A FIELD ATTACHMENT REPORT SUBMITTED TO UGANDA INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY (UICT) NAKAWA CARRIED OUT AT BUSIA DISTRICT HEADQUATERS. Between 15th December TO 10th March 2018 By WABWIRE DEO 2015/PLM/0180 DECLARATIONI Wabwire Deo declare that this report is my original work and it’s a result of my own efforts, exercise and experience acquired from Busia District Headquarters Procurement Unit. Name: Wabwire DeoSignature: …………………………………………… Date: …………………………………………………..
APPROVALI certify that this field attachment was carried out under supervision. Signature: ………………………………………………………….. Date: ……………………………………………………………….. Field Supervisor : Mr Geofrey MukagaI certify that this field attachment was carried out under my supervision.
Signature: ……………………………………………………… Date: …………………………………………………………… Academic Supervisor: Madam Bako Gloria DEDICATIONSpecial thanks go to my parents Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Nyegenye for their underlying support and love towards my education. Furthermore I thank my friends, and staff of the procurement and disposal unit at Busia District Headquarters for giving me a chance to train with them. I thank my supervisor and workmates for the advice and training given to me in these 2months. May the good Lord bless and reward them abundantly for without their assistance my internship would not have taken place.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI first acknowledge the almightyGod who gave me knowledge, guidance and necessary resources that enabled me come up with this report. I extend a bottle of thanks to the people who used to support me during my field work attachment more especially Volunteers Bernard, Nabwire Agnes, and my fellow interns Ouma Evans, Etasala Charles, Luyima Marion ,and Opira Moses. I also thank the staff of the Procurement and Disposal Unit at Busia District Headquaters for their love and support towards me and making my training fruitful especially madam Nasirumbi Rehema, Namagala Barbra, Mangeni Joanita , Mr. Wagaba Vincent ,Ainebyona Baker and my supervisor for the support and guidance to me throughout the internship period. Thank you all.
TABLE OF CONTENTS TOC o “1-1” h z u DECLARATION PAGEREF _Toc388854443 h 0APPROVAL PAGEREF _Toc388854444 h iiDEDICATION PAGEREF _Toc388854445 h iiiACKNOWLEDGEMENT PAGEREF _Toc388854446 h ivLIST OF ACRONYMS PAGEREF _Toc388854447 h viiABSTRACT PAGEREF _Toc388854448 h viiiCHAPTER ONE PAGEREF _Toc388854449 h 1INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc388854450 h 11.1 Objectives of Internship PAGEREF _Toc388854451 h 11.2 Background of the Ministry of Works and Transport PAGEREF _Toc388854452 h 11.3 Vision PAGEREF _Toc388854453 h 11.4 Mission PAGEREF _Toc388854454 h 21.5 Location details PAGEREF _Toc388854455 h 21.6 Objectives of the Ministry PAGEREF _Toc388854456 h 21.7 Organization Structure PAGEREF _Toc388854457 h 4CHAPTER TWO PAGEREF _Toc388854458 h 4MANAGEMENT OF THE PRACTICUM EXERCISE Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………6 Role of the Department of Procurement and Supply chain management………………………………………………..7 Category of the department……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7 Reporting and Induction by the Organization………………………………………………………………………………………….. Role of the work supervisor……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Role of the University Supervisor …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. CHAPTER THREE PAGEREF _Toc388854462 h 10LESSONS, EXPERIENCES AND SKILLS PAGEREF _Toc388854463 h 103.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc388854464 h 103.1 Lessons PAGEREF _Toc388854465 h 103.2 Experiences PAGEREF _Toc388854466 h 123.3 Skills PAGEREF _Toc388854467 h 13CHAPTER FOUR PAGEREF _Toc388854468 h 14CHALLENGES AND LIMITATIONS DURING FIELD ATTACHMENT PAGEREF _Toc388854469 h Error! Bookmark not defined.4.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc388854470 h Error! Bookmark not defined.4.1 Challenges PAGEREF _Toc388854471 h 154.1.1 Organizational challenges PAGEREF _Toc388854472 h 154.1.2 Personal challenges. PAGEREF _Toc388854473 h 16conclusions and recomendations PAGEREF _Toc388854475 h 175.0 Introduction PAGEREF _Toc388854476 h 175.1 Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc388854477 h 175.2 Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc388854478 h 185.2.1 Recommendations to the ministry of works and transport. PAGEREF _Toc388854479 h 185.2.2 Recommendations to Datamine Technical Business School PAGEREF _Toc388854480 h 185.2.3 To the intern.
