END OF SEMSTER PROJECT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (FIN 6043)

TOPIC: TO REVIEW INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEM

OF A CORPORATE AND TO DESIGN THE WHISTLE BLOWING PROCEDURE FOR THE SAID CORPORATE

TEACHER: PROFESSOR SUFDAR ALI BUTT

GROUP MEMBERS:ZUNERA BATOOL (MM103022)

AYESHA NOUREEN (MM101052) NAILA ALI (MM101038)

MUHAMMAD ALI JINNAH UNIVERSITY, ISLAMABAD

Part I Situational analysis of the corporate NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY PAKISTAN

The organization we have taken to study its internal control system is NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY PAKISTAN. This corporate deals with the construction of roads and bridges inside the country. It is well known for its construction of MOTORWAYS and TUNNELS in Pakistan. It has worked in some of the remote places and constructed roads and tunnels there. NHA is a government owned company and it has signed many contracts with foreign companies, top of the list are some Chinese and Turkish companies. Brief introduction In 1978, Government of Pakistan (GoP) decided to federalize five important inter-provincial roads named National Highways" and created the National Highway Board for monitoring the development and maintenance of these federalized roads by provincial Highway Departments. The National Highway Authority (NHA) was created, 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. Total length of the federalized roads under NHA now stands at 8780 KMs, account for 3% of the entire road network and 75% of the commercial road traffic in the country. NHA is a huge nation organization with branches in all the big cities of pakistan. Its head office is in capital city ISLAMABAD, while the regional offices are located in Lahore, Multan, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta & Abbottabad. Its major activities include: Construction, Maintenance, Improvement and Operation of National Highways and Motorway Network of Pakistan. NHA has more than 2000 employees working in all the branches in Pakistan. There are some independent contractors who are not employeed in NHA but work in colaboration with NHA. they are free launc contractors.

Responsibilities of NHA Functions "Plan, Promote, Organize and Implement Programs for Construction, Development, Operation, Repairs and Maintenance of National Highways/ Motorways and Strategic Roads." Powers & Duties of NHA * Advise the Federal Government on matters relating to National Highways and Strategic

Roads. * Frame a scheme or schemes for matters such as construction, expansion, operation and development of National Highways and Strategic Roads and undertake work/incur expenditure on such scheme(s). * Acquire any land in accordance with legal procedure and obtain and dispose of moveable and immovable property of interests therein. * Research and development in the field of Highways. * Procure plant, machinery, instruments and materials required for its use. * Enter into and perform all such contracts as it may consider necessary. * Levy, collect or cause to be collected tolls on National Highways, Strategic Roads and such other roads as may be entrusted to it and bridges thereon. * License facilities on roads under its control on such terms as it deems fit. * Determine a building line between which and the RoW it shall not be lawful without the consent of the Authority to construct or maintain any structure or make any excavation. * Cause studies, surveys, experiments and technical researches to be made or contribute towards the cost of such studies, surveys, experiments or technical researches made by any other agency. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF NHA On top is the national highway council , it is followed by the national highway executive borad , the board is followed by the chairman who manages the five core wings plus looks after the work done by the secretory NHA and GM audit. Its functional setup is given below Wing/Sections Planning Wing Planning Section Procurement & Contract Administration Section Design Section BOT Section BOT Section Legal Bureau Operation Wing Construction Operation MPO LM&IS Finance Wing Finance Section Budget & Account Administration Wing Personnel Establishment Headed By Member GM (Planning) GM (P&CA) GM (Design) GM (BOT) Director (Private Sector Projects) Director(Legal) Member Sr. GM (Construction) GM (operation) GM (MPO) GM (LM&IS) Member GM (Finance) GM ( B&A) Member (Admn) Director (Personnel) Director (Establishment)

HRD Motorways and IT Wing MIS Section PR Section Secretary Section Internal Audit Section Public Relation Vigilance Section

