Request For Technical And Financial Proposals : Consultancy Services To Review The Draft Investment Policy (Ip) Of The Comesa Competition Commission And Facilitate Due Diligence And Appointment Of A Money Market Fund Manager

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Consultancy Services to Conduct Training of Members of Staff Responsible for Competition and Consumer Protection in the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration in Ethiopia, Development of a Strategic Plan on the Enforcement of Competition and Consumer Protection Laws and the Review and Amendment of National Competition and Consumer Protection Laws

CCC/RFP/1/1/2023

Click here to download the full details regarding the Request for Proposal: CCC/RFP/1/1/2023

I. BACKGROUND

1. The COMESA Competition Commission (“the Commission”) is a regional body corporate established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations 2004 (“the Regulations”) promulgated under Article 55 of the Treaty Establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (“COMESA”). The Commission has the legal capacity required for the performance of its functions under the Regulations in the territory of each COMESA Member State.

2. The Commission’s core mandate is to promote and encourage competition by preventing restrictive business practices and other restrictions that deter the efficient operation of markets, thereby enhancing the welfare of the consumers in the Common Market, and to protect consumers against offensive conduct by market actors. The Regulations apply to all economic activities whether conducted by private or public persons within or having an effect within the Common Market. Such conduct includes anti-competitive business practices, agreements, mergers & acquisitions, and consumer protection violations which have an appreciable effect on trade between Member States and which restrict competition in the Common Market. The Regulations also specifically prohibit all agreements between undertakings, decisions by associations of undertakings and concerted practices as incompatible with the Common Market in so far as they may affect trade between Member States and have as their object or effect the prevention, restriction and distortion of competition within the Common Market.

3. The Commission’s mandate as provided under Article 7 of the Regulations amongst others include:

3.1. Help Member States promote national competition laws and institutions, with the objective of the harmonisation of those national laws with the regional Regulations to achieve uniformity of interpretation and application of competition law and policy within the Common Market;

3.2. Co-operate with competition authorities in Member States;

3.3. Co-operate and assist Member States in the implementation of its decisions; and

3.4. Provide support to Member States in promoting and protecting consumer welfare.

4. Ethiopia is one of the 21 COMESA Member States which enacted the Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Proclamation No.813/2013 in 2014 (TCCPP No.813.2013) for the purpose of protecting markets from anti-competitive and unfair market practices as well as consumers from unfair trading conditions. An institution namely the Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Authority (TCCPA) was also set up to enforce the law. Other laws enforced by the institution included the Trade Practice and Consumer Protection Proclamation No 685/2010. However, in March 2022, Proclamation No.1263/2021 was enacted which transferred the powers and liabilities of the TCCPA to the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration (MoTRI). Under section 22 of Proclamation No.1263/2021, MoTRI has powers and duties to:

i. Perform trade competition and consumer protection functions; (Section 22(o))

ii. “Implement powers and duties, other than adjudication, entrusted to Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Authority under the Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Authority Proclamation No.813/2013”; (Section 22(q)).

5. Further, under Section 105 (4) of Proclamation No.1263/2021, the provisions of the laws relating to the establishment of the TCCPA under the TCCPP No.813.2013 became inapplicable while their rights and obligations were transferred to MoTRI as stipulated under Section 106 of the same Proclamation.

6. Following the changes in the institutional set up relating to the enforcement of competition and consumer protection laws and the changes in officers to enforce the law, there is need to conduct intensive training for members of staff on the enforcement of competition and consumer protection law. To support the effective enforcement of competition and consumer protection laws under MoTRI, there is need to develop a Strategic Plan that will guide the enforcement of the law.

7. There is further need to review and propose amendments to the national competition and consumer protection laws. Ethiopia as a COMESA Member State appreciates that the main objective for the regulation of competition and consumer protection by public authorities is to promote and ensure competitive markets at national level and protect consumers in the Common Market in accordance with Article 55 of the COMESA Treaty. Member States have the obligation to take necessary measures to establish a Common Market based on the four fundamental principles namely: the free movement of goods, the free movement of persons, the free movement of services and the free movement of capital. However, to achieve sustained and effective economic integration, there should be a movement towards the harmonisation of legal rules. It is within this framework that the national competition and consumer protection laws in Ethiopia need to be reviewed and amended.

8. Premised on the foregoing, the Commission and Ethiopia Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration, (hereafter referred as MoTRI) is seeking to engage a Consultant to assist Ethiopia in training members of staff undertaking work on competition and consumer protection matters in MoTRI, Assist MoTRI in the development of the Strategic Plan and Review and amend the national competition and consumer protection laws.

