Report by April 1, each year (extended later to May 1) made it imperative for the Bank to have the necessary statistical information by March to be used in the analysis in the Bank’s Annual Report. The responsibility fell on two divisions in its Economic Research Department viz. the Social Accounts Division and the Prices and Wages Division.

The early work in preparing the Central Bank’s National Accounts estimates were made by Dr. Ranji Salgado whose comprehensive thesis on Sri Lanka’s National Accounts (The Ceylon Economy – A National Accounts Study ) was awarded the Ph.D by the University of Cambridge. When Dr. Salgado left to take up an assignment with the International Monetary Fund in Washington Dunstan Perera was appointed head of the Social Accounts Division succeeding Dr. Salgado. Dunstan Perera and M. Swaminathan had been sent on post graduate training to Manchester University. They both made very valuable contributions to the development of social statistics in Sri Lanka.

Dunstan Perera reformulated the national accounts estimates basing himself mainly on a World Bank document- A System of National Accounts and Supporting Tables. He published the first set of input –output tables for Sri Lanka (A Preliminary Input – Output Table for Ceylon, 1969) which was presented to a UN conference on Statistics which was held in Sri Lanka. He was engaged in working towards a new series of National Accounts in line with ‘A System of National Accounts 1968’ published by the UN Statistical Office when he decided to take up an appointment as United Nations Advisor on National Accounts in Saudi Arabia.

Dunstan Perera used to state that when he commenced work in Saudi Arabia the available statistics were in a very rudimentary state and he had to do a lot of spadework before getting down to the nitty-gritty of his job. Perhaps the present highly developed state of statistics in Saudi Arabia owes something to the early statistical work pioneered by him. The format of the series of National Accounts in the Central Bank’s Annual Report introduced by Dunstan Perera remained unchanged until 1977 when a revised series taking into account the effects of the economic reforms of 1976/77 was published in the Annual Report of 1978 by his successor as head of the Social Accounts division. It may be noted here that an article written by Mr. Perera for the Central Bank’s Staff Studies – (Interest rates in Ceylon) was influential in the formulation of policies when the economic reforms of 1976/77 were under study.

Dunstan Perera was the quintessential public servant. He was an affable and helpful person who moved with equal ease with the higher echelons as well as with the junior officers. Dunstan was a devoted family man and a good Catholic. His wife Elaine predeceased him about five years ago and he donated a library to his parish church in her memory. He leaves behind three sons and a daughter who are all professionals working abroad

Terrence Savundranayagam The pillar of my strength, dear brother you are no more Last of the four pillars as brothers you all stood so The sister I am, the little girl who followed you so far The younger sister too left leaving me alone thus far Great you are who cared so immensely Always there to help us so generously Cared not the burdens you bore so heavily Enough to say how you looked after us all so lovingly Holding your finger a kid, strolled the paths effortlessness Ran did I, hearing your voice in remoteness No more will I hear such calmness My dear brother you will always be priceless Stood by you loyal till the end dear brother whom I wish Cannot be selfish to hold you from this miss Reaching the end of the poem that I recite like this With tears in my eyes, I bid you well to that Supreme Bliss