PROCUREMENT AGENT SERVICES Ref: RFP/MOZ/2023/QBS/CDF/06 /

 

 

REPÚBLICA DE MOÇAMBIQUE

MINISTÉRIO DA ECONOMIA E FINANÇAS

GABINETE DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DO COMPACTO II

 

SPECIFIC PROCUREMENT NOTICE

Maputo, Mozambique

July 24, 2023

 

Re: Procurement Agent Services

Ref: RFP/MOZ/2023/QBS/CDF/06

 

 

Background

 

The Government of the Mozambique (the “Government”) has applied for grant funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (“MCC”), called a Compact (the “Compact”), and intends to apply a part of the proceeds of that funding to payments for contracts for goods, works and services. The Government has formed a Compact Development Team (CDT) led by Gabinete do Desenvolvimento do Compacto-II (GDC), for the purpose of developing the Compact. To support these activities, MCC and the Government entered into a grant agreement, dated April 20, 2022, as amended or otherwise modified from time to time (the “CDF Agreement”), whereby MCC granted to the Government an amount not to exceed US$14,900,000 under the authority of Section 609(g) of the Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as amended (the “Act”), to facilitate the development and implementation of a proposed Compact between the United States of America, acting through MCC, and the Government to help accelerate economic growth and poverty reduction in Mozambique. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Compact, the CDF Agreement, related agreements, and the availability of funds, the Government intends to use a portion of the funds to finance professional procurement agent services from a legally constituted firm (“Procurement Agent”, ‘PA” or “Consultant”) to assist the Government with the implementation of the Compact program in a transparent and sound manner. The Procurement Agent will provide support (“Procurement Agent Services” or “Agency Services”) in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in an agreement (the “Procurement Agent Agreement”, “PA Agreement” or “PAA”), a form of which is attached to this Request for Proposals (“RFP”) in Section VI.

 

In issuing this RFP, the Government is represented by the Gabinete do Desenvolvimento do Compacto-II (GDC), which will continue to represent the Government in matters related to the Compact and the Procurement Agent Agreement until such time as the Government establishes the Millennium Challenge Account-Moçambique (“MCA-Moçambique”) to serve as the accountable entity for implementing the Compact. Prior to the establishment of MCA-Moçambique, any references to actions taken or rights received on behalf of MCA-Moçambique in this RFP, including in the Form of Contract, shall be taken or received by GDC on behalf of the Republic of Mozambique, and (ii) any references herein to MCA-Moçambique shall be deemed to mean the Compact Development Team, or GDC during this period.

 

MCC is a U.S. government agency focused on assisting countries dedicated to good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people. The proposed Compact includes investment from MCC of approximately US $500 million and a contribution of approximately $37.5 million from the Government. The Procurement Agent will be required to manage the procurements financed by funding contributed by MCC and any cash portion of the Government’s contribution. For details, please refer to Annex II of the Compact and Annex III of the Program Implementation Agreement (“PIA”) to be entered into between MCC and the Government.  MCC website links to these documents will be provided after Compact signing.

 

 

The Compact

The proposed Compact has identified Zambezia, a highly impoverished province, as a target area for investment. In Zambezia, we will work to promote inclusive economic growth, climate and coastal resilience, and improved quality/access to public services and infrastructure through the following three projects:

 

Connectivity and Rural Transport

• Improve road transport by providing climate-smart, sustainable, and cost-effective road transport connectivity, enabling increased economic activities and improved access to basic social services.
• Significant reform to the Road Maintenance system – from collections to allocations, distribution, and execution.

 

Promoting Reform and Investment in Agriculture Project

• Fiscal reforms to improve the business enabling environment with a specific focus on tax reform to catalyze greater private investment in inclusive commercial agriculture.
• Agriculture grant facility to incentivize private investment by commercial aggregators, processors, and value chain improvement.

 

Integrated Climate Management and Coastal Development

• Improved livelihoods of coastal communities, fisheries promotion, marine economies, and community-led management practices.
• Conservation, reforestation, marine research, and blue carbon credits

 

Invitation and Selection Procedure

 

MCA-Moçambique will require the Agent Services of the Procurement Agent for a base period of at least twelve (12) months which may be extended (“Base Period”) for Fees as defined in the Procurement Agent Agreement. Thereafter, the GDC will require five (5) 12-month option periods (“Option/s” or “Option Period/s”) for Agency Services and Fees as negotiated before each Option is exercised consistent with the terms in the PA Agreement. However, the final Option Period (Option Period 5) may be more that or less than 12 months and will include a 120-day period after the expiration of the Compact.

