_____________________________________NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY (NHA)

NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY

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_____________________________________NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY (NHA)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Roads Infrastructure plays an important role in the development of any country. Established in 1991, National Highway Authority (NHA) is responsible for developing, operating and maintaining the National Highway and Motorway networks throughout Pakistan. To enhance Pakistans competitiveness in the global market, to sustain the high economic growth achieved in recent years and to make the country a hub of regional trade, NHA currently is developing a well integrated network of Highways and Motorways. While planning the development of roads, it also considers the well-being of individuals and businesses throughout the country by improving reliability, quality and access of the highway network. I had listened a lot about NHA from my friends who were already working there. In fact, that was one of the reasons why I chose NHA for internship. Moreover, it was easy for me to get internship over at NHA because of strong references over there. I started my internship with NHA from the first day of July 2009 till the last day of August 2009. The environment there was quite new for me. Though it was not my first exposure to the practical world as I had already done internship at Askari Bank for 6 weeks yet the atmosphere over there was quite different from that of private firms. My internship schedule was divided into 8 weeks, in which initial weeks were for orientation to all of the departments and rest were spent at the three main departments of the Finance Wing. During my whole internship, I tried my best to put my all of the best energies and efforts to get fruitful results for the two months time which I spent over there. And I think I was successful in achieving my goals and objectives. THANKS

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE #

Copy of Internship LetterI Executive SummaryII

1. Introduction to National Highway Authority (NHA)05

NHA Background 05 Objectives06 Organizational Structure..06 Services of NHA......08 1.4.1. Services of Finance Wing...................08 1.4.2. Services of Budget & Accounts Department .09 1.4.3. Services of Finance Department.10 2. Learning & Experience..11 2.1. Internship Duration & Rationale for Selection.......11 2.2. Details of Training (Department wise).......11 2.2.1. Orientation at Budget Section 13 2.2.2. Orientation at Revenue Section..14 2.2.3. Orientation at Establishment Section.15 2.2.4. Orientation & Working at GOP.16 2.2.5. Orientation & Working at AP.18 2.2.6. Orientation at Computer Section....20 2.2.7. Orientation & Working at Book-Keeping Section.....20 2.2.8. Orientation at DDO Section...22 2.2.9. Orientation at CP Fund Section..22 2.3. SWOT Analysis of NHA24 2.4. Recommendations..27
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Page #

Conclusion.....28 References.29 Appendix30 Acknowledgements......32 Personal Resume......33

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1. INTRODUCTION TO NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY (NHA)

National Highway Authority (NHA) is responsible for developing, operating and maintaining the National Highway and Motorway networks throughout Pakistan. To enhance Pakistans competitiveness in the global market, to sustain the high economic growth achieved in recent years and to make the country a hub of regional trade, NHA currently is developing a well integrated network of Highways and Motorways. While planning the development of roads, it also considers the well-being of individuals and businesses throughout the country by improving reliability, quality and access of the highway network.

1.1. NHA BACKGROUND

The National Highway Authority (NHA) was established in 1991, through an Act of the Parliament, for planning, development, operation, repair and maintenance of National Highways and Strategic Roads specially entrusted to NHA by the Federal Government or by a Provincial Government or other authority concerned. NHA network is comprised of 11485 Kms which is only 4.4% of Pakistans total road network but carries 80% of the countrys overall commercial traffic and thus is the backbone of the economic stability and progress of Pakistan. The passenger traffic load in Pakistan is currently shared by roads (90%), rail (8%) and air (2%). Dependence on road for freight traffic is 95%. The country has about 7 million vehicles on road growing at 8% annually projected to increase to over 40 million by 2030. Transport sector currently accounts for 11% of the GDP and over 16% of fixed investment. In short, the road sector has become the backbone of Pakistans Transport sector and NHA plays a major role in the development of road sector. National Highway Authority (NHA) with the intent of successful execution of its large contracts requires that works are awarded only to firms that are suitably experienced in the road/bridge works, that are financially and managerially sound, and that can provide

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all the equipment required in a timely manner. For this purpose, NHA carries out the annual assessment of the capacity of firms prior to being invited to participate in open bidding for NHA Projects.