PAGEREF _Toc388854481 h 19APPENDIX Recommendation Letter…………………………………………………………………………..3 Log Book………………………………………………………………………………………….4 REFERENCES Ministerial Policy Statement for Financial Year 14/15 Human Resource Structural Report 2013 LIST OF ACRONYMSBDLG – Busia District Local Government CAO – Chief Administrative Officer RDC – Resident District Commissioner UICT – Uganda Institute of Information And Communications Technology PDU – Procurement and Disposal Unit. CC – Contracts Committee. PDE – Procuring And Disposing Entity. LPO – Local Purchase Order RFQ – Request for Quotation ITB – Instructions to Bidders HPDU – Head Procurement and Disposal Unit SPO – Senior Procurement Officer PO – Procurement Officer DUCAR -District Urban Community Access Roads TLB – Transport Licensing Board URF – Uganda Road Fund URC – Uganda Railways Corporation UNRA – Uganda National Roads Authority CAA – Civil Aviation Authority NRSC – National Road Safety Authority ABSTRACTThe internship training carried out at Busia District Headquaters from the month of December 2017 to March 2018 mainly focused on equipping the trainee with the necessary practical skills. This field attachment report comprises of five chapters; Chapterone: Involving the organizational back ground vision and mission of the organization, the scope of the internship and the its objectives ,Chapter two: Talks about the daily activities that the intern performed during the field attachment period.
Chapter three: Looks at the lessons experiences and skills that the intern attained during the field work. Chapter four: Involves the challenges and limitations that the trainee faced during the field attachment period and Chapter five: looks at the conclusion of the internship report and trainee recommendations. CHAPTER ONE1.0 IntroductionField attachment was a program designed by the institute to foster their students’ engagement into practical work by revising the theory got from their lectures in the classrooms in 2016. This aims at providing business skills, knowledge about the organization, and exposure to the world of business and professionalism to students in their respective fields.
1.1 Objectives of Internship Training To provide an opportunity of how to apply the principles and techniques theoretically learnt through real life solving situations. To produce practically oriented graduates that meet the required job competencies of their employers. To provide an opportunity for students and academics to interact with stakeholders and potential employers and thus appreciate field situations that will also generate information for curricular review. To develop students understanding of work ethics employment demands responsibilities and opportunities. To enhance and strengthen linkages between UICTand various stakeholders. To understand the nature, behaviour and culture of different organizations as far as the current competitive job market is concerned.
To learn how to carry out day to day administration of programmes and design effective interventions in place of work. 1.2 Background of Busia District Busia initially was under Tororo district but due to the many cultural differences between the Japadhola and the Samia, a new district was created to cater for them in 1991. In 2009, it was further divided into the North constituency and the Southern constituency. 1.3 VisionTo provide good healthcare, water, security, transport and infrastructure and services to the population.
1.4 MissionTo extend social services near the population for social-economic development of Uganda. 1.5 Location detailsBusia district Headquaters is located along SibararaRoad P.O.Box 7174 Busia Uganda. 1.6 Objectives of the District Initiation, formulation, development and implementation of appropriate works and transport services and infrastructure policies in the District. Carry out research and compile relevant data on the modern trends. Planning, designing, construction, development and maintenance of transport ways and works infrastructure and services and set standards in the construction industry in Uganda including public buildings.
