Request for Technical and Financial Proposals for the Provision of Quality Assurance Consultancy Services for Planning, Selection, and Implementation of the Development of the Electronic Filling and Case Management System (EFCMS)

RFP: CCC/RFP/07/06/2022

A. 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. 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 commenced its operations on 14 January 2013 and is located in Lilongwe, Malawi. 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 main functions of the Commission are to monitor markets and investigate anti-competitive business practices, control mergers and other forms of acquisitions in the Common Market and mediate disputes between the Member States concerning anti-competitive conduct.

3. The Commission wishes to develop an Electronic Filling and Case Management System (EFCMS) that provide a comprehensive system which facilitates the coordination, communication, and collaboration with the Commission’s clients and stakeholders through enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the operations of the Commission in the case filing organization, preservation, retrieval, use, disposition, and access to public. This document is issued by the Commission, as a call for proposals to assist the organization engage the services of a consulting firmto provide consultancy services related to selection of appropriate IT business applications and hardware solutions, as well as corresponding IT service providers

B. SCOPE OF WORK

4. The Commission would like to adopt a structured approach towards the implementation of the EFCMS by leveraging the services of a specialist consulting firmwith regard to the planning, selection, and implementation phases of the project.

5. The envisioned scope of work to be undertaken by the specialist consulting firmduring the selection phase of the project includes, but not limited to the following domains.

5.1. Pre – feasibility study

5.1.1. Conduct a high-level review of all aspects of the Commission’s current IT infrastructure and service delivery environment (including back up and disaster recovery elements), and benchmark against generally accepted industry best practice. This will enable the Commission to develop a high level architecture of the Commission’s future state IT infrastructure and service delivery environment (including back up and disaster recovery elements). This architecture will also inform the Commission’s planning, as well as guide the process of generating relevant detailed requirements and capabilities Validate current operations and processes

5.2. System and infrastructure requirements

5.2.1 Work with IT unit to better understand the Commission’s strategy, with a view to developing an appropriate IT application and data/information architecture, as well as an implementation roadmap that considers organizational priorities, technological imperatives, and availability of resources.

5.2.2 Work with business units and users to develop high level current/future processes, based on available best practice models, that will inform detailed system requirements and functionality that should be delivered by the EFCMS.

5.3. Procurement and evaluation of proposal responses

5.3.1 Assist the Commission in preparing relevant documentation and manage the bidding/procurement process for both software and hardware elements, based on detailed requirements and applicable laws/regulations.

5.3.2 Engage with bidding IT solution providers to refine the future state IT infrastructure and service delivery environment (including back up and disaster recovery elements), and where necessary, account for the impact of refinements on submitted bid.

5.3.3 Assist the Commission in the negotiation and contracting process with selected IT solution providers, taking into account implementation roadmap.

5.4. Quality Assurance over system implementation phase

5.4.1 Review of pre-implementation design blueprints, to ensure alignment with envisioned processes.

5.4.2 Technical review of the implementation work (methodology, documentation etc.) to ensure appropriateness and alignment with prescribed methodologies.

5.4.3 Technical review of the system during the build phase (configurations, set-ups, customizations etc.).

5.4.4 Support the Commission undertake User Acceptance Testing (UAT), which will include training of users (based on best practice methodologies) and use of recognized tools to better manage the testing process.

5.4.5 Ensure quality of deployment of IT infrastructure and service delivery environment; and

5.4.6 Provide general project management oversight over all solution providers, across all project milestones

5.5. Other related matters

5.5.1 Work with the Commission on other project related matters such as establishing an appropriate structure, deploying a robust and responsive system and integrating the implemented system with the Commission website with ECMS portal page.

C. OBJECTIVES

6. The specific objective of the consultancy service is to supervise and assure quality in the development of the EFCMS which is expected to provide the following

6.1. Replace the Commission’s current manual internal Case Management systems to a single, open automated architecture system that will provide improved communication across the Commission

6.2. Develop electronic filing portal which can connect with the case Management System

6.3. Ensure that the electronic filing portal connects to the Commission’s Website

6.4. Provide easy access to information and an intuitive end-user reporting system

6.5. Enhance the ability to support management decision making based upon access to accurately and timely information

6.6. Have a robust workflow engine that will allow business process configuration unique to the needs of each Divisions of the Commission

6.7. Reduce redundant data entry, reduce paper flow, and streamline best practices

6.8. Robust document management and storing within the Case Management System

6.9. Ability to integrate with other current/future systems, as appropriate

6.10. Deploy a robust, and scalable IT infrastructure and service delivery environment enabling the EFCMS

6.11. Train and equip System Users and Administrators as appropriate

D. CONTENT AND FORMAT OF PROPOSAL

7. The bidder’s proposal format should emphasize clarity and brevity in describing an understanding of the project, approach to each task, schedule, budget, and personnel experience.

8. The submission must include the following information:

8.1. Letter of introduction

8.2. Description of the approach, methodology and work plan for performing the work required to complete the scope of work (such as in the format of a Gantt chart) indicating the timing proposed for each activity that will be part of this assignment

8.3. Company background including how long the company has been in business, brief description of the company’s size and organization

8.4. An outline of the roles of the principal, key support, and technical staff, including a description of relevant experience of the key personnel who will work on the Commission’s project

8.5. List of detailed information of at least three (3) and a maximum of five previous engagements undertaken within the last five years are of a similar to this assignment. The detail information of references and clients should include organization name, contact name, phone and email,

E. PRICING

9. All prices MUST be indicated in Unites States Dollars.

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

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

11.1. Description and costs

11.2. Additional optional information about consulting firm products and services not covered in other sections of the proposal such as awards, newsletters, documentation, etc

11.3. 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.

F. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

12. Bidders must provide both Technical and Financial proposals. The evaluation shall be based on the following attributes:

12.1 Quality of the proposed approach to the project

12.2 Specific experience of the consulting firmrelated to the project

12.2.1 Experience in Quality Assurance for the system implementation.

12.2.2 Provide evidence through recommendation letters, contracts or Local Purchase Order from at least two client references on quality assurance assignments and IT project management.