Director (HRD) Member (Motorways & IT) Director(MIS) Director(PR) Secretary (NHA) GM (IA) Director (PR) Director (Vigilance)

NHA MANAGMENT NHA is managed according to the ESTA-CODE of pakistan thorugh which all government bodies are governed. While it has its own ACT, called NHA-act formed in 1991 and amended in 2001. The act has defined the work duties of the NHA COUNCIL and EXECTUIVE BOARD also this ACT defines that every employee working in NHA should be considered as a government servant hence he is to be treated and given facilities according to the law of pakistan. NHA-COUNCIL, members and their duties (1) There shall be established a National Highway Council consisting of: The Minister for Communications Government of Pakistan. President The Secretary Finance Division Government of Pakistan. Member The Secretary Planning & Development Division Government of Pakistan. Member The Secretary Communications Government of Pakistan. Member A professional in the field of Highway Construction and Management (Nominated by the President) Member A professional in the field of Finance & Accounts (Nominated by the President) Member The Chairman NHA. Member/Secretary (2) The meetings of the Council shall be called by the Secretary of the Council, at least once a year or at any such date and time as may be specified by the President. (3) The Minister for Communications may, on the recommendation of the Board, accord anticipatory approval to any matter, which falls within the jurisdiction of the Council. Powers and Functions of the Council (1) The functions of the Council shall be; To approve five year plans and perspective plans, prepared by the Board, in consultation with the Planning and Development Division, for the construction, development, repair and maintenance of National Highways and Strategic Roads specially entrusted to the Authority by the Federal Government or by a Provincial Government or other authority concerned;

To lay down national policies and guidelines to be followed by the Authority in the performance of its functions; To review and reappraise projects; and To approve the annual budget of the Authority.

(2) The Council shall have power to control, direct and regulate the affairs of the Authority. The management nd executive board (1) The general direction and administration of the Authority and its affairs shall vest in the Executive Board, which may exercise all powers, perform all functions and do all acts and things, which may be exercised, performed or done by the Authority. (2) The Board shall consist of: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. The Chairman NHA Chairman Inspector General National Highways & Pakistan Motorway Police (or nominee) Member Additional Secretary (Finance) Member Member or Additional Secretary Planning & Development Division Member Joint Secretary (II) Ministry of Communications Member Senior Chief NTRC Member Vice President NESPAK Member Member (Finance) NHA Member Member (Planning) NHA Member

(3) The meetings of the Board shall be held at least once in 3 months. (4) The Chairman or, in his absence, a Member authorized by him in this behalf, and three Members shall constitute a quorum for a meeting of the Board. Functions of Board Function of Board shall be: (a) To consider and approve proposals, schemes and projects exceeding fifty million rupees but not exceeding one hundred million rupees and to consider and recommend, through the Ministry, to CDWP or ECNEC proposals schemes and projects exceeding one hundred million rupees; (b) To consider progress reports of the Authority (c) To perform such other functions as may be delegated to it by the Council; (d) To recommend for approval the annual budget of the Authority; and (e) To approve projects to be funded through toll and other receipts from operation of Highways. Chairman, His Duties Functions and Powers (1) The Council shall appoint the Chairman who shall be Chief Executive of the Authority and shall exercise such powers and perform such functions as may be specified by the Council. (2) The Chairman shall receive such salary and allowances and be subject to such conditions of service as may be determined by the Council. (3) The Chairman shall have the power to approve projects of emergent nature, maintenance, rehabilitation and construction affecting traffic movement and safety of structures up to fifty million rupees and to recommend for approval, proposals, schemes and projects exceeding fifty million rupees to the Executive Board. (4) The Chairman, on the recommendations of the Executive Board, shall have the power to reappropriate funds from one project to another on the basis of progress of projects.

ESTABLISHMENT AND EMPLOYEES NHA-ACT says that its employees, hired experts, consultants or workers on deputation should be treated as NHA employees and they have to follow all the rules and regulations specified by NHA for its workers. RULES AND REGULATIONS The Federal Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. The Authority may make regulations, not inconsistent with the rules, on all matters for which regulations are expedient.