Monitoring, evaluations and regulations of usage of highways waterways and aerodromes for safety use of the service consumers. Promotion of collaboration mechanisms and working linkages with other institutions that are charged with similar responsibilities. Development of capacity to deliver effectively on its new mandate. Functions of the District Initiate, formulate and develop policies, plans and programs for safe and efficient infrastructure and services delivery. Monitor and evaluate the implementation of national polices, plans and programs for safe and efficient works, taxes, health and infrastructure and services.
Set national standards for the construction industry transport and services Enforce compliance to national policies laws, regulations strategies and guidelines on works, transport ways infrastructure and services. Inspect and license public transport service vehicles. Monitor and evaluate the performance of statutory bodies of the ministry Provide technical support for contract works, including construction and maintenance undertaken by other government ministries, departments and agencies. Initiative and formulate plans and policies for the management of public buildings Set and monitor national standards on public buildings. Carry out research and develop local material for construction industry.
1.7 OrganizationStructureCHAPTER TWO. ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT AT THE DISTRICT. 2.0 IntroductionThis chapter discusses the activities undertaken during the field study, Role of the Department of Procurement and Supply chain management, the department to which one is assigned at work place, role of both the onsite supervisor and university supervisor. 2.1 Category of the department. The intern was allocated to the Finance and Administration department, where the Procurement and disposal unit is categorized. The following are the duties of the procurement and disposal unit Check and prepare statements of Requirements Prepare adverts of bid opportunities Issue approved Contract documents Maintain and archive records of the procurement and Disposal process Prepare monthly reports for CC and final submission to PPDA Maintain a providers list The procurement and disposal unit is headed by Madam Basemera Margret entitled HPDU{Head Procurement and Disposal Unit} 2.3 Activities undertakenOrientation The intern was given an orientation by the staff within the District which helped the intern to know the various departments such as Finance and Administration, Policy and Planning, Mechanical Engineering, and their respective heads for example I was able to see the office of the CAO, office of the Chairperson LCV, office of the District Education Officer, and many other offices.Photocopied documents The internprepared documents for photocopying and binding services this was done through filling a requisition for photocopying services which has to be presented at the photocopying office when its duly signed by the senior assistant secretary or the assistant secretary.
Understanding of the background of the district The trainee took time to read about the background of the district and was able to find out that the district was created after breaking away from Tororo district. Created new reference numbers and folders for procurement documents. This was done by the internwhenever procurement documents were brought to the procurement unit and required new folders these documents could be coming from the various departments within and outside the district and lacked reference numbers and folders this was done whenever documents came in and lacked reference numbers and folders.for example BDLG/SPLS/2017-2018/00001 Arranged procurement documents for submission Through the guidance of procurement officers the internee arranged procurement documents Before they were submitted to the contracts committee this was done through making the required number of copies of the document and submitted to the contracts committee to make its decision. Received bids from bidders The intern was also given a task of receiving bids using form 11 from bidders here the intern guided the bidders on how to fill the bid receipt forms this helped the procurement unit to know the number of bids that were received before the bid opening took place.
Issued out bidding documents to bidders As different bidders came in to pick bidding documents following the advertisements that were made in the newspapers the internee wasgiven chance to issue out bidding documents to eligible bidders who had met the necessary requirements of the district that is to say the bidder had to have an application letter which had to be written on the company’s letter head, having proof of payment of a non-refundable fee as per the advert. Opened bids The internee also participated in the opening of bids that were received from bidders using Form 11 therefore this helped the intern to know what happens while bids are being opened practically that is to say what is recorded in the bid opening forms for example bid security if applicable for that procurement, powers of attorney, bid security and currency price read out. Prepared and arranged procurement files for auditing by PPDA This was done by the intern under the guidance of the senior procurement officer, the intern arranged and organized files for auditing this was through filling and updating them with missing crucial documents for example copy of the advert, requisition forms, minutes of pre-bid meetings and others which helped the intern to know the documents that should not miss out on a procurement file. Evaluation of bids The intern also participated in the evaluation of bids while at the district this helped the internee to know what happens while bids are being evaluated and the evaluation methodology that suits a given procurement this helped the intern to also know the contents of an evaluation report and the various forms used that is form 16 of evaluation report under the technical compliance evaluation. Prepared bidding documents. The trainee participated in the preparation of solicitation documents that were issued to bidders under the guidance of procurement officers here the internee edited the standard bidding document which was got from the PPDA website to suit the required procurement requirements..