12.3 Qualifications and competence of the key staff at least Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management or Information Systems or related field (attach copy of certificate)

12.4 At least 10 years of experience in Database Management, Database and Network Security.

12.5 At least 10 years of experience of the key staff in managing System implementation projects, supervision and quality assurance. Must provide evidence through recommendation letters of assignment of a similar nature.

12.6 Experience in designing, planning and implementing knowledge-related initiatives and executing/facilitating programs involving knowledge management or learning. Must provide evidence through recommendation letters (at least four (4) referees).

12.7 Experience in Process flow management system

12.8 Methodology of implementing the assignment to achieve the desired objectives.

12.9 Interpretation of consulting firm understanding of the scope of work

12.10 Technical ability to perform the required services with demonstrated experience of successful delivery of task of similar nature with regional or international organization.

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

12.12 Composition of the proposed team with CVs of team members.

12.13 Cost of services. Fees and expenses will be a particularly important factor when all other evaluation criteria are relatively equal; and

12.14 Knowledge and experience in provision of Quality Assurance consultancy services to Competition Authorities.

13. The Technical proposal will be assigned a weight of 80% and the financial proposal will be weighted at 20%

13.1. The evaluation criteria shall be as follows

14. The 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 fails to achieve a minimum technical score of 70%.

G. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL – STANDARD BIDDING FORM

15. Bidders are advised to use the standard tender form below as a sample format and modify it to cover all relevant costs or charges.

16. There will be no price variation tender.

17. Bidders are advised to disclose any other relevant information on a separate sheet of paper.

H. AMENDMENT OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS

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

I. BID SUBMISSION

19. Bidders are advised to include in their bids the following standard tender forms attached to this tender document and marked Annexes 1 – 6:

19.1. Financial Proposal Form (Annexes 1)

19.2. Bid submission sheet. (Annexes 2)

19.3. Bidder’s reference. (Annexes 3)

19.4. Comments and suggestion on the Scope of Work. (Annexes 4)

19.5. Description of the approach and methodology for performing the project; and (Annexes 5)

19.6. Team Composition and Task Assignments (Annexes 6)

20. The proposals must be submitted with a covering letter containing a confirmation and a description of how you have understood the scope of work. The bidders should also confirm and/or provide copies of documents evidencing that:

20.1. they have the legal capacity to enter the contract (provide copy of certificate of incorporation).

20.2. 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 (provide copies of six months bank statement or 3 months audited accounts).

20.3. 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 (provide copy of valid and current tax compliance certificate).

20.4. That their servants, or agents have not offered any inducement to any employees of the Commission (complete confirmation form in line with Annex 1).

21. Bidders who do not submit their proposal using the Annexes 1- 6 and respond to the required documents under paragraph 20 above shall be disqualified.

J. COST OF TENDER

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

K. CANCELLATION OF THE TENDER

23. In the event of cancellation of the tender, bidders will be notified in writing of the cancellation by the Commission.

L. COMMUNICATION OF THE OUTCOME OF THE BID

24. The Commission shall communicate to all the bidders the outcome of their submitted bid. However, the Commission is not obliged to provide and justify grounds for rejection.

M. OWNERSHIP OF TENDERS

25. The Commission retains ownership of all tenders received under this Request for Proposals. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their tenders returned to them except in the case of any of the following circumstances:

25.1. Cancellation of the tender procedure

25.2. Rejection of tenders before the closing date or

25.3. Late submission of a bid.

N. NEGOTIATION AND FINALIZATION

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

O. AWARD OF CONTRACT

27. Prior to expiration of the period of bid validity, the Procurement Committee will award the contract to the qualified consulting firm whose proposal after being evaluated is the most responsive to the needs of the Commission and activity concerned.

28. 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.

29. 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).

P. SIGNING OF CONTRACT

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

Q. CONFIDENTIALITY

31. All data and information received from the Commission for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these Terms of Reference are assigned to Commission. The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written authorization of the Commission

R. CORRUPT AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES

32. The Commission requires that Bidders observe the highest standard of ethics during the procurement and executions of contracts.

33. For the purposes of this provision, COMESA defines the terms set forth below as follows:

33.1. “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

33.2. “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 Commission of the benefits of free and open competition.

S. FORMAT AND SEALING OF BIDS

34. Bidders shall submit their proposals in one envelope containing two sealed envelopes by the closing date set forth below through courier services or hand delivery to the following address:

The Chairperson – Procurement Committee,
COMESA Competition Commission,
5th Floor- Kang’ombe House
P.O. Box 30742
Lilongwe 3, Malawi
Attention: Procurement Unit

35. The outer envelope should be clearly marked at the top right-hand corner [TENDER REFERENCE AND TITLE].

36. 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.

T. CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS AND OPENING OF BIDS

37. The closing date for submission of proposals is 26 September 2022 at 12:00 hours MALAWI time. Proposals received by the Commission after the deadline for submission of proposals shall be rejected. There shall be no exception of this requirement.

38. Bidders or their authorized representatives are invited to attend the bid opening ceremony either physically or virtually on 26 September 2022 at 15:00 hours Malawi Time at the Commission Offices, 5th Floor Kang’ombe House, Lilongwe.

39. Bidders who wish to attend the opening of the tender virtually may register in the link provided below
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwucOyoqz0tE9QYFSJyyMZqm3fWmg_q5gbL

40. The Commission does not bind itself to accept any bid and reserves the right to accept the whole or part of any of the submitted bids.

U. QUERIES

For any queries, kindly contact Ms. Agnes Mkandawire, on the following email address: agmkandawire@comesa.int. Contacting any staff member of the Commission in any manner whatsoever about this tender other than Ms. Agnes Mkandawire shall be considered inappropriate and may result in the disqualification of the bidder.