II. OBJECTIVES OF CONSULTANCY SERVICES

9. The main objectives of the Consultancy services are as follows:

i. To provide training to members of staff of MoTRI responsible for enforcing the competition and consumer protection laws. The training is expected to build the capacity of the members of staff in effectively enforcing the laws.

ii. To develop a five year strategic plan which will guide MoTRI on the implementation of the competition and consumer protection laws.

iii. To analyse all the legal provisions of the competition and consumer protection laws and the competition and consumer protection policy that currently exist at national level and propose amendments to the laws that ensure that the laws meet the standards of international best practice, are consistent with other Ethiopian laws on the subject and that they take into account Government policy. The amendments are also expected to harmonise the Ethiopian competition and consumer protection laws with the Regulations in order to achieve uniformity of interpretation of the two laws.

III. SCOPE OF THE CONSULTANCY SERVICES

10. To fulfil the purpose and objectives of the Consultancy Services, the Consultant is expected to perform the following non-exhaustive undertakings:

REVIEW AND AMENDMENT OF THE COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS

10.1. Review the current competition and consumer protection legislation and recommend the necessary amendments.

10.2. Harmonise and modernise the legal provisions on competition and consumer protection at national and regional level;

10.3. Recognise and expressly give legal effect to the COMESA Competition Regulations in Ethiopia;

10.4. Hold consultative meeting(s) (whether in-person or virtually) with the stakeholders and, where deemed relevant, with the Commission and MoTRI and specified stakeholders in order to gather their preliminary views on the national competition and consumer protection policy, law review process and amendment;

10.5. Hold a validation workshop for the adoption of the recommended amendments of the review of the law.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIVE (5) YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN

10.6. Review the current enforcement of the competition and consumer protection laws in Ethiopia and develop a logical framework in line with outputs of programmes by specific units.

10.7. Conduct interviews with staff and any other relevant stakeholders to ascertain the challenges faced in implementing the competition and consumer protection laws and what actions have been taken to address these challenges.

10.8. Develop a Strategic Plan that will ensure the effective enforcement of the national and regional competition and consumer protection laws in Ethiopia.

TRAINING FOR MEMBERS OF STAFF

10.9. Be attached to MoTRI for at least 3 months to provide hands on training to the members of staff of MoTRI responsible for enforcing competition and consumer protection law, the training will include the following:
i. Investigations and assessment of national and regional merger transactions in line with the national and regional competition laws.
ii. Investigations and assessment of anti-competitive business practices in line with the national and regional competition laws.
iii. Investigations and assessment of consumer protection violations in line with the national and regional consumer protection laws.
iv. Undertaking market inquiries and studies within Ethiopia.
v. Anything incidental or connected to the foregoing.

IV. EXPECTED RESULTS

11. To attain the objectives, the Consultant, under the supervision of the Commission and MoTRI are expected to come up with the following results:

REVIEW AND AMENDMENT OF THE COMPETITION AND CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWS
11.1. The national legislation on competition and consumer protection reviewed, necessary amendments drafted;

11.2. The relevant stakeholders consulted for their views and input into the amendments to the law;

11.3. The national competition and consumer protection legislation updated and harmonised with the COMESA Competition Regulations to ensure consistency;

11.4. The COMESA Competition law recognised and given legal effect in Ethiopia;

11.5. The necessary draft amendments to the national competition and consumer protection law prepared.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FIVE (5) YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN
11.6. The current enforcement of the competition and consumer protection laws in Ethiopia reviewed and a logical framework developed.

11.7. Interviews with staff and any other relevant stakeholders to ascertain the challenges faced in implementing the competition and consumer protection laws and what actions have been taken to address these challenges undertaken.

11.8. Strategic Plan to ensure the effective enforcement of the competition and consumer protection law in Ethiopia developed.

TRAINING FOR MEMBERS OF STAFF

11.9. Member of staff responsible for enforcing the competition and consumer protection laws under MoTRI trained in:

i. Investigations and assessment of national and regional merger transactions in line with the national and regional competition laws.
ii. Investigations and assessment of anti-competitive business practices in line with the national and regional competition laws.
iii. Investigations and assessment of consumer protection violations in line with the national and regional consumer protection laws.
iv. Undertaking market inquiries and studies within Ethiopia.
v. Attending to matters that are incidental or connected to the foregoing.

Click here to download the full details regarding the Request for Proposal: CCC/RFP/1/1/2023

Call for Applications for Two Professional Posts of the COMESA Competition Commission

The COMESA Competition Commission is looking to recruit suitably qualified nationals of the COMESA Member States to fill two professional posts tenable at the Commission in Lilongwe, Malawi as follows:

Receipt of Applications

Applications MUST be submitted through the Coordinating Ministries of the respective Member States on the prescribed COMESA APPLICATION FORM which can be accessed at the following COMESA website: COMESA Jobs – Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)

Applications submitted directly to the Commission will not be considered and only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Only applicants who are staff members of the COMESA Competition Commission can submit their applications directly to the Commission. Further, applications not submitted with the COMESA Application forms shall not be considered.