Attended a pre-bid meeting. The internee also attended a pre-bid meeting in this meeting technical officers (engineers and procurement officers)addressed the bidder complaints that were not clear in the solicitation documents and advised them on what to do in this the internee learnt how to draft minutes of pre bid meetings and also distributed minutes to the bidders who had attended. Review of procurement methods and their thresholds The internee also had a review of the procurement methods and their thresholds as they were being passed by the new law/act this helped the intern to know which method of procurement was to be used for a given procurement. Understanding the various procurement forms The intern also had to take time to understand and get to know the various procurement forms that were drafted by the new PPDA law these included form 5 which is the requisition form, form 8 which is the record of issue and form 12 which is the bid opening form therefore the intern had to know these forms in order to avoid mistakes while recording documents this was so because PPDA developed new forms under the new law that replaced the old forms.
Opened proposals The trainee had several bid openings but this was in some way different from the previous openings I had done before the opening of consultancy service procurements is quite different in that here two bids are submitted in one sealed envelope one technical and one financial where at the opening we only opened the technical bids and the others kept until when an evaluation was done and those bids that had passed the technical qualified for a financial proposal opening. Communicated arithmetic errors to bidder The intern was also given a task to communicate to bidders for arithmetic errors that were found in the bids of thevarious bidders this was done through getting their phones contacts and calling them to pick documents in order to clarify these arithmetic errors within the bid documents at the same time receiving the response from the bidders. Updating procurement files The intern was also given a task to update procurement files whenever there was need to in this the intern was supposed to file all the relevant documents and attach them to their corresponding files for example whenever the contracts committee had its sittings decisions could be passed for different procurements therefore the intern had to file them onto their files hence providing an update Recorded incoming documents As different documents were coming into our office the intern was given the responsibility of recording incoming documents from the different departments within and outside the ministry into the incoming book after which the intern had to forward the document to the office of the head procurement and disposal unit for her to delegate who should handle. Opened request for quotations The intern after a long stay and confidence I was also given a task to open RFQS for several procurements in this the intern opened quotations of the different bidders who had quoted since quotations are not opened publically I filled the bid opening forms stamped them accordingly and forwarded them to the respective procurement officer. 2.2 ROLE OF THE PROCUREMENT AND DISPOSAL UNIT CHAPTER THREELESSONS, EXPERIENCES, SKILLS AND CHALLENGES. 3.0 IntroductionThis chapter presents what the trainee learnt from the internship training, his experiences during the training and the skills gained during and after field attachment, personal contributions, and challenges noticed during the internship.
3.1 LessonsA lesson is a task assigned for individual study. Proper records management The trainee learnt that it’s always important to effectively keep record of work done as the records are kept for future references, in different books such as the local purchase order, incoming book, outgoing book; this is because the intern managed to keep all the records that were given to me under safe custody for future reference. Knowledge The has given me an opportunity to enhance my procurement knowledge In its depth the district offered me an opportunity to learn about the various procurements methods such as Micro procurement ,Request for Quotation,and Open domestic and international methods this gave me a wider view about procurement which enhanced on my knowledge. Respect As an intern, I got to learn that it’s important to respect yourself and others. It’s important to respect your bosses and fellow interns since doing this makes others to also respect you and this was witnessed whenever the procurement officers called on any officer or intern to do a particular task.