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Request for Technical and Financial Proposals: Consultancy Services to Review the Competition Law of Djibouti (International Consultant)

RFP : CCC/RFP/7/3/2022

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. The Republic of Djibouti is one of the 21 COMESA Member States and adopted a law on competition, fraud repression and consumer protection in 2008 and further incorporated it into the legal corpus of the Djibouti Commercial Code of 2012. This law needs to be updated and the Government of the Republic of Djibouti intends to modernise and revise the competition and consumer protection law at national level and draft a new national competition legislation which is aligned to and in harmony with the COMESA Competition Law.
5. As a COMESA Member State, Djibouti 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 Djibouti Ministry of Trade (here from referred as “the Ministry”) initiated the study on review of the national competition and consumer law.
6. Djibouti also noted that the enforcement of national competition and consumer protection laws must first be assessed so that concrete measures can be taken for Djibouti to better enjoy the advantages of its membership in the various free trade areas and to encourage appropriate reforms. Recently, with the formal entry into force of the AFCFTA, Djibouti as well as other Members States of COMESA will face a new set of challenges. In fact, the Republic of Djibouti has launched the largest international free zone in Africa in order to attract regional investment flows and confirm its role as a trading and distribution hub.
7. Premised on the foregoing, the Commission and Djibouti Ministry of Commerce and Tourism, (here from referred as the Ministry) is seeking to engage an International Consultant to assist Djibouti in reviewing the competition and consumer protection law and harmonizing the law with the COMESA Competition Regulations. The International Consultant is expected to work with a National Consultant to be also engaged by the Commission.

II. OBJECTIVES OF CONSULTANCY SERVICES

8. The main objective of the Consultancy service is to study and analyse all the legal provisions on competition and consumer protection that currently exist at national level. This study is expected to help the Djibouti Ministry of Trade to develop national competition and consumer protection legal framework and further harmonise it with the COMESA Competition Regulations. The best approach in this harmonization process is to first come up with a coherent national competition and consumer protection policy to guide in building a broad framework of consensus in which Government responds to anticompetitive challenges in the marketplace. The national competition and consumer protection policy framework will be expected to inform the needs for the amendment of the existing legislation on which basis the harmonization process with the COMESA Competition Regulations will be done. This will also ensure that firms operating in various sectors of the economy comply with and adhere to the Competition and consumer protection Policy and regulatory requirements. Further, the study is expected to have recommendations on the appropriate structure for the national competition and consumer protection authority to be established to enforce the competition and consumer protection law.

III. SCOPE OF THE CONSULTANCY SERVICES

9. To fulfil the purpose and objectives of the Consultancy Services, the International Consultant in liaison with the National Consultant to be engaged, will have to:

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

9.2. Develop a draft national policy to promote competition and consumer protection;

9.3. Review the current competition legislation against the draft competition and consumer protection policy and recommend the necessary amendments to ensure that the new policy is translated into the appropriate competition legislation;

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

9.5. Recognise and give legal effect to the COMESA Competition Regulations in Djibouti;

9.6. Add new provisions to complete the Djibouti Commercial Code;

9.7. Recommend the appropriate institutional structure for the creation of a national competition and consumer protection authority for the enforcement of the national competition and consumer protection law; and

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

IV. EXPECTED RESULTS

10. To attain the objectives, the International Consultant, in liaison with the National Consultant, and under the supervision of the Commission and the Focal Point of the Ministry are expected to come up with the following results:

10.1. The relevant stakeholders consulted for their views and input into the competition policy formulation and law review process;

10.2. The national legislation on competition and consumer protection reviewed in line with the developed national competition and consumer protection policy and necessary amendments drafted and recommended;

10.3. A draft national policy for the promotion of competition and consumer protection developed;

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

10.5. The COMESA Competition law recognised and given legal effect in Djibouti;

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

10.7. Recommendations made on the appropriate structure of a competition authority to be created for the enforcement of the national competition law.

V. DELIVERABLES

11. The following are the expected deliverables on the part of the International Consultant which shall be delivered in liaison with the National Legal Consultant:

11.1. Submit an Inception Report to the Commission and the Focal Point of the Djibouti Ministry including the conclusions of the consultative meetings, the first draft National Competition and consumer protection Policy, inventory of the areas in the national competition and consumer law identified for review, the justifications for the review and the proposed draft amendments to the national competition and consumer protection law.

11.2. Prepare the Second draft Report highlighting the comprehensive draft amendments of the national competition and consumer protection law, in line with the aforementioned objectives, scope of work and expected results, following the consultative meetings and submit this Second draft Report to the Commission and Focal Point of the Djibouti Ministry of Trade for their comments, ensuring that the comments and the views of the Commission and the Ministry well addressed in the report.

11.3. Present the draft national competition and consumer protection policy and draft amendments of the national competition and consumer protection law to the key stakeholders for validation.

12. The reporting requirements and time schedule for the deliverables are projected to follow the ensuing timeline:

VI. SUPERVISION

13. The Consultant shall report to the Commission and Djibouti Ministry.

VII. EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

14. The Commission wishes to obtain the services of an international firm or individual Consultants with the requisite legal and legislative drafting skills and experience in competition and law to assist with the drafting of the required substantive rules and procedures to be gazetted in Djibouti. Proof of having undertaken similar assignments is critical. Further, the International Consultant is expected to have the following qualifications and experience:

14.1. The International Consultant should have qualifications in law. Qualifications in economics, shall be an added advantage;

14.2. The Consultant should have at least 10 years practical experience in competition law; and

14.3. The Consultant should be fluent in English and/or French, proficiency of both English and French will be an added advantage.

VIII. APPLICATIONS

15. Responses to this request for technical and financial proposal shall include copies of the following:

15.1. A proposal for the consultancy service;

15.2. A brief cover letter indicating relevant experience and suitability for assignment;

15.3. Copy of the firm’s profile/ for individuals consultants, the C.V suffices;

15.4. Valid and current tax compliance certificate for firms; and

15.5. Costs (in USD): The service providers should identify their rates which should be valid for the entire length of the assignment.

IX. PAYMENT PERIOD

16. The period for payment shall be 30 days from certification of invoices, payment phases shall be in accordance with Paragraph 24 of the TORs.

X. PRICING

17. All prices MUST be indicated in United States Dollars.
18. There will be a no price variation contract after signing of contract except upon a mutual written agreement between the Commission and the successful bidder.
19. The price quoted amount shall be considered to be for all the services required by the Commission as contained in this Request for Proposal.
20. Prices must be exclusive of all taxes within the Common Market, with particular emphasis to Malawi and Djibouti.