Format and Final Date of Applications

Applications must be submitted to COMESA Coordinating Ministries of the respective Member States. The Coordinating Ministries for each Member States can be accessed on the following link of the Commission’s Website: https://www.comesacompetition.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Revised-COMESA-COORDINATING-MINISTRIES-21-MS.pdf

Applicants should submit their applications to the COMESA Coordinating Ministries of respective Member States either physically or electronically.

The applications MUST reach the Coordinating Ministries by Friday, 17 February 2023.  Accordingly, short-listing reports from the Coordinating Ministries attaching all the relevant documents of the successful candidates should reach the address below by Friday, 3 March 2023. Submissions from the Coordinating Ministries to the COMESA Competition Commission can be made physically or via email or both. Submissions without short-listing reports from the Coordinating Ministries shall immediately upon receipt be disqualified.

More information can be found below:

Advert of the Call for Application in English  / COMESA-Job-Application-Form in English

Advert for Call for Application in Arabic    / COMESA-Job-Application-Form in Arabic

Advert of the Call for Application in French / COMESA-Job-Application Form in French

NOTE: Applications MUST be submitted through the Coordinating Ministries of the respective Member States. Click here to access the contact details of the Coordinating Ministries.

Click here to download the English version of the application form.

Click here to download the Arabic version of the application form.

Click here to download the French version of the application form.

The Director and Chief Executive Officer,

COMESA Competition Commission,

Kangombe House, 5^th Floor,

P.O. Box 30742,

Lilongwe 3,

MALAWI

Email: compcom@comesa.int

Request for Technical and Financial Proposals for Consultancy Services for the Development of Risk Management Framework and Review of Internal Controls of COMESA Competition Commission (CCC)

RFP REFERENCE:  CCC/RFP/11/07/2022

1. BACKGROUND

The COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) is established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations (“the Regulations”). The Regulations were promulgated by the COMESA Council of Ministers (“the Council”) in 2004 under Article 55 of the COMESA Treaty (“the Treaty”).

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Regulations, the Commission is mandated to promote and encourage competition within the Common Market by, inter alia, preventing restrictive business practices that deter the efficient operation of markets thereby facilitating the regional integration agenda. The ultimate goal of the Regulations is to enhance the welfare of consumers in the Common Market by protecting them against anti-competitive conduct by market actors. The Commission’s core focus areas under the Regulations include investigation of anti-competitive business practices and conduct; mergers and acquisitions; and consumer rights violations. In order to implement its mandate under the Regulations, the Commission regularly engages and cooperates with the Member States through sensitization, advocacy programmes, capacity building, technical assistance and provision of advisory opinions.

The Board of Commissioners of COMESA Competition Commission approved a Risk Policy in April 2019 to ensure effort is made by the Commission to manage risk appropriately, to maximise potential opportunities and minimise the adverse effects of risk. The Commission is mindful that it has grown in recent years and that there is need to review it risk management framework by reviewing the provisions of the current risk policy and implementing them thereafter.

2. OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The first objective of the assignment is to develop a Risk Management Framework that incorporates the requirements of the provisions of the Risk Policy such as risk register, detailed risk assessment guidelines and risk mitigation measures. The second objective is to review the internal processes of CCC and evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls. The assignment will focus on the following specific areas:

a) Develop CCC’s risk management framework (this involves the review of the Risk Policy and development of the terms of reference for the Risk and Audit Committee of the Board).

b) Review internal processes and evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of CCC’s internal controls
The Consultant should develop a risk management framework that will provide a foundation for designing, implementing, monitoring, reviewing and continually improving risk management processes of the Commission. The consultant will also review internal processes and the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls in relation to the changes that the Commission has undergone (from inception in 2013 to date) in order to increase organisational performance through improved processes and efficient use resources.

The Consultant’s report and its recommendations will be presented to the CCC Risk and Audit Committee through the Director and Chief Executive Officer for their consideration and adoption.

3. SCOPE OF WORK AND TASKS
The consultant will adopt the Comprehensive Assessment Model (CAM) in carrying this assignment. CAM is an innovative methodology that provides for integrated assurance. This assurance is based on the evaluation of internal controls and the risk management processes, considering all pertinent business and governance objectives, through a unified and unique assessment approach. CAM brings together a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, internal controls, and governance processes.

The consultant will carry out the following specific tasks:

3.1 Develop a risk management framework for CCC

3.1.1 Review the Risk Policy for CCC and propose updates and amendments to align it with internal and external developments

3.1.2 Develop detailed risk assessment guidelines that enhances uniformity in risk identification, evaluation, and prioritization. This will be followed by coordinated and economical application of resources to mitigate and monitor the probability or impact of the risks.

3.1.3 Identify the risks (both corporate/strategic and operational] that can affect CCC. This will involve determining risks that could potentially prevent CCC from achieving its objectives and documenting their characteristics.