PLANS AND SCHEMES

The authority is directed by its law to plan the projects and the formal approval of projects is to be taken from the council to be proposed by the executive board. proper documentation of the initial reports on the plans to be kept and re-checked and revised with the growth of the project. Whereas, the authority could start any scheme after complete study on its needs and importance e.g. training of employees, construction or repairing roads, etc.

MODE OF COMMUNICATION IN NHA

The official communication that takes place in NHA in form of official letters and office orders, as happens in all the government owned offices in Pakistan. INFORMATION FLLOW The rules and orders are flown from top to the bottom, while there is no formal bottom-to- top procedure in NHA so far. Employees are told news by their respective bosses. The traditional grapevine bottom-to top procedure is prominent in NHAs environment. This is mainly because the lower staff is often found un-aware of what has been planned by the higher officials. Information is also leaked to inform the concerned groups prior to its issuance. In this way, many culprits hide or save themselves from any legal action. In short there is no up-graded information flow system available in NHA. (The following information is based on the interviews conducted with ten employees of NHA.) There is no formal internal control system in NHA found yet. The same old system of governance is followed there with the boss being the ultimate authority. The boss in NHA is the minister communications. While mostly the chairman is found with powers vested on him by the minister. Chairman has taken many illegal steps to get his people promoted to higher positions or to get them transferred at their desirable stations.

The office stock (stationary etc) is not distributed with any formal procedure. People are found taking rims of printing papers, pens, ink file covers are used in excess and no record is kept of their usage by the store keeper. The store keeper always Favoritism and grouping is very much seen in the office. The groups are open rivals some times over issues like promotion and transfers etc. Corruption is at its peak in NHA. many contractors, who dont fall into the criteria set by the fedral govt. in the NHA-ACT and CONTROL RULES of NHA win the tenders through personal relations and alleged-payments. Similarly, to get a jib done with out delay or as desired, many people openly give bribes to even the top-command of NHA. engineers working with NHA (on contract) are also bribed by the contractors who , then use the license of those engineers (issued by PEC). NHA has a formal and very strict procedure of land acuisition, land lease and construction and selling the land in the NHA-CONTROL document. This procedure is followed only by words and not by spirit. The recent disapointing event occurred in NHA when the employees whos DPC where awaited for long, where postponed three times. (this was told by one of the high ranking official whos name was in the list of the employees to be promoted), this happened due to the reason that one of the man from the chairman- group was not added into the list of the people to be promoted according to the law of fedrel governemt. The third time, chairman was pressurized to sign the approval for promotion after the pressue from minister office, who got some of his own people promoted. Due to the un-necessary employements on demand of higher officials, many incompetent employees are higher on contract basis. This is the most disliked by the employees of NHA. Employees were found un-happy with their officials for another shocking but true reason : most of the higher officials wokring in NHA are not even graduate. They cant speak english, and cant understand the official letters. Employees call them un-necessary burden over their shoulders. Employees also revealed that their respective bosses are moslty found in drunk state, abusing their juniors. This was reported by many employees from the lower cader. There is no formal rpocedure for takign leave. Employees are to submit a hand written application to their respective boss, though the record of the leaves is kept but mostly it is manipulated. Also the written applications are not kept alogn with the record. Many employees in the computer section told that the website is not updated neither are the necessary documents uploaded regularly. The network in the office is accessable for any hijecker who can hijack the confidential documents from any computer of respective officer. The document handling is poor. There is no management of the important documents and files neither the tangible ones nor the intengibale soft copies. The important office data is yet to be converted into soft copies for back up. So there is no backup of important data as such. The employees workign in NHA are mostly comupter illeterate but NHA replaced the old desktops with laptops and flat screen desktop computers. Few months back, NHA s financial fund was almost empitied and they borrowed money to pay monthly salaries and other fixed costs. Very recently, an anti-corruption committee has been formed. Employees alleged that the committee is actually headed by a corrupt officer. There was not found any procedure for external communications by the employees. To summerize, the interview revealed many shocking facts about the culture prevailing in the NHA. a sorry state of affairs is seen in this govt owned company.