XI. CRITERIA FOR EVALUTION OF BIDS

21. Bidders must provide both Technical and Financial proposals. The evaluation shall be based on the following attributes:

a. The overall responsiveness (including completion of bid submission requirements outlined in Paragraph 29 and 30 below);

b. Technical ability of the proposer to perform the required services;

c. The experience and reputation of the proposer as represented in the response and the quality of references; and

d. Cost of services. Fees and expenses will be particularly important factor when all other evaluation criteria are relatively equal.

22. The technical proposal will be assigned a weight of 80% and the financial proposal will be weighted at 20%.

23. The 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 fails to achieve a minimum technical score of 70%.

XII. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL _ STANDARD BIDDING FORM

24. Bidders are advised to use the standard tender Form below as a sample format and modify it to cover all relevant costs or charges.
25. There will be no price variation tender.
26. Bidders are advised to disclose any other relevant information on a separate sheet of paper.

XIII. VALIDITY OF THE BID

27. The Bid shall be valid for a period of six months after the closing date of this tender.

XIV. AMENDMENTS OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS

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

XV. BID SUBMISSION

29. Bidders are advised to include in their bids the following standard tender Forms attached to this tender document and marked Annexes 1-6:

29.1. Bid Submission Sheet;

29.2. Bidder’s references;

29.3. Comments and suggestions on the Scope of Work;

29.4. Description of the methodology for performing the assignment;

29.5. Team Composition and Tasks assignment. (This does not apply to individual consultants); and

29.6. Proposed fees;

30. The proposals must be submitted with a covering letter containing a confirmation and a description of how you have understood the Terms of Reference for the assignment. Bidders should provide copies of documentation, evidence and confirmation, as applicable that:

30.1. For firms, that 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; (provide copies of 6 months bank statements or 3 months financial audited accounts as proof as is the case with prequalification of lawyers where this is provided as proof of the same);

30.2. For firms, that 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 (provide copy of valid and current tax compliance certificate);

30.3. that they have not offered any inducement to any employees of the Commission (complete confirmation form in line with Annex 1).

31. Bidders who do not submit their proposal using the Annexes 1-6 and respond to the required documents under paragraph 29 and 30, shall be disqualified.

XVI. COST OF TENDER

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

XVII. CANCELLATION OF THE TENDER

33. In the event of cancellation of the tender, bidders will be notified in writing of the cancellation by the Commission.

XVIII. OWNERSHIP OF TENDERS

33. The Commission retains ownership of all tenders received under this Request for Proposals. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their tenders returned to them.

XIX.  COMMUNICATION OF THE OUTCOME OF THE BID

34. The Commission shall communicate to all the bidders the outcome of their submitted bid. However, the Commission is not obliged to provide and justify grounds for rejection.

XX. NEGOTIATION AND FINALISATION

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

XXI. AWARD OF CONTRACT

36. Prior to expiration of the period of bid validity, the Procurement Committee will award the contract to the qualified Bidder whose Bid after being evaluated is considered to be the most responsive to the needs of the organization and activity concerned.
37. 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.
38. 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).

XXII. SIGNING OF CONTRACT

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

XXIII. PERIOD OF EXECUTION

40. The period of execution of the contract starts from the date of the signing of the contract and is dependent on accomplishment of the deliverables provided under Section V, Paragraph 11.

XXIV. CONFIDENTIALITY

41. 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 consultant has been notified that it has been awarded the contract.

XXV. CORRUPT AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES

42. 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:

42.1. “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

42.2. “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 COMESA 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 COMESA of the benefits of free and open competition.

XXVI. FORMAT AND SEALING OF BIDS

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

The Chairperson – Procurement Committee,

COMESA Competition Commission,

5th Floor- Kang’ombe House

P.O. Box 30742

Lilongwe 3, Malawi

Attention: Procurement Unit

44. The outer envelope should be clearly marked at the top right-hand corner [TENDER REFERENCE AND TITLE].
45. 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.

XXVII. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS

46. The deadline for the submission of proposals is 14h00 Malawi Time on Thursday, 4 August 2022. Bidders are invited to attend either physically or virtually the opening of bids scheduled to be held at the Commissions office at the address provided in “44” above on Thursday, 4  August 2022 at 16h00 Malawi Time
47. The Commission does not bind itself to accept any bid and reserves the right to accept the whole or part of any of the submitted bids.
48. Any proposal received by the Commission after the deadline for submission of proposals shall be rejected. There shall be no exception to this requirement.

XXVII. TECHNICAL QUERIES

49. For any queries, kindly contact Ms. Agnes Mkandawire, on the following email address: agmkandawire@comesa.int. Contacting any staff member of the Commission in any manner whatsoever on the subject of this tender other than Ms. Agnes Mkandawire shall be considered inappropriate may result in the disqualification of the bidder.

Click here to download the English Version of the Request for Proposal of Consultancy Services to Review the Competition Law of Djibouti which also includes the Annexes 1-7 

Click here to download the French Version of the Request for Proposal of Consultancy Services to Review the Competition Law of Djibouti which also includes the Annexes 1-7 

Re-advertisement Request for Technical and Financial Proposals Consultancy Services for Redesigning the COMESA Competition Commission Website

RFP: CCC/RFP/06/02/2022

A. 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. 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 commenced its operations on 14th January 2013 and is located in Lilongwe, Malawi. 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 main functions of the Commission are to monitor markets and investigate anti-competitive business practices, control mergers and other forms of acquisitions in the Common Market and mediate disputes between the Member States concerning anti-competitive conduct.

3. The Commission’s website (https://www.comesacompetition.org/) is one of the organization’s key communication and outreach tools which was developed in 2011 and redesigned in 2014 with WordPress platform. Currently, website which is in use is in need of updating and is hosted on an external server. The Commission intends to update and enhance the functionality of the current website through an improved mobile-responsive design, interactive functionality, and a more user-friendly Content Management System (CMS). In this regard, the Commission invites suitably qualified firms to submit financial and technical proposals in line with this RFP.