1.2. OBJECTIVES OF NHA:

Objectives of NHA can simply be said to construct and maintain the operations of highways and motorways of Pakistan. These all tasks require a complete planning and organizing tactics behind to implement, develop and operate the planned projects. Moreover, once constructed, the repairing and maintaining of the completed projects is also amongst the objectives of NHA. In short, we can say that NHA is committed for improving the communication and transportation infrastructure of Pakistan to promote trade and commerce in the country.

1.3. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE:

Head office of National Highway Authority is located in Islamabad, headed by a Chairman. It is functionally divided into Planning, Administration, Finance, Operations Wings headed by a Member each. As shown below:

CHAIRMAN

PLANNING WING

FINANCE WING

ADMINISTATION WING

OPERATION WING

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All Members are functional heads of their respective wings. They are assisted by General Managers who are operational heads of wings. The head office controls the operation of the Authority throughout the country. Six Regional offices, one in each provincial capital and one in Multan known as Punjab (South) and one at Abbotabad known as Northern Areas are headed by Regional General Mangers. Many Project offices dealing with individual major projects as are declared by the Chairman as Self Accounting Projects are headed by Regional General Managers. The structure of Finance Wing is as follows:
Member Finance

GM (B&A)

GM (Finance)

Director (Accounts-1)

Director (Accounts-II)

Director (Accounts-III)

Director Director (Rev. Rec)

Director (Accounts) Punjab- Construction

Director (Finance)

DD (Accounts) (AP) Vacant

DD (Accounts (Est. & Coord)

DD (Accounts) (Budget) Vacant

DD (Accounts) (GOP) Vacant

DD (Accounts -III) Vacant

DD (Accounts) DD Regional Maint. (RAMD) Offices (06) 01 vacant AD (Accounts) Regional Offices(06)

DD (Accounts) Punj. Cons. Vacant

DD (Accounts) M-1

DD (Accounts) NHIP

DD (Finance)

DD (Finance)

DDO

AD (Accounts) AP

AD AD (Accounts) (Budget) Est. Vacant

AD AD (Accounts (Accounts) -III) GOP Vacant

AD (RAMD.)

AD (Accounts) Punj. Cont.

AD AD (Accounts) (Accounts) M-1 NHIP

AD (BK & C)

AD (Accounts) (M-2)

AD (Finance)

AD (CPF)

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

Supdt.

IT Analyst (04) (Under Director(Accounts)

Accounting Specialist

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1.4. SERVICES OF NHA:

In the light of above stated objectives of the authority, services of NHA can be divided into two parts: Construction Works

Construction works comprise of all new constructions whether of entirely new works or of additions and alterations to existing works except as hereinafter provided. Maintenance Works

Maintenance includes operations undertaken to maintain in proper condition the completed projects of NHA. But these basic services are delivered after complete planning at different wings of NHA. According to my qualification i.e. MBA, I was placed in the Finance Wing of NHA. The Finance Wing is headed by the Member Finance. In terms of the provisions of NHA Act 1991 (as amended in 2001), the Member (Finance) is also a Member of the NHA Executive Board. Finance Wing deals with all finance, budget, revenue and accounts related matters of NHA. 1.4.1. SERVICES OF THE FINANCE WING Lets have a look at the core services being offered by the Finance Wing: Principal policy maker of all financial matters for efficient management of Authoritys finances and financial system Preparation and supervision of Authoritys budget in consultation with other Wings Budgetary controls and economic utilization of Authoritys funds Liaison with Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Finance, Planning Division and Economic Affairs Division for all matters concerning NHAs Finances, Loans, Grants and Release of Funds.
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Co-ordination with donor agencies. Evaluation and processing of all bids, proposals and expression of interest for generation of funds. Management of Authoritys funds and non-funds accounts Evaluation of proposals for enlistment / pre-qualifications of banks and insurance companies on the approved panel of Authority. Pre-audit / scrutiny of administratively approved cases in respect of PSDP, maintenance and establishment claims of all nature before disbursement as well as their bookkeeping and accounting

Accounting of NHAs own receipts Up-gradation of computerized accounting system with technological advancement Audit of NHAs accounts from Auditor General of Pakistan and commercial auditors Preparation of final accounts the Authority and submission of yearly financial statements and audit reports to NHA executive board and NHA council for approval.