3.1.4 Perform an in-depth analysis of the risks identified in 3.1.3 in order to determine their severity. The Consultant is expected to adopt both the qualitative (subjective tools and techniques, based on the experience and professional judgement of the Consultant, used to decide which risks to focus on) and quantitative (objective tools and techniques that use numerical analyses to assess the impact of a risk) techniques in determining the severity of the risks.

3.1.5 Develop appropriate responses to CCC’s risks and clearly advising management on the best option of managing the risks out of the four categories of risk treatment [avoidance (eliminate, withdraw from or not become involved), reduction (optimize – mitigate), sharing (transfer – outsource or insure), retention (accept and budget)]

3.2 Perform an evaluation of the existing internal controls

The Consultant will perform the evaluation with guidance from the Comprehensive Assessment Model and these will be done in three major categories as follows:

3.2.1 Evaluate the design of the internal controls

The evaluation of the adequacy of the design of the internal control system must consider the relevance of addressed control objectives and the attributes of the controls designed to achieve them. The Consultant must evaluate the internal control system of CCC against:

a) Relevance: the level to which the control activity addresses the pertinent control objective under analysis
b) Timeliness: how long it takes for controls to respond to negative events.
c) Strength: the strength of a control is determined by a series of factors that influence the probability of control effectiveness should related risks arise

• Discretion: the level to which the control is discretional or subjective, that is, if it is based on strict standards versus human judgment
• Segregation: the level of control segregation that goes beyond the well-known concept of separation of roles and duties between process activities
• Independence: the independence element measures the capability of the control owner to manage resources (technical, human, informational, economic) so that the control is most effective, acquiring or integrating resources as needed
• Integrative control factor (integration): the degree and manner in which the control reinforces other control processes for the same objective
• Automation: the degree to which control process are activated by automated systems (information systems, mechanical devices) that reduce errors derived from human behavior
• Adaptability: how adaptable the control is to fluctuating volumes of activity (i.e. if the control is susceptible to the volatility of the controlled activities, it is less effective)
• Traceability: how traceable the control is, which allows it to be verified subsequently in all respects

d) Coverage: the level in which all significant risks are addressed.

3.2.2 Evaluate the performance of the internal controls

After determining the adequacy of the internal controls, the Consultant will evaluate the performance of the controls by performing the following:

• The availability of financial, technological, or human resources needed to perform the controls is satisfactory
• Compliance to the controls as designed, assuming the controls are considered adequate. This includes compliance with laid down procedures and the governance mechanisms in place.
• The results of activities in place to monitor and measure possible residual risks; this ascertains the degree to which control objectives are not reached (i.e. related either to risk management policies or inadequate controls)

3.2.3 Evaluation of the controls’ cost-effectiveness

Evaluation of the controls’ cost-effectiveness will be performed after the assessment of the design and performance. The main objective is to determine the reasonableness of the overall balance between effectiveness of controls and the cost of controls. The consultant will perform the following assessments:

• Losses, damages, or penalties, and/or lost income arising from risk events
• Cost of the resolution of risk events, which varies in relation to the actions needed to limit the impact of negative events that occur. These include internal costs to restore a situation (for example, reprocessing or reperformance costs and advertisement costs to recover from reputational damage).

4. EXPECTED OUTPUTS

4.1 An updated risk policy for CCC

4.2 Detailed risk assessment guidelines that give clear guidance on risk identification, measurement (development of assessment criteria), recording, risk evaluation (ranking based on probability and impact), responses and continuous monitoring (specifying review intervals)

4.3 Risk register which will be used as a risk management tool to fulfil regulatory compliance with the Risk Policy. The risk register will be a repository for all risks identified and includes additional information about each risk, e.g., nature of the risk, reference and owner, mitigation measures). Specifically, the following items have to be included in the risk register:

a) Two distinct sections for corporate/strategic risks (risks that affect the achievement of the Commission’s mandate) and operational risks (risks that are related to the day-to-day delivery of divisional operations).

b) Each section in a) above should have the following subsections: governance, financial, political, legal, regulatory, information and technology and human resources

c) Each risk should have the following details: identification number, brief description, category (internal or external), probability, impact, rating, required action and responsible person

4.4 Evaluation report on the internal controls of CCC. The report should contain, recommendations on the design of the internal controls, functioning and performance of the internal controls and the cost-benefit analysis of the controls.

5. GEOGRAPHICAL SCOPE

The consultant will be expected to carry out the assignment in Lilongwe; Malawi at the COMESA Competition Commission offices in Kang’ombe Building. This consultancy entails the review of the Commission’s internal controls among other things which may not be properly undertaken virtually. The consultant is therefore expected to undertake this exercise largely physically.

6. METHODOLOGY

The consultant will perform the assignment by conducting interviews with CCC staff and reviewing documentation at the CCC offices. A DRAFT report shall be shared with CCC Director and Chief Executive Officer for review and comments before being finalized.

7. PERIOD OF EXECUTION

The period of execution of the contract starts from the date of the signing of the contract and is estimated to take 60 calendar days from the date of contract signing by the last party.