B. SCOPE OF WORK

4. The Commission seeks a complete website redesign of its site https://www.comesacompetition.org/. The redesign of the website includes the following:

4.1. Provide and describe the approach for redesigning the website and provide information on how the project would be phased and managed including timed deliverables.

4.2. Undertake a needs assessment of the Commission’s website redesign through consultation with the Commission.

4.3. Provide a Business Requirement Document (BRD) of the Commission’s website based on the needs assessment.

4.4. Propose the design of website to the Commission.

4.5. Design the website based on the needs assessment conducted.

4.6. Submit the proposed design of the website to the Commission for review and incorporate feedback from the Commission.

4.7. Conduct a test of the approved website in the presence of the Commission.

4.8. Address the comments from the Commission on the test of the website.

4.9. Train and present the features of the website to the Commission’s relevant personnel and Management.

4.10. Launch the website (go live) following the validation of the test site by the Commission

4.11. Provide a manual on the features and management of the website

5. The Commission shall evaluate the proposed website presented by the Bidder and determine whether it is in line with the objectives, requirements, expectations, and task details outlined under Section 3 and 4 below. The Commission shall retain the rights to the designed and developed website and any customization of plug-ins. The Bidder shall submit a report in each phase of the assignment which shall be validated after consultation with the Commission.

C. OBJECTIVE, REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTED OUTPUTS

Objective

6. The Commission is seeking to develop an enhanced, visually appealing website that is mobile-responsive, easy to navigate and provides the depth and breadth of current information that our stakeholders seek about our programs and services.

7. The requirements for the new site shall include but is not limited to the following:

7.1. Updated platform, functionality, navigation, and design

7.2. Mobile-responsive design

7.3. User-friendly Content Management System (CMS) with training for editors/users.

7.4. Advanced and fast “Search” functionality.

7.5. Website security and firewall

Desired Expectations

8. The website is expected to have the following functionality and tools:

8.1. Clean, clutter-free, modern design aligned with the Commission’s brand (which mainly consists of Commission’s logo, logo colours)

8.2. Clear, easy-to-use navigation

8.3. Mobile-responsive design optimized for all common internet browsers

8.4. Optimized design documents, videos, and images for fast loading

8.5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with ability to add search engine plug-in to administrative area

8.6. Robust, user-friendly CMS, which shall:

8.6.1. Be used by the Commission’s personnel to maintain and update the site, including access to all content for editing, uploading documents and creating new pages and links

8.6.2. Allow at least three editors from the Commission

8.6.3. Include functionality to schedule release of pages

8.6.4. Include functionality to broaden the Commission’s website to include a link to multiple portals e.g., staff email, e-filing

8.6.5. Allow news, Notices & Hearings features with searchable archives and functionality to schedule release of articles and reorder how they appear on the page

8.6.6. Accommodate varied content such as images, videos, spreadsheets, maps

8.6.7. Incorporate tools for tracking page/file updates and deletions

8.7. Integration of existing “CVS database” feed to display on website “Notify Me” functionality-subscribe for email updates and push out notifications

8.8. Store all submissions to a database created for automatic archiving which can be retrieved and analysed

8.9. Input to add internal “Search” functionality

8.10. Operate as a dynamic database drive website that generates analyses/briefs and display on actions the editors make on the page

8.11. Print-friendly feature on each page

8.12. Social media integration on each page to the Commission’s social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc

8.13. Photos-Easy to load and display; mobile-responsive photo gallery; Flickr integration

8.14. Ensure security using firewall web application

8.15. Load the content of the Commission rules and regulations on the website with advanced search functionality

8.16. Provide domain email for the Commission

8.17. Any other functions connected or incidental to the foregoing, such as allow users the ability to customise cookie setting. Include a page explaining how user information may be stored/used when they access the website.

D. TASK DETAILS

Phase One

9. Refine scope and technical specification

9.1. Define website functionality

Note: The Commission is currently using WordPress as the platform; however, the Commission will consider similar open-source tools that can easily manage website content, unlimited pages, and posts as a possible option with a well-supported and successful track record and high adoption rate with similar organizations.

Phase Two

9.2. Design

9.2.1. The Consultant will design two (2) concepts for homepage and up to two (2) internal/secondary pages to be reviewed by the Commission with up to three (3) revisions to the chosen design.

9.3. Development

9.3.1. The Consultant will use approved design and development platform (including the CMS) to build the site. The CMS will be presented, vetted and approved by the Commission. Consultant will install navigation, set up blank pages and transfer a sample of contents for the Commission to approve. Following the approval of the site plan, a training will be provided by the Consultant to a group of administrators on the use of the CMS. Consequently, the Consultant will migrate existing and new content to the new site according to an agreed-upon timeline.

9.4. Testing

9.4.1. The Consultant will conduct comprehensive quality assurance testing on multiple browsers and mobile devices to ensure that the new site is responsive, and all functionality is fully operational.

Phase Three

9.5. Review of Website and Training

9.5.1. The Consultant will navigate the Commission through the site and demonstrate the link, page set-up, homepage and internal/secondary page layouts, and a functionality review. Further, the Consultant will conduct a training for the identified web editors at the Commission. The Consultant will provide the Commission with a user manual and site architectures. The Consultant will set up initial administrator passwords and demonstrate management of administrators and editors.

9.6. Launch

9.6.1. Following a completion of up to two rounds of punch list items, not exceeding 20 items from the training and review period, the Consulant will set up website on a hosted server and coordinate any needed changes to Domain Name Service (DNS) entries and other technical requirements to make the new site live at https://www.comesacompetition.org/.

Phase Four

9.7. Warranty Period

9.7.1. The warranty period covers website for 3 months (90 days) from the final approval and launch of the website during the User Acceptance Testing phase. Any defects or other service issues resulting from the development process that are brought to Consultant’s attention during this period will be fixed without charge.

E. TIMELINES AND DELIVERABLES

10. The assignment under phase one to phase three will be expected to be conducted within 180 calendar days (Six months) from the date of signing of contract. The assignment is expected to have the following outputs which shall be delivered in three phases.