1.4.2. SERVICES OF BUDGET AND ACCOUNTS DEPARTMENT Administration & Training of Finance Staff Preparation of all kind of Budgets Payment & Accounting of all expenses Payroll Processing/Establishment Accounting Co-ordination of Regional Accounts Offices & Self Accounting Units Audit Paras & Public Accounts Committee Co-ordination and Liaison with Ministries Maintenance of Books of Accounts & Audit of Financial Statements

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1.4.3. SERVICES OF FINANCE DEPARTMENT Management of contributory provident fund account. Evaluation and interpretation of the clauses of contracts and agreements Dealing with financial aspects of BOT/PPP proposals, and private sector Credibility evaluation of banks & insurance companies, insurance policies Evaluation of bids. Negotiating loans and funding proposals. Dealing with tax matters. Conduct review of NHAs financial operations. Preparation of entity budget. Managing NHA fund and non fund accounts. Book keeping and preparation of accounts Maintenance of fixed assets records. Audit coordination.

having commercial and financial implications. financing proposals. bonds and guarantees.

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2. LEARNING & EXPERIENCE:

2.1. Internship Duration and Rationale for Selection:
My internship at NHA was for 2 months (July-August 2008) because that was summeroff from the Institution and was the best time to utilize it in a useful way. As far as the question is concerned, why I chose NHA, the reasons are simple and logical. Like: I had a strong reference over there. I wanted to enjoy the working experience at a public sector organization because prior to that I had done my first internship at Askari Bank (a private firm). NHA offers free pick & drop service for its employees. Along with my co-internee friend, I had some more friends there who were already providing their services to NHA. At that time, I was of the opinion to choose Finance as my majors (which was changed later on) and NHA was one of the best options to do internship.

2.2. Details of Training (Department wise)

When I applied for the internship at NHA, a schedule was given to me by my mentor Mr. Ahmed Hassan. This schedule was as follows:

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Schedule of Internship Program

SECTION Budget Revenue Establishment GOP Aided Projects Computer Section Book-Keeping & Consolidation DDO CP Fund FROM 01st July, 2008 07th July, 2008 14th July, 2008 21st July, 2008 28th July, 2008 04th August, 2008 11th August, 2008 18th August, 2008 25th August, 2008 TO 05h July, 2008 12th July, 2008 19th July, 2008 26th July, 2008 02nd August, 2008 09th August, 2008 16th August, 2008 23rd August, 2008 30th August, 2008

This schedule was circulated amongst all of the 8 departments, by addressing to the ADs of the departments. A copy of this circular is attached at end of the report as annexure. ORIENTATION: In order to give me an introduction and overview of the organization, an orientation session was described in the schedule. Due to the policies of the organization, only orientation was designed for six departments of the Finance Wing i.e., Budget Section, Revenue Section, Establishment, Computer Section, DDO Section and CP Fund Section. However, my main internship work was scheduled at Government of Pakistan (GOP) Section, Aided Projects (AP) Section and the Book-Keeping & Consolidation Section. The explanation about this orientation and internship work is explained as under:

2.2.1. ORIENTATION AT BUDGET SECTION:

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During the orientation session at the Budget Section, I was told that the section is responsible for preparing the budgets for the authority. This section estimates the revenues and expenses for the financial year and makes budgets for the coming period. These budgets can be categorized as development and non-development budgets. The explanations of these budgets are as follows: a. Development Budget: Development Budget (also known as Capital Budget) is made out of the funds granted (on annual basis) by the Federal Government for development of roads. The amount for this budget is determined on the basis of estimates made by Planning and Operations Wings. After this, the data is compiled and sent to Chairman for the approval. If approved, the budget estimates are sent to Ministry of Communication where Financial Adviser examines the estimates. Before the budgets are finalized, a meeting is held which is attended by the representatives of Planning & Development Division, Finance Division and Economic Affairs Division. The estimates recommended by this committee are discussed in APCC (Annual Plan Coordination Committee) meeting which is chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Finally, these estimates are submitted in the Parliament for approval. b. Non-Development Budget: Non-Development Budget can be further categorized into these two subcategories: 1. Maintenance Budget 2. Establishment Budget Maintenance Budget: This is the budget which is required for the maintenance of existing completed highways and motorways, constructed by NHA. Maintenance Directorate of NHA is requested to prepare Budget estimates and submit it to NHA budget section of Finance Wing. Budget section compiles the estimates and submits the same to Ministry of Communication (MOC). After due consideration in MOC, the same is forwarded to Ministry of Finance (MOF) for approval. Finance Division allocates