The table below shows the expected activities and the timeline for the assignment.

8. DELIVERABLES

a) Updated CCC Risk Policy
b) Guidelines for Risk Management Process
c) Risk Register
d) Terms of Reference for the Risk and Audit Committee of the Board
e) Evaluation Report on Internal Controls

9. PRICING

9.1 All prices MUST be indicated in Unites States Dollars.

9.2 There will be no price variation contract after signing of the contract except upon mutual written agreement between the Commission and the successful bidders.

9.3 Financial Proposal: The bidder should identify rates which should be valid for the entire length of the assignment in United States Dollars (USD).

9.4 The financial proposal to be provided should be exclusive of any form of taxes or charges to be imposed by the Government of Malawi or the local government of the bidder in COMESA Member States.

10. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

The Consultant shall be paid a lump sum amount for this assignment.

Payment to be made according to the payment schedule on the table below.

11. EXPERTISE REQUIRED

CCC is seeking applications from suitably qualified consultants. The consultant should have extensive experience in developing risk management frameworks and evaluation of internal controls. The consultant should possess an understanding of the Comprehensive Assessment Model for evaluating internal controls.
The consultants may include individuals, firms or consortium of consultants.
The consultant should have a minimum of the following competencies and qualifications:

11.1 Core and Technical Competencies:

• A good understanding of the mission, objectives and operations of CCC or similar organizations
• Good understanding of the Comprehensive Assessment Model and the techniques of risk management and internal controls evaluation
• Experience in review and evaluation of internal controls and development of risk management frameworks
• Excellent communication, negotiation and drafting skills.

11.2 Qualifications of the Consultant

• Professional: The consultant shall possess either of the following qualifications; Certified Public Accountants (CPA), Chartered Certified Accountants, Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). A combination of any of these shall be an added advantage.
• Academic: Advanced degree in Business, Finance or Strategic planning. A combination of any of these shall be an added advantage.
• Work Experience: Minimum 10 years relevant work experience at regional or international level in the field of Audit in the following disciplines:
• ICT Audits
• Performance Audits
• Internal Control
• Review of Financial Statements
• Demonstrated list of at least three complimentary or similar assignments performed by the Consultant.

12. REPORTING AND MANAGEMENT

The consultant will work under the overall management and supervision of the Director and Chief Executive Officer. The Director and Chief Executive Officer will provide quality assurance and ensure that the documentation produced is reviewed and approved. The Director and Chief Executive Officer will ensure that the Consultant receives all relevant documentation with respect to the assignment necessary for the execution of his/her tasks.

13. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS
Consultants must provide both Technical and Financial proposals. The evaluation shall be based on the following attributes:

13.1 The overall responsiveness and quality of the proposal clearly stating an understanding of the work to be performed.

13.2 Technical ability of the proposer to perform the required services;

13.3 The experience and reputation of the proposer as represented in the response and the quality of references

13.4 Costs of services, fees and expenses will be particularly important factor when all other evaluation criteria are relatively equal.
The technical proposal will be assigned a weight of 80% and the financial proposal will be weighted at 20%

Table 1: Criteria for Overall Technical Evaluation

A proposal shall be considered unsuitable and shall be rejected at the technical stage if it does not respond to important aspects of the Terms of Reference and/or it fails to achieve a minimum technical score of 70%.

14. EVALUATION AND COMPARISON OF PROPOSALS

To assist in the examination, evaluation and comparison of proposals, CCC may ask the consultants for clarification of their proposals. The request for clarification and the response shall be in writing and no change in price or substance of the Proposal shall be sought, offered or permitted.

CCC will examine the proposals to determine whether they are complete, whether any computational errors have been made, whether the documents have been properly signed, and whether the proposals are generally in order. If there is a discrepancy between words and figures, the amount in words will prevail.

Prior to the detailed evaluation, CCC will determine the substantial responsiveness of each proposal to the Request for Proposals (RFP). For purposes of these Clauses, a substantially responsive proposal is one, which conforms to all the terms and conditions of the RFP without material deviations. CCC’s determination of a proposal’s responsiveness is based on the contents of the proposal itself without recourse to extrinsic evidence.

A proposal determined as not substantially responsive will be rejected by CCC and may not subsequently be made responsive by the consultant by correction of the non-conformity.

15. BID SUBMISSION

15.1 The proposals must be submitted with the following:

a) Updated CV for the Consultant/s including contacts: e-mail and telephone numbers
b) Covering letter and proposal detailing their understanding of the assignment and highlighting experience and expertise in similar works as well as a detailed approach and methodology for carrying out the assignment including an outline of the supporting documents/ projects and their references.
c) Certified copies of academic and professional qualifications.