11. The payment shall be remitted made upon satisfactory completion and acceptance of the deliverable by the Commission in each phase deliverables.

F. CONTENT AND FORMAT OF PROPOSAL

12. Bidder’s proposal format should emphasize clarity and brevity in describing an understanding of the project, approach to each task, schedule, budget, and personnel experience.

13. The submission must include the following information:

13.1. Letter of interest

13.2. Description of work required to complete the scope of work as described in above Paragraph B, C, and D, including how the project will be phased and managed

13.3. A schedule of deliverables, interim products, and reports

13.4. Company background including how long the company has been in business, brief description of the company’s size and organization

13.5. An outline of the roles of the principal, key support, and technical staff, including estimates of time, number of hours and cost breakdown by work task for each key participant in the project. Include a description of relevant experience of the key personnel who will work on the Commission’s project

13.6. List of at least three (3) relevant client references including contact name, organization name, phone, email, and at least three websites developed by the Consulant in last 5 years. These references should be able to verify the recent experience of the team leader involved in the proposal for this project.

G. PRICING

14. All prices MUST be indicated in Unites States Dollars.

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

16. Financial Proposal: The Bidders should identify rates which should be valid for the entire length of the assignment in United States Dollars (USD). The financial proposal should have:

16.1. Description and costs

16.2. Additional optional information about consultant products and services not covered in other sections of the proposal such as awards, newsletters, documentation, etc

16.3. 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 Consultant in COMESA Member States.

H. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

17. Bidders must provide both Technical and Financial proposals. The evaluation shall be based on the following attributes:

17.1. Quality of the proposed approach to the project

17.2. Experience and qualifications of key personnel who would work on project; minimum graduate, Computer Science or Engineering or relevant subjects that have qualified course in Web Design and database. Certificate and Diploma courses in web design and database is an added advantage

17.3. Portfolio of past work including at least three (3) projects of similar scope in the last 5 years

17.4. Recommendations letters from at least 3 organisations which it has provided services to on a similar project carried out within the last 5 years

17.5. Projected Costs in USD

17.6. Ability to work within deadlines and to develop mutually agreed dates for deliverables

18. The Technical proposal will be assigned a weight of 80% and the financial proposal will be weighted at 20%.
19. Individual consultants or consultancy firms are eligible to apply for the assignment.

19.1.1. The evaluation criteria shall be as follows

19.2. The 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 fails to achieve a minimum technical score of 70%.

I. FINANCIAL PROPOSAL – STANDARD BIDDING FORM

20. Bidders are advised to use the standard tender form below as a sample format and modify it to cover all relevant costs or charges.

21. There will be no price variation tender.

22. Bidders are advised to disclose any other relevant information on a separate sheet of paper.

J. AMENDMENT OF PROPOSAL DOCUMENTS

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

K. BID SUBMISSION

24. Bidders are advised to include in their bids the following standard tender forms attached to this tender document and marked Annexes 1 – 6:

24.1. Financial Proposal Form

24.2. Bid submission sheet;

24.3. Bidder’s reference;

24.4. Comments and suggestion on the Scope of Work;

24.5. Description of the methodology for performing the assignment; and

24.6. Proposed fees.

25. The proposals must be submitted with a covering letter containing a confirmation and a description of how you have understood the Terms of Reference for the assignment. The bidders should also confirm and/or provide copies of documents evidencing that:

25.1. they have the legal capacity to enter the contract (provide copy of certificate of incorporation);

25.2. 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 (provide copies of six months bank statement or 3 months audited accounts);

25.3. 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 (provide copy of valid and current tax compliance certificate);

25.4. That their servants, or agents have not offered any inducement to any employees of the Commission (complete confirmation to this effect).

26. Bidders who do not submit their proposal using the Annexes 1- 6 and respond to the required documents under paragraph 22 above shall be disqualified.

L. COST OF TENDER

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

M. CANCELLATION OF THE TENDER

28. 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.

N. OWNERSHIP OF TENDERS

29. The Commission retains ownership of all tenders received under this Request for Proposals. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their tenders returned to them except in the case of any of the following circumstances:

29.1. Cancellation of the tender procedure
29.2. Rejection of tenders before the closing date; or

29.3. Late submission of a bid.

O. NEGOTIATION AND FINALIZATION

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

P. AWARD OF CONTRACT

31. Prior to expiration of the period of bid validity, the Procurement Committee will award the contract to the qualified Consultant whose proposal after being evaluated is the most responsive to the needs of the Commission and activity concerned.

32. 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.

33. 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).

Q. SIGNING OF CONTRACT

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

R. CONFIDENTIALITY

35. All data and information received from the Commission for the purpose of this assignment are to be treated confidentially and are only to be used in connection with the execution of these Terms of Reference. All intellectual property rights arising from the execution of these Terms of Reference are assigned to Commission. The contents of written materials obtained and used in this assignment may not be disclosed to any third parties without the expressed advance written authorization of the Commission

S. CORRUPT AND FRAUDULENT PRACTICES

36. The Commission requires that Bidders observe the highest standard of ethics during the procurement and executions of contracts.

37. For the purposes of this provision, COMESA defines the terms set forth below as follows:

37.1. “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

37.2. “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.

T. FORMAT AND SEALING OF BIDS

38. Bidders shall submit their proposals in one envelope containing two sealed envelopes by the closing date set forth below through courier services or hand delivery to the following address:

Chairperson – Procurement Committee
COMESA Competition Commission
5th Floor- Kang’ombe House
P.O. Box 30742
Lilongwe 3, Malawi
Attention: Procurement Unit

39. The outer envelope should be clearly marked at the top right-hand corner [TENDER REFERENCE AND TITLE].

40. 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.

U. CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS AND OPENING OF BIDS

41. The closing date for submission of proposals is 4 August 2022 at 12:00 hours MALAWI time. Proposals received by the Commission after the deadline for submission of proposals shall be rejected. There shall be no exception of this requirement.