 

This Request for Proposals, the RFP, follows the General Procurement Notice that appeared in dgMarket, UNDB Online and other websites on April 26, 2023.  

The GDC now invites proposals from legally constituted firms and organizations to provide the Procurement Agent Services (“Proposals”). More details on these Agency Services are provided in the Terms of Reference in Section V of this RFP.

 

This RFP is open to all eligible entities (“Consultants” or “Agents”) who wish to respond. Subject to restrictions noted in the RFP, Consultants may associate with other Consultants to enhance their capacity to successfully carry out the assignment.

 

Important notice: To avoid giving an insurmountable competitive advantage to Consultants that have provided or are currently providing Procurement Agent Services to an MCA Entity funded by MCC, Consultants will not be evaluated and rated on the extent of their technical experience.  A Consultant’s technical experience will be reviewed as a qualification requirement only. Any Consultant that is a party to an MCA Entity Procurement Agent Agreement as of the issue date of this RFP will be deemed technically qualified without further review. A Consultant that is not currently a party to an MCA Entity Procurement Agent Agreement must provide evidence demonstrating that it meets or exceeds every mandatory qualification requirement as set out in this RFP. The qualification process will result in a yes or no determination. If the Consultant does not satisfy the qualification requirements, its Proposal will be rejected without further review and evaluation. If the Consultant is determined qualified and eligible, its Proposal will be evaluated according to criteria set out in this RFP at Section III.

 

A Consultant will be selected under the Quality-Based Selection (“QBS”) method, the evaluation procedure of which is described in Section III of the RFP in accordance with the “MCC Program Procurement Guidelines” (“PPG”) provided on the MCC website (www.mcc.gov/ppg). The selection process, as described, will include a review of past performance, reference checks, methodology for providing home office support and the qualifications of the proposed Procurement Agent Manager. The CVs of additional staff plus Forms TECH 8, 9 and 10 will be requested after the selection of the best qualified Consultant and will be subject to acceptance and approval by the MCA Entity during negotiations.  If negotiations fail for financial or technical reasons with this or any next ranked Consultant, the MCA Entity reserves the right to invite the next ranked Consultant to negotiations or it can determine to cancel the procurement. The Procurement Agent Agreement will be in the form of a Time-Based Contract as authorized at Part 11 of the PPG.

 

Request for Proposals: Parts and Sections

 

The RFP includes the following Parts and Sections:

 

PART 1 – PROPOSAL AND SELECTION PROCEDURES

Section I         Instructions to Consultants (“ITC”)        

This section provides information to help Consultants prepare their Proposals; it also provides information on the submission, opening, and evaluation of Proposals and on the award of the proposed Procurement Agent Agreement.

Section II        Proposal Data Sheet (“PDS”)           

This section includes provisions that are specific to this procurement and that supplement Section I, Instructions to Consultants.

Section III      Qualification Requirements and Evaluation Criteria

This section specifies the mandatory qualifications requirements of the Consultant and the criteria to be used to evaluate Technical Proposals.

Section IV A  Technical Proposal Forms

This section provides the Technical Proposal Forms that Consultants are to complete and submit as specified in this RFP.

Section IV B   Financial Proposal Forms

This section provides the Financial Proposal Forms that the Consultants are to complete and submit with their Proposals.

Section V        Terms of Reference

This Section includes the detailed Terms of Reference that describe the nature, tasks, and duties of the Agency Services to be procured.

 

PART 2 – CONTRACT FORMS

Section VI      Contract Agreement, Exhibits and Annexes

This section contains the draft form of the PA Agreement, including annexes, into which the MCA Entity proposes to enter with the successful Consultant.

 

Request RFP and Submission of Proposals

 

Consultants interested in receiving the RFP and submitting a Proposal should register using the following link: https://forms.office.com/e/NxT9minZ0D. Consultants should provide their correct email contact details. This will ensure that the Consultants receive updates regarding this RFP.

 

Please note that a Pre-Proposal Conference will be held as described in the Proposal Data Sheet (“PDS”), Section II of the RFP. Attendance at the Pre-Proposal Conference is not mandatory but is strongly advised for all interested Consultants or their representatives.

 

Proposals must be delivered electronically to the address and in the manner specified in the PDS ITC 17, no later than 5:00pm SAST (GMT+2), August 16, 2023. Late Proposals will not be accepted under any circumstances.

 

Please note that only electronic Proposals will be accepted.

 

 

 

Yours sincerely,

Higino Francisco de Marrule

National Coordinator

Gabinete do Desenvolvimento do Compacto-II, Mozambique