15.2 The consultants should also confirm and provide evidence that:

a. they have the legal capacity to enter into the contract
b. they are not insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up. Their business activities have not been suspended, and they are not the subject of legal proceedings for any of the foregoing;
c. they have fulfilled their obligations to pay taxes and social security contributions, and for that purpose, documentary evidence to be provided by the relevant authorities to demonstrate that the bidders have met their obligations;
d. that their servants, or agents have not offered any inducement to any employees of the Commission

16. AMENDMENTS OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENT

At any time prior to the deadline for submission of proposals, the Commission may, for any reason, modify the Proposal documents by issuing an addendum.

17. COST OF TENDER

The consultant shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of the proposal. The Commission will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct and outcome of the tender.

18. CANCELLATION OF TENDER

In the event of cancellation of the tender, bidders will be notified in writing of the cancellation by the Commission. Upon request, the Commission shall communicate to any bidder the grounds for its rejection. However, the Commission is not obliged to justify those grounds.

19. OWNERSHIP OF TENDERS

20. The Commission retains ownership of all tenders received under this Request for Bids. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their tenders returned to them. NEGOTIATION AND FINALISATION

After the selection of the best proposal and notification to the selected party, the Commission will commence negotiations with that party for purposes of concluding an agreement.

21. AWARD OF CONTRACT

Prior to expiration of the period of bid validity, the Procurement Committee will award the contract to the qualified Bidder whose proposal after being evaluated is considered to be the most responsive to the needs of the organization and activity concerned.
The Commission reserves the right to wholly or partially reject or award the contract to any bidder and has no obligation to award this tender to the highest ranked bidder.
The Commission also reserves the right to annul the Bid process and reject all Bids at any time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected Bidder(s).

22. SIGNING OF CONTRACT

Within 14 days of receipt of the contract the successful Consultant shall sign and date the contract and return it to the Commission.

23. CONFIDENTIALITY

Information relating to evaluation of bids and recommendations concerning awards, shall NOT be disclosed to the Bidders who submitted the bids or to other persons not officially concerned with the process, until the winning firm has been notified that it has been awarded the contract.

24. CORRUPT AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES

The Commission requires that Bidders observe the highest standard of ethics during the procurement and executions of contracts.
For the purposes of this provision, COMESA defines the terms set forth below as follows:

a. “corrupt practice” means the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting of anything of value to influence the action of a public official in the procurement process or in contract execution: and

b. “fraudulent practice” means a misrepresentation of facts in order to influence a procurement process or the execution of a contract to the detriment of the Commission, and includes collusive practice among Bidders (prior to or after bid submission) designed to establish bid prices at artificial non-competitive levels and to deprive the Commissionof the benefits of free and open competition.

25. FORMAT AND SEALING OF PROPOSALS

25.1 The bidder shall submit the proposal in one envelope containing two sealed envelopes by the closing date set forth below through courier services, hand delivery or electronic submission to the following address:

The Chairperson – Procurement Committee
COMESA Competition Commission
5th Floor Kang’ombe House
P.O. Box 30742
Lilongwe
MALAWI
Tel: (265) 1 772466
Email: compcom@comesa.int

25.2 Electronic submission of proposals shall be submitted by the closing date, in a PDF password protected format which you will have to provide the password during the tender opening scheduled for Tuesday, 13 December 2022 at 15:00 hours to the following email address: compcom@comesa.int.

25.3 The outer envelope should be clearly marked at the top right-hand corner with the (TENDER REFERENCE AND TITLE).

25.4 The first internal sealed envelope shall be clearly marked “Technical Proposal” and must contain two (2) hard copies of the technical proposal with one marked ‘original’ and the other marked ‘copy’. The second internal envelope shall be marked “Financial Proposal” and must contain two hard copies of the financial proposal with one marked ‘original’ and the other marked ‘copy’. In the event of any discrepancy between the original and the copy, the original shall govern. NOTE: If the envelopes are not sealed and marked as per the instructions in this clause, the Commission will not assume responsibility for the proposal’s misplacement or premature opening and may – at its discretion – reject the proposal.

NOTE: If envelops are not sealed and marked as per instructions in this clause, the Commission will not assume responsibility for the proposal’s misplacement or premature opening and – at its discretion – reject the proposal.

26. DEADLINE AND SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

The deadline for submission of proposals is 13:00 hours Malawi Time on Tuesday, 13 December 2022 Bidders are invited to attend the virtual opening of the bids scheduled to be held on Tuesday, 13 December 2022 at 15:00 hours Malawi Time.
Any proposal received by the Commission after the deadline for submission of proposals shall be rejected. There shall be no exception to this requirement.

The Commission does not bind itself to accept any proposal and reserves the right to accept the whole or partially any of the submitted proposals. Further may not justify the reasons for rejection of the proposal pursuant to Rule 13 (1) of the COMESA Competition Commission Procurement Rules of November 2019.