42. Bidders or their authorized representatives are invited to attend the bid opening ceremony either physically or virtually on 4 August 2022 at 15:00 hours Malawi Time at the Commission Offices, 5th Floor Kang’ombe House, Lilongwe

43. Bidders who wish to attend the opening of the tender virtually; may request the log-in details from eabraham@comesa.int during submission of the proposal.

44. The Commission does not bind itself to accept any bid and reserves the right to accept the whole or part of any of the submitted bids.

V. TECHNICAL QUERIES

45. For any technical queries related to specifications of work or Terms of Reference, kindly contact Mr. Eyob Abraham, IT and Documentation Officer on the following email address: eabraham@comesa.int

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ENGLISH VERSION OF THE RE-ADVERTISEMENT REQUEST FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL PROPOSALS CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR REDESIGNING THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION WEBSITE,CCC/RFP/06/02/2022 AND ITS ANNEXES

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FRENCH VERSION OF THE RE-ADVERTISEMENT REQUEST FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL PROPOSALS CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR REDESIGNING THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION WEBSITE,CCC/RFP/06/02/2022 AND ITS ANNEXES

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ARABIC VERSION OF THE RE-ADVERTISEMENT REQUEST FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL PROPOSALS CONSULTANCY SERVICES FOR REDESIGNING THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION WEBSITE,CCC/RFP/06/02/2022 AND ITS ANNEXES

Request for Technical and Financial Proposals Re-advertisement for Consultancy Services to Review the Organisational Structure of the COMESA Competition Commission

RFP: CCC/RFP/06/1/2022

A. 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 (“the COMESA Treaty”). The Commission has the legal capacity for the performance of its functions under the Regulations in the territory of each COMESA Member State.

2. The Commission is mandated to enforce the Regulations whose purpose 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 is composed of two enforcement bodies:

3.1. The Secretariat, which commenced operations on the 14^th of January 2013 and is located in Lilongwe, Malawi. The Secretariat is headed by a Director appointed under Article 9 of the Regulations. It is composed of staff members appointed by the Director with the approval of the Board pursuant to Article 11 of the Regulations. The Secretariat is responsible for carrying out investigations and advocacy work of the Commission, among other things. Currently, the Secretariat has twenty-six (26) staff members; and

3.2. The Board of Commissioners, which is established and appointed under Articles 12 and 13 of the Regulations respectively, is mandated with issuing determinations on any conduct prohibited by the Regulations, adjudicating on any matter considered by it and make appropriate orders as provided in the Regulations, hear appeals from, or review any decision of the Commission referred to it. The Board also has the power for recommending Rules, governing anything under the Regulations for approval by the COMESA Council of Ministers (the Council), among others. Pursuant to Article 13 (4) of the Regulations, the Chairperson of the Board may assign three of the Commissioners to constitute a Committee Responsible for initial Determinations of matters brought before it.

4. The Commission’s current Organizational Structure was developed in 2011. Further, the development of the Organisation Structure of the Commission is guided by the Regulations, the COMESA Competition Rules 2004 (“the Rules”) and the COMESA Competition Commission Staff Rules and Regulations July 2017 Edition (“the Staff Rules”) and Executive Management Staff Rules 2018 as follows:

4.1.   Article 11 of the Regulations which provides that the Director, with the approval of the Board, may appoint one or more Deputy Director(s), Registrar and such other officers as may be necessary for the due administration of the Regulations;

4.2. Rule 13 of the Rules which provides that the Commission shall be headed by a Director appointed by the COMESA Council of Ministers and the Commission shall be divided into various departments to oversee work in areas including restrictive business practices, mergers and abuse of dominant positions. A Division responsible for competition awareness and cooperation with member states shall also function under the auspices of the Commission.

4.3. Rule 14 (1) (e-i), of the Rules which provides that the Director of the Commission shall:

4.3.1. interview staff members and shall ensure that, as far as feasible and based on technical merit, Member  States are adequately represented;

4.3.2.      employ the staff of the Commission. The staff shall comprise of professionals from different disciplines including lawyers, economists and accountants;

4.3.2. in the light of the needs of the Commission and the available budget, shall determine the number of staff;

4.3.3. appoint a head to each department and the duties and responsibilities of each head of department shall be made by the Director; and

4.3.4. be responsible for assigning staff members to each department.

4.4. Rule 14 (2) and 14 (3) of the Rules which provide that the Director may effect changes in the responsibilities of each member of staff, as the need of the work so requires and the number of staff allocated to each department shall be left to the discretion of the Director.

4.5. Rule 13 of the Staff Rules provides that the Director may order that posts be classified or re-classified from time to time and any such re-classification shall be subject to the approval of the Board. Such classifications or re-classifications shall be based on job analysis and evaluations and should be implemented subject to the availability of funds.

4.6. Rule 1 of the COMESA Competition Commission Executive Management Staff Rules define “Executive Management” to mean the Director and Deputy Directors of the Commission appointed under Article 9 and Article 11 of the Regulations respectively.

4.7.  The Commission currently has twenty-nine (29) staff members and additional recruitments is projected to be done gradually depending on the availability of funds. Furthermore, the Commission developed its 2021-2025 Strategic Plan (“the Strategic Plan”) and identified Divisions/Units and posts for its efficient operation with a view to better execute its Vision, Mission and Strategic Objectives. In developing the Strategic Plan, the Commission recognised the following needs:

4.7.1. The need to have adequate human capacity;

4.7.2. Review and implementation of the Organizational structure to align it to the Strategic Plan (2021-2025) and emerging issues;

4.7.3. Conduct job analysis and evaluation;

4.7.4. Review of the current job descriptions and develop new Job descriptions for the new posts to be created; and

4.7.5. Conduct a skills audit to determine training needs and succession planning.

4.8. In view of the above, the Commission seeks to engage the services of suitably qualified Consultants to review the Organisational Structure which shall including the review/reclassification of existing posts, conduct job analysis and evaluation and determine their value/worth.

B. SCOPE OF WORK

5. Applicants are invited to propose a methodology/approach and model that would address the following concerns as the focus of an organizational structure review:

5.1. Does the Commission’s institutional structure support the decisions most critical to creating value and fulfilling the mandate of the Commission under the Regulations and Rules and as guided by the current Strategic Plan?