The absence of many formal procedures like record keeping , formal and regular upgradation of official records , reports and documents, not formal procedure to back up and protect the confidential and important data, the un-protected network of office that can be evsdroped any time, and the irregular upgradation of website to get the information on on-going projects, has made NHA one of the poorly managed governemt organzation.

Anti-currption /whistleblowing rpocedure in NHA

The open corruption and bribry culture is common and most employees are involved in this awful act. Keepign in view the highly un-professional working environment with a good number of dissatisfied employees, NHA published a notification with the name mechanism for crackdown against corruption , this notification is issued on 25th January , 2011 after the complete un-controllable corruption was identified by many inside and outside the company. Under this mechanism, NHA made a special committee anti-curroption committe which has three members, the convener GM (coordination), and two dputy directors, one from personnel (admin) and the other from internal audit. The sad thing is, the person who is heading this committee GM (coordination) himself is found involved in many corruption cases (discovered during employee interviews). This mechanism has involved two main steps. One is the formation of committee through formal official orders. The committees role and functions are defined in the official letter. The second step is the regular publish of hidayat nama, a letter in Urdu language to sensitize the employees about the negative effects of corruption so that an honest mentality can be developed. It is defined in the office order that in every regional offices, the toll plazas and every office related to NHA as well as in HQ, complaint boxes will be set up, where employees can leave their complaints against any suspect activity going on in the office or person doing corruption. A formal process of dealing with complaints is defined, which says that no anonymous complaints will be entertained. Any two committee members will go to the office of the employee against who complaint is lodged, and will investigate for the truthfulness of the complaint. This procedure has not specified as to how the confidentiality of complaint and the protection of the complainant will be handled. The laid down procedure also does not speak about the treatment to the false complaints and complainants. This system can be used as a tool to set the scores among the employees who are divided into groups due to the absence of professional official environment from the time NHA was developed. (annex)

EMPLOYEES EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION POLICY There is no formal procedure found to deal with the external communication by the employees. No clause was found in the NHA-ACT nor it was found in the CONTROL-POLICY of NHA. So, there is no step taken to avoid the reputational risks that company can face (and has faced to date).

PART-II LITERATURE REVIEW ON WHISTLE BLOWING

1. Overview a. Origin of The term b. Definition c. Whistle Blower d. Reasons 2. Classification a. Types Of Whistle Blowing b. Types Of Whistle Blowers 3. Scope 4. Risks Associated with Whistle Blowing a. Outcomes of Whistle Blowing b. Deciding Correctly 5. Legal Protection 6. Whistle Blowing Benefits

1. OVERVIEW:a. Origin of the term: The term whistle blowing has been derived from the practice of British police officers, who would blow their whistles when they noticed the commission of a crime. The whistle would alert other law enforcement officers and the general public of danger. The more recent usage of the term whistle-blowing dates to about 1965-70 with an equally pejorative connotation in its numerous synonyms such as informer, snitcher, tattletale, and the like.

b. Definition: According to The Tennessee Employment Law Center whistle blowing is defined as Whistle Blowing. Act of worker to report criminal acts of employer to proper authorities. In most states does not include notifying the media alone. The disclosure by a person, usually an employee in a government agency or private enterprise, to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing. c. whistle blower: The American Heritage Dictionary defines a whistleblower as One who reveals wrongdoing within an organization to the public or to those in positions of authority. A whistleblower is a person who raises a concern about alleged wrongdoing occurring in a government or governmental entity or a private or public corporation or an organization or agency that is expected, by the public at large, to be operating within the bounds of the law.