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the funds for maintenance grant and MOC releases these funds to NHA on quarterly basis. Establishment Budget: Administration Wing of NHA is requested to provide details of 252 core posts of NHA upon the request of Budget Section. Budget section prepares and compiles the budget estimates for the posts and submits it to MOC and the same is forwarded to MOF for approval. Finance Division allocates the funds for the establishment charges under MOC 252 core posts. Again MOC releases these funds to NHA on quarterly basis. 2.2.2. ORIENTATION AT REVENUE SECTION: The second week of my internship was scheduled for the orientation to Revenue Section of Finance Wing. I was told that the main function of revenue section is to collect revenues for NHA. In addition, it also makes payments for repair & maintenance of roads as per maintenance plan devised by Road Assets Management Directorate (RAMD). So, this Revenue Section can be categorized into two sub-sections i.e., Receipts & Payments. Receipts Section: As the name specifies, this section is responsible to collect revenues for NHA. The main sources of revenue generation are toll receipts, rent from hotels, rent from petrol/CNG stations, hoardings and advertisements, sale proceeds of NHA assets, tender documents fees, taxes and police fines etc. These revenues are collected through contractors like NLC, FWO etc. These contractors receive revenues from the service users and deposit it into the account of NHA by the name of Road Maintenance Account (RMA). These deposits can be made on daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly basis (as per the contracts requirement). Payment Section: Payment Section makes all payments regarding repairing and maintenance of the roads. The payments are made for routine maintenance, periodic maintenance,

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emergency

maintenance

and

geometric

maintenance.

The

section

makes

arrangements for Mobilization Advance, Secured Advance, Interim Payments Certificate (IPC) and final payment to contractors and consultants as per contract requirements. The Section is also responsible for transferring funds to Regional Offices on their demand, according to their shares, for maintenance of roads. 2.2.3. ORIENTATION AT ESTABLISHMENT SECTION: The next scheduled department for my orientation was the Establishment Section. This section deals with payments of salaries, allowances and other personal benefits of NHA employees. Expenditures of establishment section are met through NHA Establishment Grant and 1% Special Allocation. NHA Establishment Grant: NHA Establishment Grant is allocated for the salary payments and allowances of permanent employees of NHA. This grant comes from the Ministry of Communication. These permanent employees are 252 in number who are getting their salaries out of this grant. 1% Special Allocation: 1% Special Allocation is the source of making salary and allowances payment of those employees who are working for NHA on contract basis. These employees are hired according to the projects initiated by NHA. It is called 1% because in actual it is the one percent of all the funds allocated to NHA from MOC.

2.2.4. ORIENTATION & WORKING AT GOP SECTION: Fourth week of my internship was scheduled for GOP section. GOP stands for Government of Pakistan Section. At this section, I was not only supposed to be oriented
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by also to do some practical work. At the very first day of the fourth week, the orientation session was held, in which I was briefed by Mr. Tareen Baloch (AD) about the functions and operations of the GOP section. This section deals with all accounts and finance related matters of those projects which are directly or indirectly funded by the Government of Pakistan. This is one of the most important sections of NHA as more than 50% of NHA projects are financed by Government of Pakistan. So, one can imagine the level of work and commitment needed in this section. Whenever a project is started, total project cost is estimated and planned by the planning wing. These projects become part of Annual Development Program and Federal Government allocates funds in annual budget. For completion of these projects, tenders are called from pre-qualified contractors and the project goes to the contractor who comes up with the lowest bid. GOP section is responsible to make payments to contractors and consultants as: Mobilization Advance, Secured Advance, Interim Payment Certificate and Final Payment as per contracts terms and conditions