27. TECHNICAL QUERIES

For any technical queries related to specification of works or Terms of Reference, kindly contact the Procurement Unit on the following email: compcom@comesa.int

CLICK HERE TO FIND THE ANNEXS IN THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Call for Expression of Interest: Consultancy Services for the Development of Tender Documentation for the Designing, Construction and Supervision of the COMESA Competition Commission Office Building and Other Aspects Related to the Project

REFERENCE NUMBER: CCC/REOI/10/01/2022
PROCUREMENT ENTITY: COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION
LOCATION: LILONGWE, MALAWI
OCTOBER 2022

1. The COMESA Competition Commission (the “Commission”) is inviting individual Consultants and Firms to submit Expressions of Interest for the following:

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TENDER DOCUMENTATION FOR THE DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTION AND SUPERVISION OF THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION OFFICE BUILDING AND OTHER ASPECTS RELATED TO THE PROJECT
The procurement method used for this call for Expression of Interest is Request for Proposals as defined in the COMESA Competition Commission Procurement Rules.

2. The Expression of Interest is open to individual Consultants and/or Firms who satisfy the eligibility requirements as stated in the Terms of Reference (ToRs)
3. Purpose of this Expression of Interest –This Call for Expression of Interest targets Consultants (individuals and firms) from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (the “Common Market”) to offer consultancy services as described in this document. Applicants fulfilling the evaluation criteria will be shortlisted to submit full proposals for rendering services described in this Expression of Interest document.

4. Submission of Expression of Interest – The Expression of Interests shall be submitted on or before the Deadline either by (i) e-mail and/or (ii) hand delivery, registered mail or courier service.

The Deadline for the submission of Expression of Interests at the address and email address indicated below is 18 November 2022 at 13:00 Hours Malawi Local Time.

                COMESA Competition Commission

                Procurement Unit

                Kang’ombe House, Floor 5

                P O Box 30742

                Lilongwe

                Malawi

                E-mail: agmkandawire@comesa.int; with a copy to:  compcom@comesa.int

This deadline applies to both electronic submission (e-mail) and/or hand delivered, registered mail or courier service. Expression of Interests received after the deadline will be automatically rejected, and there shall be no exception on this.

The Expression of Interest shall indicate the reference number of the call and the name of the Applicant and shall bear the subject:

“EXPRESSION OF INTEREST – CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TENDER DOCUMENTATION FOR THE DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTION AND SUPERVISION OF THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION OFFICE BUILDING AND OTHER ASPECTS RELATED TO THE PROJECT (REF: CCC/REOI/10/01/2022)”.

All notifications concerning this procurement process, including modification of the results of the evaluation of the EXPRESSION OF INTEREST or cancellation notices, will be published on the COMMISSION’s website: https://www.comesacompetition.org/

5. Interested individual Consultants and/or Firms may seek clarification or/and additional information concerning this call, only in writing and by latest 12 November 2022 at 15:00 Hours, from the following contact points:

                    COMESA Competition Commission

                    Procurement Unit

                   Kang’ombe House, Floor 5

                   P O Box 30742

                   Lilongwe

                   Malawi

                   E-mail: agmkandawire@comesa.int; with a copy to:  compcom@comesa.int

6. All emails sent to agmkandawire@comesa.int without a copy to compcom@comesa.int shall be automatically rejected without exception.

7. The request for clarification in paragraph 5 of this Expression of Interest does and shall not alter the deadline for submission of the Expression of Interest. For avoidance of doubt, the deadline remains 18 November 2022 in all circumstances.

8. Description of the assignment:

Short descriptions of the assignments including more details on the scope of the contract are provided in the Terms of Reference.

9. The Commission herewith invites Individual Consultants and Firms to express interest as per the Terms of Reference.

10. Evaluation Criteria

Candidates successfully fulfilling the eligibility assessment will undergo a Qualitative Assessment scored on the basis of the criteria in the following table:

The proposal shall be considered unsuitable and shall be rejected if it does not respond to important aspects of the Terms of Reference and/or fails to achieve a minimum technical score of 70%.

CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TENDER DOCUMENTATION FOR THE DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTION AND SUPERVISION OF THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION OFFICE BUILDING AND OTHER ASPECTS RELATED TO THE PROJECT

1. INTRODUCTION

The COMESA Competition Commission (the “CCC”) is a regional competition authority established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations (the “Regulations”). It enjoys an independent legal personality. It may acquire, hold and dispose of property and assets. It may sue and be sued in its corporate name.

The CCC is mandated to promote and encourage competition by preventing restrictive business practices that deter the efficient operation of markets, thereby enhancing the welfare of consumers in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (the “Common Market”) and to protect consumers against offensive conduct by market actors.

The CCC is hereby seeking to procure the services of a suitably qualified and competent Consultancy Firm to manage the Construction of the CCC Office Building (the “Project”) from inception to completion including any related aspects.

The Consultancy Firm shall work under the supervision of an “Internal Building Committee” established by the CCC. The Internal Building Committee shall represent the CCC in all matters related to the Project.