2. CLASSIFICATION:a. Types of whistle blowing: i. Internal Whistle Blowing: The misconduct is being reported within the organization, whether to a fellow employee or a superior. It is more seen in organizations where an internal complaint system is present, which ensures the safety and confidentiality of the whistle blower. External Whistle Blowing: Report of the misconduct is being made to an outside persons or entities. In these cases, depending on the information's severity and nature, whistleblowers may report the misconduct to lawyers, the media, law enforcement or watchdog agencies, or other local, state, or federal agencies.

ii.

b. Types of whistle blowers: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. vii. viii. ix. 3. SCOPE:A whistle blowers procedure relates to the following situations: i. A violation of a law, rule or regulation ii. Gross mismanagement iii. A gross waste of funds iv. An abuse of authority v. A substantial and specific danger to public health or safety vi. Corruption vii. Actions which result in criminal acts by the accountants organization or its employees viii. All actual or suspected other violations of external legislation and regulations by the accountants organization or its employees Current whistleblower: someone who blow the whistle on a present employer/employers Alumni whistleblower: someone who blow the whistle on a former employer/employers Open whistleblower: reveals her or his identity and/or makes no attempt to hide this Anonymous whistleblower: acts specifically to keeps her or his identity a secret Tipster: generally an anonymous person who simply sends a tip or piece of information about the wrong doing Squealer: a person who has direct knowledge of mainly because he participated in it and is now exposing it Watchdog: A person or group serving as a guardian or protector against waste, loss or illegal practices Reporter: generally an outsider who makes a profession of reporting on wrongdoing in various organizations Mischief maker: a person who alleges wrongdoing without having any real substantive evidence generally to level personal scores

All actual or suspected violations of internal regulations by the accountants organization or its employees x. (threat of) intimidation of employees by colleagues or superiors xi. (threat of) unlawful destruction or manipulation of data or information; xii. Otherwise, all situations which in the opinion of a whistle blower are eligible for notification to the confidential advisor. In the event of differences of opinion or complaints about the actions of the accountants organization or its employees, this whistle blowers procedure may also be employed. The use of the whistle blowers procedure always takes place on the basis of anonymity. ix. 4. RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH WHISTLE BLOWING:Whistle blowing can also be taken both in a positive manner and as well as in a negative manner. People might do such an act for spreading rumors to get fame or settle their personal grudges or it might be a real, factual issue which might e against the safety or benefit of the organization, its employees or the society at large. Therefore the first and the foremost issue is to look into the reality behind the whistle blowing.

a. Outcomes of whistle blowing: Some of the common methods used against whistleblowers are ostracism, harassment, spreading of rumors, warnings, disciplinary transfers, threats, referral to psychiatrists, demotion, dismissal and blacklisting. Ostracism is a common experience: bosses shun the whistleblower and so do most other workers out of fear for their own jobs. Because validation by peers and supervisors is vital for a worker's self-esteem, ostracism is extremely hard to handle. Reprisals against whistleblowers usually involve attacks on reputation, working conditions and employment - physical attacks are relatively rare. But in a few areas, there is a greater risk of assault, frame-ups and imprisonment, including whistle blowing about police corruption, organized crime, military abuses and national security issues. b. Deciding correctly: Whether to blow the whistle on colleagues or senior management is a highly personal decision. However, when the whistle-blower is certain of illegal activity, or that real harm exists to the public or to fellow workers, that should tip the scales in favor of whistle-blowing, regardless of the personal cost.

5. LEGAL PROTECTION:Legal protection for whistleblowing varies from country to country and may depend on any of the country of the original activity, where and how secrets were revealed, and how they eventually became published or publicized.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 On July 30, 2002, President Bush signed into law the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which he characterized as "the most far reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt." The Act mandated a number of reforms to enhance corporate responsibility, enhance financial disclosures and combat corporate and accounting fraud, and created the "Public Company Accounting Oversight Board," also known as the PCAOB, to oversee the activities of the auditing profession.