Recording and dispatching contracts committee decisions As a trainee at the district, I learnt how to record incoming decisions and dispatching them to the various departments’ heads, users, evaluation team members I did this through making the required copies which I had to dispatch to the users, permanent secretary and the undersecretary. Self-discipline. As an intern, I also learnt that self-discipline is very important to attain anything more so concerning business for example proper dressing, self-control made all the other procurement officers to feel that am ready for procurement tasks at the districtand to even want to work with me and this made me get close to all the officers hence helping me learn more Effective communication While at the internship I learnt how to communicate effectively to different people and the language to use when communicating plus knowing what to say and how to say it I achieved this through attending meeting with the entire staff and exchanging ideas with them for example I issued out the prequalification bidding documents which enabled me to communicate effectively to bidders. Work ethics I was also able to get to know the work ethics that is to say proper dress code behavior while at work public relations and customer service since I would receive visitors and attend to them accordingly Computer knowledge This training has given me an opportunity to learn about how to use the computer to carry out a number of activities such as drafting award letters attaching files to my email, printing out various procurement forms, using the social media like face book, LinkedIn among others to communicate to bidders Relating theory to practical. It has helped the internee to acquire knowledge and practical experience of the theories learnt in class for example, management of a business like the need to have a work plan for everything that one is going to do, bid opening, communication skills and information technology and communication of the best evaluated bidder. Confidence.
As an intern, I got to learn how to be confident and express opinions with ease. The procurement department put a lot of confidence in me in such a way that I was given an opportunity to explain bidders any information that was regarding to a particular procurement at that time which I did to my level best. 3.2 ExperiencesWork experience The intern gained work experience this was through attending to daily work activities of the organization and doing things like attending to bidders queries taking documents to different ministry departments which enabled me gain work experience. Directing bidders on how to pay for solicitation documents As an intern I got experience in directing bidders on how to apply for bidding documents this was so because I used to do it on a daily basis and helped me to know all the requirements a bidder should possessin order to be able to get the bidding document. Client management The trainee got experience in handling clients and this was through listening and interpreting what they said, responding to their requests and handling their complaints through answering customers’ complaints Evaluation of bids I got experience in evaluation of bids as I evaluated several bids of different procurements this helped me get enough experience as I was also able to know how to prepare an evaluation report.
Filing. I also gained experience in filing of the company documents into their respective files and arranging them in order for example filing of the bidders details who applied for the different procurements and separating them from those that we still in progress Preparing documents for submission The training at the ministry was fruitful in that I prepared and made documents ready for the contracts committee to make its decision here I had to make several copies of the which I had to make before the sitting this enabled me acquire enough experience in preparing submissions. Opening of bids The Intern participated in the opening of bids that were brought in time by the competing firms. It thus helped me acquire experience in bid opening. There was a high level of competition in cases where there were many bidders there were certain procurements which attracted only few bidders making the level of competition minimal.
Dealing with pressure. Dealing with pressure was another experience that the internee gained while doing her internship in the organizations. The internee managed to achieve this through being able to work under pressure and maximum supervision though some officials were rude. 3.3 SkillsCommunication skills Verbal communications were made by the intern through greeting staff and making consultations also I learnt how to use written communication skills through evaluation report writing and writing forwarding memos to different departments within the ministry.
Evaluation of bids The intern got skills in evaluation of bids from the different bidders using the different evaluation methodologies this process aims at selecting a bidder with the required and necessary documents as requested for in the biding documents. Interpersonal skills As an intern I gained interpersonal skills through interacting with different employee in the ministry and also exchanging different ideas with them which helped me to learn more about the ministry and its operations. 3.1 Challenges3.1.1 Organizational challengesInadequate information about the bidders As a trainee I found it hard to trace some of the bidders mainly because of not having enough information about the bidder of where there firms are located this was because firms brought in applications with phone contacts that are not usually on and we found it difficult to communicate to them. Limited space for records storage There was a challenge of limited space at the district which hindered the proper storage of current and semi-current records this resulted into misplacement of different procurement documents. Lack of internet service This was another challenge at the district as we lacked internet services in our made it difficult for the procurement unit to communicate to suppliers via the internet and getting more information about them. Inadequate stationery This was a challenge of not have enough stationery for example file folders markers, pens, papers and tonners which were badly needed in the running of the day to day activities within the procurement department which caused delays in procurements.