These advances are not given to the contractors until and unless they give securities in the form of Bank Guarantees to NHA. All payment bills are singed by Project Consultant and Project Resident Engineer/ Project Director and are send to General Manager concerned, who, after certification, sends those bills to General Manager (Operations). The General Manager (Operations) gets approval of Member Operations and forwards the bill to Finance Wing. From the second day of my schedule at GOP Section, I got started to work. The tasks I performed in GOP section included establishment work, imprest, consultancy works and contractors related works. Establishment Work:
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Establishment work at GOP Section is related with almost all other accounts sections of NHA. It covers all the expenses related to employees salaries, allowances and personal benefits including medical expenses, house hiring, conveyance charges, utility charges etc. In this regard, I learnt how to make vouchers for medical expenses, house hiring, overtime and utility expenses etc. These vouchers were made in the General Ledger (GL) Software by entering the employees name, employee number, amount, debit/credit distinction and explanation for the expense. Mr. Shahid (Trainee) helped me a lot in using and entering the data into this software. Imprest:

By imprest we mean that amount which is sent to regional offices of NHA from the Head Office Islamabad. This is called imprest because this amount is sent to meet the day-to-day expenses of the regional offices. Expenditures are made at the regional offices and expenditure statements sent to the head office, which are checked and verified at head office. I learnt how to verify those expenses with the reference documents which were sent as evidence for the expenses incurred. These reference documents can be used mobile cards, paid-bills etc. After verification, the next step was to enter those expenses in their respective accounts on imprest portion GL Software. Consultancy Work:

NHA hires consultants to supervise the work of the contractors. Consultants submit their invoices on monthly basis. The consultants invoice must contain the following: Request Letter Staff attendance sheet Monthly invoice with proposed contractual rates Affidavit regarding staff salary payments Certificate ensuring validation of the Securities Documents regarding Design Cell (if required)

In the regard of Consultancy Work, I was supposed to check the invoices arithmetically and to make sure that all the requirements have been fulfilled by the

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consultant. I also used to prepare the vouchers for payment to the consultant. This was one of the toughest tasks assigned to me, so I consulted Mr. Tareen again and again to avoid any mistakes and error in it. He always welcomed me and answered my queries very politely. Contractors Work:

After consultancy, I moved to the contractors works. In fact, I had nothing to do in this regard but just to understand the whole process that how tenders are given to the contractors, how bidding is conducted and how the contractor with the lowest bid is assigned the tender. 2.2.5. ORIENTATION & WORKING AT AP SECTION: My fifth scheduled week of internship at NHA was for AP Section. AP stands for Aided Projects. As the name denotes, this section deals with those projects which are funded by foreign donor agencies. Major donor agencies include World Bank, UNDP, Asian Development Bank and Japan Bank for International Cooperation etc. Financing by these agencies can either be direct or indirect: Direct Financing: In direct financing because NHA directly negotiates with foreign donor agencies and signs agreement for loans. There is no third party involved in this type of financing. Indirect Financing: The Government of Pakistan obtains loans from donor agencies and gives it to NHA for utilization. All terms & conditions relevant to withdrawal, utilization and repayment of these loans are set at the time of agreement. Handbooks are provided for detailed procedures by the agencies. I worked in Aided Projects Section for 6 days. The first day was scheduled for orientation session, in which I was told about the functions and operations of the AP Section. I found
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the working in AP Section and GOP Section almost the same. The vital difference was that in GOP the projects were funded by the Government whereas in AP, all projects are aided projects. So, the work in these two sections was almost the same. Consultants invoices, contractors bills, etc are processed in the same way as they were processed in the GOP Section. This section also deals with the establishment of the employees working on the projects dealt in this section. Foreign currency is also involved in the projects dealt in Accounts Section AP i.e. the payment is made in both local and foreign currencies. What I did in the AP Section were arithmetic verification of measurement books and maintenance of cash books: Arithmetic Verification Of Measurement Books:

In AP Section, the main task assigned to me was the arithmetic verification of quantities and rates in the measurement books which were already recorded by an engineer of the project. In those books he provided the original cost of the contract, the measurement date, mobilization advance and secured advances paid and recovered validity of the bank guarantees etc. I was supposed to arithmetically check the rates and quantities recorded in those measurement books. After satisfied verification, tax was charged and retention money was mentioned along with the details. After that the vouchers were prepared for the payments of the bill. Maintenance of Cash Books:

In the last days of my fifth week at AP Section, I learnt to maintain the cash books of a few projects. I have to record the voucher details in the cash books, in a specific format. This activity was done at the end of each month and as it was the end of July, so I encountered it in the AP Section. Other than writing the cash books, I used to reconcile them with the electronic cash books generated by GL Accounting system. 2.2.6. ORIENTATION AT COMPUTER SECTION: This was my sixth week at NHA and after the AP Section my next destination was Computer Section of Finance Wing. Mr. Jamil (IT-Analyst) gave me a brief overview of the functions of this section. He explained that Computer Section is responsible for the

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development and operations of the computerized accounting software being run in the Finance Wing. This is the smallest section of the Finance Wing, consisting of only 3 employees. They all are well-educated and have deep knowledge about the latest technologies and innovations regarding IT. General Ledger (GL) System is the result of in-house development by NHA employees of Computer Section. They always welcome the complaints and suggestions from the other sections for the improvement GL System and changes after proper approval from the competent authority. All departments of the NHA Head Quarters are interconnected by a centralized Local Area Network (LAN) System. Every employee who is the user of the system has been given a Login ID and Password that is a precautionary measure to safeguard against un-authorized access to the system. Users authorization to different tasks of the system is defined and proper checks are applied to ensure that right authority is accessed by the right person. 2.2.7. ORIENTATION & WORKING AT BOOK-KEEPING &

CONSOLIDATION SECTION: After Computer Section, my schedule directed me to the next section which was BookKeeping & Consolidation Section. This section is also one of the main sections of the Finance Wing and contains information regarding each and every transaction being done in the entire organization. This section is responsible for preparing the final accounts of NHA after receiving the Trial Balances from all other sections of the Finance Wing and all Regional Offices. Here accounts are consolidated on monthly basis and each month the consolidated financial statements (Income & Expenditure Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement) are prepared and updated. Coordinating with the external auditors is also the responsibility of this section. Whenever the audit team is having any query regarding any issue of the whole Finance Wing, it is the Book-Keeping and Consolidation Section which jumps in to answer the query and to satisfy the audit objections. Like Computer Section, this is also a small section comprised of few but competent employees. Most of them are CA or ACCA. In

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this section, I was supposed to prepare expenditure statements as well as reconciling inter-office statements: Preparing Expenditure Statements:

First of all I learnt how to prepare the expenditure statements. This was one of the toughest tasks for me throughout my internship period because it required complete concentration as well as a lot of time. Even though, I tried my level best and prepared the expenditure statements for budget expenses. Whenever the amount is allocated from the MOC, it comes to NHA in te form of budget. In this budget, each expenditure head is given a budget code to which a specific amount is allocated from the budget. While preparing the expenditure statement, the concerned authority assigns the budget code to each transaction in the journal book. On the basis of these codes, I compared the expenditure made under a certain budget code with the budget allocated against that code. I was asked to take all non-bank accounts of the journal book and all bank accounts of the cash book and match them. It was mandatory that the net amount in both books must match with each other. Otherwise, there is some problem in the entry, which has to be resolved after complete checking of accounts. Inter Office Statements Reconciliation:

Another task performed by me in the Book-Keeping and Consolidation Section was the inter office statements reconciliation. Reconciliation starts with the trial balance. Firstly, I learnt to check the nature of the balance of each account head. After that, it is made sure that the nature of the balance matches the nature of account. E.g. if its an asset head it should have a debit balance, if its a liability head it should have a credit balance. If the nature of balance does not match with the nature of account, I was supposed to find out the possible reasons why the nature of balance and the nature of account are mismatched. Though it was a tough job yet I concerned my mentor again and again to find out the discrepancies and to complete my job successfully. 2.2.8. ORIENTATION AT DDO SECTION:

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My second last destination according to my internship schedule was the orientation at DDO Section (or the Cash Section). DDO stands for Drawings and Disbursement Office.I was given a brief overview about section by the mentor. The responsibility of this section is basically the funds management. Whenever any type of disbursements to employees, contractors, consultants or suppliers is made, cheques are issued by this section. When a payment voucher is received from any section, cash section prepares crossed cheque for the amount and enters the date and serial number of the cheque on the voucher using GL System. Before making the payment, budget under the head is checked. If budget is not available under the head, approval of the competent authority is taken before issuing the cheque for the payment. Similarly, Receipts vouchers are prepared by cash section. The section maintains accounts with banks and reconciles cash books with bank statements on monthly basis. This section also arranges inter-bank transfers of funds as and when required. As the cash books are maintained in this section, so the bank reconciliations are also prepared by the same section. 2.2.9. ORIENTATION AT CP FUND SECTION: My last week was scheduled as the orientation at the Cumulative Provident (CP) Fund Section. CP Fund Section is given the responsibility of maintaining the information regarding contributions, deductions and balances of the CP Fund accounts of each permanent employee of NHA. CP Fund is the form of a saving facility given as incentives to the employees. Contributions to this fund are made out of both NHA budgets as well as employees monthly salary. These contributions are made on fifty-fifty basis and sum of the contributions is handed over to the employee in case if he/she got retired, injured or died (in last case amount will be handed over to the dependents of died employee). In case, if the employee is willing to withdraw some amount out of this fund, he/she can take that but upto a certain limit. This limit is assigned by the concerned authorities depending upon the tenure and age of the employee. The section is responsible for handling these funds as well answering to the employees if they are having any queries regarding their accounts and balances.

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2.3. SWOT ANALYSIS OF NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY:

During my 2 months internship at National Highway Authority Head Office, I tried my best to observe the organization from third persons point of view. According to my observations, I noticed a few of internal Strengths and Weaknesses and some

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Opportunities and Threats for NHA from the external environment. Lets have a look at each of them:

STRENGTHS:
NHA is having a monopoly in construction and development of highways and motorways of Pakistan. The working environment for employees at NHA is much better than most of other public sector organizations. NHA has a strong commitment and a relationship of trust with the leading contractors like NLC, FWO etc. Sources of revenues are huge in number for NHA like through toll taxes, restaurant rents, advertising fees, police fines etc. NHA is having in-house computerized GL Software which is being operated successfully on the entire organization and creating a platform for the unified data storage and retrieving. Despite resource constraints NHA has successfully completed several mega projects. The building of NHA Head Office is beautiful master piece and contains all of the modern facilities in it. NHA is having a road network of only 4.4% of Pakistans total road network but carries 80% of the countrys overall commercial traffic and thus is the backbone of the economic stability and progress of Pakistan. NHA is having a strong support from Ministries of Communication and Finance. Free pick & drop service for the employees.

WEAKNESSES:
Favoritism practices are common amongst the entire organization. During my internship period, I came across a lot of corruption cases incurred by employees at different levels of the organization. Lack of punctuality amongst the NHA employees.

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There is no visible evidence of successful leadership in the organization. Leg pulling of colleagues is a common practice. Female employees are very rare which makes NHA Head Office as maledominated organization and hence reduce the competition. Office assets of the organization are misused. For example, computers are mostly used for playing games and other things. Behavior of most of the employees towards the female employees is very rude. Employees getup and way of dressing is quite different from the elegant building setup. Most of the employees come to office untidy and in rough form. There is no cafeteria for employees and they have to go to nearby restaurants for their lunch. There is no common room for female employees to offer their prayers and other tasks. Files and records of old projects are placed roughly in the godown, without any proper mechanism.

OPPORTUNITIES:
NHA can help in increasing the FDI of Pakistan by attracting more foreign contractors to start their operations in Pakistan. NHA can convert its Trainees (who are young and more talented) from contract employees to permanent employees. Awareness through a strong advertising campaign should be created amongst the people to protect the plants and trees besides the roads and follow the rules and regulations of the roads.