The first U.S. law adopted specifically to protect whistleblowers was the Lloyd-La Follette Act of 1912. It guaranteed the right of federal employees to furnish information to the United States Congress. The first U.S. environmental law to include an employee protection was theWater Pollution Control Act of 1972, also called the Clean Water Act. Similar protections were included in subsequent federal environmental laws including the Safe Drinking Water Act (1974). Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (also called the Solid Waste Disposal Act) (1976), Toxic Substances Control Act (1976). Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 (through 1978 amendment to protect nuclear whistleblowers). Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or the Superfund Law) (1980), and theClean Air Act (1990). Similar employee protections enforced through OSHA are included in the Surface Transportation Assistance Act (1982) to protect truck drivers, the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA) of 2002, the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century ("AIR 21"), and the SarbanesOxley Act, enacted on July 30, 2002 (for corporate fraud whistleblowers). Those who report a false claim against the federal government, and suffer adverse employment actions as a result, may have up to six years (depending on state law) to file a civil suit for remedies under the U.S. False Claims Act (FCA). Securities whistleblowers are provided incentives and protection by the DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act(2010) In the United Kingdom, the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 provides a framework of legal protection for individuals who disclose information so as to expose malpractice and matters of similar concern. In the vernacular, it protects whistleblowers from victimisation and dismissal. The California False Claims Act protects whistleblowers from retaliation from their employer under a section entitled: "Section 12653. Employer interference with employee disclosures."[21] Under this section, employers may not make rules that prevent an employee from disclosing information to the government in furtherance of a false claims action, an employer may not discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, deny promotion to, or in any other manner discriminate against, an employee in the terms and conditions of employment because he or she has disclosed information to the government.

6. WHISTLE BLOWING BENEFITS:Whistle-blowing often ends long-standing wrongdoing that would have otherwise continued. In the Enron case of October 2001, the chief executives were shown to have systematically deceived all company stakeholders with the help of accounting firm Arthur Andersen, which did not provide legitimate financial reporting. One of the Enron accountants confronted the CEO in a memo about what he had discovered and the rest became history. Employees and shareholders lost billions when Enron folded, yet the whistle-blowing prevented even further harm. Many Enron executives went to prison, and have been held personally accountable, making restitution for monies stolen. In the case of medical malpractice suits, the whistle-blower is upholding the patient's best interests, not the hospital's or doctor's. In the case of clear workplace violations of health and safety regulations, or breach of employment laws, workers are protected and their rights upheld. With regard to research or technical issues, whistle-blowers may cite internal memos and other documentation to prove doubts existed about a product (such as a cover-up of certain medication dangers) or that false research results were knowingly published. Whistle-blowers often highlight safety concerns regarding cars or other products, thus protecting an unsuspecting public. Whistle-blowing upholds the law, protects many from the impact of wrongdoing, reveals the truth and prevents further wrongdoing. It lets others know they can trust you to deal honestly with them. It lets others know you won't allow intimidation tactics to sway you from appropriate action when necessary.

References: http://www.sec.gov/about/laws.shtml http://quitamguide.org/federal-false-claims-act-title-31#3730 http://taft.law.uc.edu/CCL/34Act/ http://www.legislation.gov.uk/

PART III Proposed whistle blowing procedure of NHA

NHA Pakistan has recently issued office orders against corruption that has become serious problem in this govt. owned company. The details of the whistle blowing policy are given in part-1 of the report. According to the proposed mechanism, a three-member anti-corruption committee is set up and the responsibilities of the committee are also defined in the policy made by federal govt. (see the annex). This step is well appreciated but there are certain flaws in the mechanism defined that need to be revised and re-defined. The procedure for handling whistle blowing should be added in the EMPLOYEE CODE OF CONDUCT policy of NHA Pakistan after defining the code-of conduct for employees separately. The committee should include two members from the executive board so that the serious matters related to mal-practices and corruption can be dealt with seriousness.