Absence of employees This made a lot of work to keep pending as most of the district employees within the different departments of the district could absent themselves even without gene wing reasons yet their signatures are needed to run the day to day activities of the work done within the procurement unit and other department which causes delays in the procurement office. Inadequate facilitation There is a challenge of inadequate funding and facilitation makes it very difficult for the district to purchase vital equipment’s such as material testing equipment which could enhance greatly the performance. 3.1.2 Personal challenges.High transport costs I experienced this challenge since I had to move to the district everyday this costed me a lot yet we did not get any facilitation from there. Language barrier. This was another limitation as the internee would at times find it difficult to communicate to clients who never understood English and interpreting to them was also hard because the internee never knew all the local languages to interpret for them.
Time management. The wanted me at office at exactly 8:00am which would at times not be possible because i was coming from very far to come for work. Work stress. At times, the work would be stressing and working under pressure which would be so exhausting at the end of the day this was so because some of the officers were rude to interns. Cost of food. The cost of food was expensive since the district is stationed in the middle of the town where the cost of buying food or anything to eat was very expensive making it hard for the internee to afford these prices.
Monotony of work. The work that the internee used to do would be repeated for some time without being changed hence making it boring for the internee. CHAPTER FOUR CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS; WAY FORWARD 4.0 IntroductionThis chapter includes the conclusion and recommendations to the ministry, university and student 4.1 ConclusionIn conclusion this attachment program is very important to students since it avails them with practical skills which can be applied in their jobs thus letting them produce effective results and therefore internship should be introduced to all higher institutions of learning so that students are in proper positions to relate theory to field work. As a diploma student, the training has showed me what I expected in the field. It was an opportunity for me to train at the ministry of works and transport and therefore this has offered me a chance to reflect on my future in the field of procurement by putting theory to practice. 4.2 Recommendations4.2.1 Recommendations to Busia District Increasing the number of computers The district should increase on the number of computers from the available three computers to at least two people per computer to fasten procurement activities like monthly performance reports among others so that the tasks can be executed easily.
Provision of identitycards to the interns The district should provide identity cards to the interns to enable them be able to reach out to any place within and outside the district offices this will help to ease the intern’s work whenever he makes visits. Teach employees on importance of field attachment program. The district should teach its employees the importance of field attachment program since most of them provide information to the interns so that the interns are able learn more about the district and the internship training. Provision of allowances to interns. The district should provide allowances to interns to enable them perform organization activities and tasks in time .This will help to increase the interns’ moral while doing internship.
4.2.2 Recommendations to UICT. Teach students how to act during internship The university should continue putting into consideration teaching of students on how to act when they get to the place of work. the institute should take on teaching of students and avail them with the knowledge on how to act at places of work and this should include things like dress code, discipline to mention but a few. Organizing seminars and conferences Should organize seminars and conferences for the company heads and owners aimed at teaching them the importance of the internship training to both companies and the students. This will help to make the field attachment program move meaningful. Facilitating students The University should facilitate the students during internship for example providing free weekly journals and log books that help the students in recording how far they have gone with field work Helping students acquire placements in organizations Need for the department to help students acquire placements in different organization by staying in good relation with the organization they have worked with before as it’s not easy to get internship placements.
4.2.3 Tothe intern.Being open minded. Trainees should have an open mind and be always ready to learn while at work since class work is more theoretical than practical. Knowing what the supervisor expects The internee should have a clear idea of what is expected from the by the supervisor and the organization as a whole thus making it easy to do what is required of them. Positive attitude Trainee should have a positive attitude towards all the challenges faced and opportunities in order to work in the organization with a good reputation. Volunteering Students should learn to volunteer since it’s from volunteering that the organization sects future employees.