THREATS:
Increasing terrorism and blasts can destroy the completed and/or in-progress projects of NHA. Monopoly of NHA can be affected if government allows other authorities to start the operations related to construction of roads and communication means.

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Privatization can also be a threat for those employees who just enjoy leisure and time pass from their jobs at NHA. Natural disasters like Tsunami or Katrina can destroy the highways and motorways and can require a huge costs for reconstruction.

2.4. RECOMMENDATIONS:
Though 2 months are not enough to understand and give suggestions for the improvement of an organization yet I will recommend these points on the basis of my observations:

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Leadership should be strong and changed after a fixed period of time. This will reduce the stagnancy amongst the operations of NHA and will remove the biasness from the organization.

Attendance through technological means should be taken in order to make the employees punctual and responsible. Proper dress code of employees should be determined, in order to give a proper look of an office environment. Computers and other costly equipments should be granted only to those employees who are competent and can use them in the proper way. Most of the work done at the Finance Wing is through the Trainees who are working for very limited salary packages. According to observation, all of them are educated and well-mannered. So, if their salaries are increased or if they are accepted as the permanent employees, they will definitely put their more extra energies to get their work done.

Audit should be done twice or thrice a year to reduce the corruption and frauds as well as to increase the check and balance over the employees. Quota for female employees should be increased in order to increase the morale of already working females as well as to increase the competition amongst the employees.

A cafeteria must be opened within the premises of head office so that time wastage of employees for lunch break should be reduced.

CONCLUSION

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I found NHA as one of the better organizations as compared to rest of the public sector organizations. It has rendered a lot of services to Pakistan and the Pakistani People by enhancing the infrastructure for trade and communication in the country. It is one of those organizations which can become benchmark for others if just it makes few changes in its operations and practices. Verbally, the functions of NHA can be categorized as construction and maintenance of highways and motorway. But in my opinion, it is providing a platform for the economic progress and stability in the country. While doing internship at NHA, I got able to equip myself with the experience of practical life and especially the learning of working in a public sector organization. I think, I was successfully able to gain sufficient knowledge of office work which will help me throughout my career to polish my capabilities and to work for my prospective employer in a proper way.

REFERENCES

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NHA Codes 2005 NHA Finance Manual NHA Establishment Code 2007 NHA Annual Report 2007 www.nha.gov.pk Direct Interaction and Learning from: My Mentor Mr. Ahmad Hassan (AD Accounts AP) Mr. Khurram (Trainee Establishment Section) Mr. Atif (Trainee Establishment Section) Mr. Shahid (Trainee GOP Section) Ms. Zainab Ashfaq (Senior Trainee Accounts Officer)

APPENDICES

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Schedule of Internship Program List of Mega Projects of GOP & AP Sections

LIST OF MEGA PROJECTS OF GOP SECTION:

LRTP (Lowari Rail Tunnel Project)
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MCHP (Makran Coastal Highway Project) LEP (Liyari Expressway Project) IMDC (Islamabad Murree Dual Carriage way) N-65 (Sukkar Sibi Quetta Project) Torkham Jalalabad Project Kharian Rawalpindi Project Mansehra Naran Jalkhad Project

LIST OF MEGA PROJECTS OF AP SECTION:

KNBP (Karachi Northern By-pass Project) KTP (Kohat Tunnel project) M-8 ( Gawadar Ratodero Project) Karachi Chamman Project Peshawar Torkham Project IHP (Indus Highway Project)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and supreme power is Allah the most beneficent who gave me the power and knowledge to complete my task successfully. I am thankful to my institute, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology that gave me the opportunity to apply my skills in a professional environment. I am also thankful to Finance Wing, National Highway Authority. I am very grateful to my Mentor Mr. Ahmad Hassan (AD Accounts AP) for his guidance and support throughout my internship tenure. In addition, the compilation of this report would not have been possible without the support and contribution of Mr. Khurram Ayaz and Mr. Atif (Trainees Establishment Section). I would also like to thank my family who encouraged me through out my internship. May Allah give me the serenity to fulfill my commitments. (AAMIN)

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