Proposed procedure
1. This procedure should be followed by employees wish to draw attention to issues of bad practice, possible fraud or corruption or other matters which seem to employees to be against the interests of the public, the authority or its staff. 2. The Authority and its employees have a duty to ensure that the projects undertaken by the Authority are managed in proper manner and the progresses along with the financials are recorded properly in order to avoid any corruption. And 3. The Authority is committed to protecting employees who use the procedure and blow the whistle in good faith from victimization. Employees should therefore never treat another employee of the authority less favorably because they have reported or may be considering reporting an issue of concern under this procedure. 4. This procedure needs to be read alongside the NHA-ACT and the Anti-Corruption crackdown mechanism which deals specifically with how to combat fraud and corruption. The procedure also contains information about who you can speak to about any concerns you may have. 5. The independent, MEMBER EXECUTIVE BOARD (vice president NESPAK , at present) is to act as independent , external advisor over issues related to scams and frauds. WHEN TO USE THE PROCEDURE If employees have serious concerns about any aspect of service provision or the conduct of anyone acting on behalf of NHA, employee may not be sure whether there is a case for investigation. In these circumstances it may be helpful to remember that employees have a duty both to members of the public and their colleagues. As a guide it might be helpful to ask the questions; "is this situation unacceptable?" "Is this wasteful?" "Could this be done better?" If the answer is "yes" then employees should follow the procedure set out below even if this could place them in an embarrassing situation with a particular colleague or group of colleagues. This is to ensure that employees are honest towards NHA and they are responsible citizens of Pakistan.

Employees are expected to raise issues promptly and in good faith and can expect matters rose to be investigated properly and fairly.

PROCEDURE 1. Employees are directed to raise their concerns in writing and should make a note so that they have a record for future reference. This note should include what occurred, where and when, and also when the complaint was submitted 2. Whereas, in case If an employee decides to raise a matter orally he is to be requested to make a written statement at a later stage depending on the circumstances. It is also noted that, employees can raise such issues (according to their seriousness) to : Director of the respective department deputy director Assistant director 3. The officers mentioned in (2) are directed to discuss the complaint with the complainant and after ensuring its validity and seriousness, they must direct in to the committee set up for the anti-corruption program. 4. If the issue is of a very serious nature, for example concerning mis-treatment of staff, maladministration or an illegal act, employees can write directly to the anti-corruption committee, on the address Member (planning), NHA, g-9/1, mauve area, Islamabad 5. Employees are directed to make their complaint of any sort on the prescribed FORM(annex), designed for the purpose. The forms are designed specifically to make the complaint clear and easily understandable. 6. The complaint forms must be opened by the committee head, and none other than then him. The complainant is ensured to get the response against his complaint within 15 days. This can be sent to employees home address if they indicate that in the form or they can be responded on the phone number mentioned on form. 7. In case, the employee is not reached, he will not be compensated with reward amount, but in case of the false complaint, he will be charged legally , mentioned in 12& 13. 8. If someone outside NHA gives any information which is of concern to him, employee should treat it seriously in accordance with this procedure and not dismiss it without giving it proper thought. 9. The employees are informed that they should lodge complaints and point out any misconduct confidently without fear of any group or the person-concerned. 10. NHA ensures its employees, the full protection against victimization, if they are complainants. Their name will be kept confidential. 11. After investigations, if the complaint is proved true, the employee will also be rewarded for his faithfulness and loyalty towards NHA. In this regard, following or any one of the following will be the reward for the employee who brings into the account of the authority, mal-administration by any or group of employees. A cash reward of Rs.10, 00, 000 if the scam is placed on the left of the scale of seriousness. Which involves big fraud in on-going projects, heavy bribes been given to official, in case of tender passing or in case of identifying with proves, the raw rough material being used in the construction. A cash reward of 500,000 rupees in case of favoritism to any candidate in case of new- hiring or like matters. A cash of 200,000 rupees in case of any mal-administration or mis-conduct with other employees is reported and proved.