The Terms of Reference (“TORs”) for the Consultancy Services are set out in the sections below:

2. SCOPE OF SERVICES REQUIRED

The Consultancy Firm shall perform all the services necessary to execute the Project from inception to completion. Among the services required shall include:

a. Assist in the preparation of tender documentation for the various services required by the CCC to facilitate the Construction of the Office Building and incorporation of all the bidding requirements into the documentation.

b. Evaluation of tender documents and assist the CCC in the award of tenders.

c. Preparation of detailed artistic impressions which shall include the Structural and Civil Engineering Design for the Office Building.

d. Supervise the Construction of the Office Building from inception to completion through comprehensive inspections’ analysis, collection of data, and interviews with relevant stakeholders, among others.

e. Incorporation of advice and comments from the CCC into the designing and construction of the Office Building.

f. Any matter connected and incidental to the foregoing.

A more comprehensive description of the works is presented below.

3. OFFICE BLOCK ACCOMODATION REQUIREMENTS

The Office Building will be located in the City of Lilongwe on Plot Number 34/527 in Area 34 whose approximate site is 1.249 hectares. The Site Plan shall be made available to the Consultancy Firm for reference.

The Office Building is contemplated to comprise five (5) floors, two (2) of which shall be occupied by the CCC Staff and the COMESA Competition Training Law Centre. It is intended that the remainder of the three (3) floors shall be leased out to prospective clients.

4. CONDUCT OF SERVICE

The Consultancy Firm shall co-operate fully with the Internal Building Committee of the CCC. The Consultancy Firm shall familiarize itself with, and comply with all laws, customs and practices in Malawi in relation to the works.

The Office Building designs will be produced in accordance with international technical standards including applicable standards in Malawi for projects of this nature.

5. TENDER DOCUMENTATION

The Consultancy Firm shall prepare the tender documentation for the Project in the format required for CCC tenders, the originals shall be the property of the CCC. The tender documents shall be designed to require the contractors to take account of gender issues where necessarily affecting construction personnel as well as construction activities.

The Consultancy Firm will provide hard and/or soft copies of all documents to the Commission.

               5.1 Notice of Invitation to Tender

This shall be published in the Common Market.

               5.2 Notice of General Information

This shall include, in sufficient details, such information to enable potential tenders to make informed decisions.

6. TENDER PROCEDURES FOR WORKS

The tender procedures for the works shall be guided by the CCC’s Procurement Rules which shall be communicated to the Contractor. The Consultancy Firm shall prepare eight (8) sets of tender documents and issue them to the CCC and if requested to do so will issue them to companies who apply for them.

During the tender period, the Consultancy Firm shall organise and conduct an official visit to the site and a pre-tender conference, which will be attended by prospective tenderers. Tenderers will be availed an opportunity to ask questions at these sessions and the Consultancy Firm will record the questions and prepare written answers to the questions and circulate both to all tenderers.

7. EVALUATION OF TENDERS

The Consultancy Firm will be required to assist the CCC in evaluating the tenders which shall be done in line with the CCC’s Procurement Rules.

On receipt of the tenders, the Consultancy Firm will carry out an arithmetic check on all tenders received and report any corrections of the tender sums to the CCC.

It will then carry out a full analysis of all the tenders, in accordance with the CCC Procurement Rules and shall consider the following, among other things:

• The rates and prices
• Programmes
• Methods of constructions
• Plant
• Personnel
• Financing of the works

The Consultancy Firm shall present results of its analysis in a report to the CCC with recommendations for award of contract(s) within 45 days of receipt of documents. It should provide full substantiation of its recommendation and advise on the issue, which should be clarified in negotiations with the tenderer(s) to explore if and/or when possibilities of reducing/downgrading the quantities and/or design specifications or launching a new tender.

8. AWARD OF CONTRACT

If requested to do so, the Consultancy Firm will assist the CCC in negotiations with the prospective contractor(s) to resolve any technical or contractual matters prior to the award of the contract. The Consultancy Firm shall then prepare a full set of contract documents for signature and working copies as required.

9. REPORTING

The Consultancy Firm shall submit reports and documents from time to time during the subsistence of the Project and as may be required by the CCC.

10. COMPLETION

The Consultancy Firm shall submit a Completion of Works Report and handover the Project to CCC and also provide guidance on activities after completion of the contract.

11. REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE CONSULTANCY FIRM

The minimum required professional experience of proposed key staff:

a. Architect – Fifteen (15) years of active design work, with project/construction supervision/management experience

b. Quantity surveyor – Fifteen (15) years’ experience in projects of similar nature

c. Civil/Structural Engineer – Fifteen (15) years’ experience in projects of similar nature

d. Geomatic Engineer – Ten (10) years’ experience in projects of similar nature.

e. Services Engineer – Fifteen (15) years’ experience in projects of similar nature:

f. Clearly demonstrable evidence of having done artistic impressions related to construction projects; and

g. Any other services relevant for the effect execution of the Protect.

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