Committee can also consider the direct promotion of the employee as reward for the truthful complaints with full protection. 12. In case of the complaint to be found false after proper investigation, the complainant will be tried legally, and he may end up with the fine or he may lose his job depending on the seriousness of the matter. 13. The employees ,if found guilty of making false complaints in the name of other employees, after investigation, will be fined and may lose their jobs or moved to lower rank or transferred to other stations, according to the seriousness of the matter. PUBLIC- COMPLAINTS HANDLING 1. In case of general public complaints handling, Committee will not consider the anonymous complaints. Whereas, the complainant will be protected legally in every possible way by the Authority and complainants will be required to act as witness if disciplinary or other proceedings follow the investigation of the issues raised. 2. People outside the company are directed to write their complaint to the committee on the forms available on the website of the authority (annex), general public is encouraged to lodge and identify and wrongs they see, been done in the name of NHA or any employee by NHA. 3. In case, the authority found the complaint to be false, the complainant will be tried legally by the authority. The complainant will be charged with fine and any other punishment according to the seriousness of matter.

EMPLOYEES WHO ARE THE SUBJECT OF COMPLAINTS 1. Employees against who, complaint is lodged; they are advised to act professionally, and obey the law and regulations. 2. Employees who are subject of a complaint under this procedure it will be investigated in accordance with the appropriate disciplinary procedure. This means they will have all the rights contained in the procedure such as representation at the investigatory interview. 3. Employees who will be investigated by the authority may be suspended temporarily according to the seriousness of the complaint. If they are found disrupting the investigation procedure, they might be charged and tried legally. 4. Those employees against who, a complaint is not proved true, will be compensated with cash according to the seriousness of the matter and every staff member will be required to not repeat that incident or talk about things related to that in office. EXTERNAL ADVICE This procedure is intended to provide an effective way for employees to expose malpractice in the workplace. If employees are not satisfied with the procedure and if they have concerns about fraud or corruption they can contact the Committees External Advisor (vice president NESPAK in the present days), 1-C, Block-N, Model Town Extension, Lahore 54700, Pakistan ,Phone: 92-42-99090000, Fax: 92-42-99231950.

ANNEX

COMPLAINT FORM- EMPLOYEES NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY Read the form carefully and fill-in each space clearly, in block letters. Starick fields are optional. Number: -----auto generated------Name :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CNIC Number:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Designation: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Department: ------------------------------------------- Wing: ---------------------------------------------------------Name of Department Director:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Address (where the response will be sent)*: --------------------------------------------------------------------Valid telephone number(to be active to receive response): Land line (with city code):---------------------------------Mobile: --------------------------------------------------------Complaint: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Extra sheets can be used to provide detailed/extra information and to be attached with the complaint form. In case of vedio or audio proofs or documents, the tapes or Cds should be properly packed in white envelop.The complainant should properly mention on the package the auto generated complaint number on the package only. The complainant is required by law to act as witnessed once he will be responded by the Authority.)

-----------------------------------------------Signature complainant

------------------------------------------Date

COMPLAINT FORM-GENERAL PUBLIC NATIONAL HIGHWAY AUTHORITY All the fields except the starick field is to be filled in properly in block letters. Number: -----auto generated------Name :---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CNIC Number:----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Occupation: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Institute *: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------City: ------------------------------------Address (where the response will be sent)*: --------------------------------------------------------------------Valid telephone number(to be active to receive response):

Land line (with city code):---------------------------------Mobile: --------------------------------------------------------Complaint: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Extra sheets can be used to provide detailed/extra information and to be attached with the complaint form. In case of vedio or audio proofs or documents, the tapes or Cds should be properly packed in white envelop.The complainant should properly mention on the package the auto generated complaint number on the package only. The complainant is required by law to act as witnessed once he will be responded by the Authority.)

-----------------------------------------------Signature complainant

------------------------------------------Date