5.2. How best can the Commission’s structure support and reflect the notion of the separation of the Commission Secretariat’s investigative functions from the adjudicative functions of the Board?

5.3. Recommendation on the best institutional structure that will support and fulfil the Commission’s mandate.

5.4. Are the current human resources of the Commission appropriate for high-impact and critical work in support of its mandate?

5.5. Is the current skills set and competency appropriate to support delivery of the mandate and geared to a high-performing organization? If not, what will it take to upgrade the current skills to an optimum operational level

5.6. What intermediate measures need to be put in place to attain reasonable operational level?

5.7. Are the internal processes and systems adequate to support effective operations and corporate governance in line with appropriate benchmarks from international best practices of competition and consumer authorities and international Organizations?

C. SPECIFIC TERMS OF REFERENCE

6. The successful Consultants shall perform the following Specific Terms of Reference:

6.1. Conduct a needs assessment of the Commission’s staff establishment and classifications of Divisions and job posts following review and consideration of the following;

6.1.1. The Structure of Board, Director, Deputy Directors, and other positions of the Commission;

6.1.2. Staff Rules and Executive Management Rules of the Commission;

6.1.3. The provisions of the COMESA Competition Regulations and Rules with respect to the staff         establishment;

6.1.4. Strategic Plan of the Commission (2021-2025);

6.1.5. COMESA Secretariat and other COMESA Institutions job grading system, positions and job descriptions;

6.1.6. Job descriptions and titles of existing staff members; and International best practices in competition and consumer protection authorities and international organizations of similar nature with respect to their staff establishment.

6.2. Review the organizational structure and functional areas of the Commission;

6.3. Develop the Organization structure based on the needs assessment;

6.4. Review organizations, national competition and consumer authorities which have similarly nature;

6.5. Align existing job posts and Divisions with the Regulations and Rules, Strategic Plan (2021-2025) and international best practice;

6.6. Conduct job analysis, profiling and evaluation;

6.7. Review all the Job, posts and job descriptions of the Commission;

6.8. Examine the structure and current performance of each Divisions vis-à-vis the existing structure; and

6.9. Undertake other tasks incidental or related to the foregoing.

7. Further, the Consultants are expected to conduct the assignment in consultation with the Board, Management, staff members of the Commission and other relevant stakeholders.

D. DELIVERABLES

8. By the end of the assignment, the successful Consultants shall deliver:

E. ACCOUNTABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES

9. The Commission shall provide the following documents to the successful Consultants:

9.1. The existing Organisational structure;

9.2. The COMESA Competition Regulations 2004;

9.3. The COMESA Competition Rules 2004;

9.4. The COMESA Competition Commission Staff Rules and Regulations July 2017 Edition;

9.5. Strategic Plan (2021-2025) of the COMESA Competition Commission; and

9.6. Any other document relevant to enable the successful consultants to carry out the assignment

10. The Consultants are expected to conduct the assignment in consultation with relevant organs of the Commission. The Consultants are also expected to present the above-mentioned deliverables to the Commission’s Management and the Board.

E. CONFIDENTIALITY

11. Due to the sensitivity of the information that will be made available to the Consultants during this assignment, the Consultants shall be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement with the Commission. All information related, both during and after completion of the assignment thereof, shall be treated with strict confidentiality. However, should there be a need to disclose any information obtained from provision of the Services with respect to this assignment, which is either directly or indirectly related to the Commission’s business, written approval to disclose such information must first be obtained from Commission.

F. ELIGIBILITY OF CONSULTANTS

12. Applicants are invited from all eligible consultants who have sufficient experience on the required deliverables and specific terms of reference. Further, selection to undertake the assignment shall be based on proof of having undertaken similar assignments in the past. The Consultants eligibility shall be evaluated in line with the criteria outlined in paragraph I (14-19) below. Individual consultants or consultancy firms are eligible to apply for the assignment.

G. COMMENCEMENT AND COMPLETION OF WORK

13. The assignment is expected to commence within ninety (90) calendar days (three months) of signing of the Contract. Details of completion of work and work schedule including reporting will be discussed further and agreed upon after signing of the contract.

H. CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION OF CONSULTANTS

14. Bidders must provide both Technical and Financial proposals. The evaluation shall be based on the following attributes:

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

14.2. Proposed methodology for conducting such a review;

14.3. Indicative timelines for conducting a review of this nature;

14.4. Technical ability to perform the required services with demonstrated experience of successful delivery of task of similar nature with regional or international organization;

14.5. The experience and reputation of the proposer as represented in the response and the quality of the references;

14.6. Composition of the proposed team with CVs of team members;

14.7. Fees and expenses will be a particularly important factor when all other evaluation criteria are relatively equal; and

14.8. Knowledge and experience in reviewing organizational structures of competition authorities.

15. The Technical proposal will be assigned a weight of 80% and the financial proposal will be weighted at 20%.

16. The 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 fails to achieve a minimum technical score of 70%.

17. The Consultants should consist of expertise with the profile of having done at least two similar tasks required under this Request for Proposal, particularly for international or regional organisations.

18. The required qualifications and experiences of the expertise shall be in Human Resources Management, Organisational Development, Industrial Psychology, Commerce, Business Administration, economics, law or related social field.

19. In the event the consultancy proposal has a team of experts, they should at least have one member of the team have experience in reviewing organizational structure of competition authorities. Further, at least one member of the team should have experience in Human Resource or Organization Development with similar tasks required under this Request for proposal. The required composition of the team shall be:

19.1. A Team leader with at least a Master’s degree and a minimum of ten years’ experience in any of the required qualifications and experiences stated in paragraph 18 above;

19.2. Support Expert (s) with at least a Bachelor’s degree and a minimum of five years’ experience in any of the required qualifications and experiences stated in paragraph 18 above.

20, In the event the consultancy proposal has an individual consultant, the experience and qualification of the Consultant is required to have the one provided in paragraph 18 and paragraph 19.1-19.2 above.

G. BID SUBMISSION

21. Bidders are advised to include in their bids the following standard tender forms attached to this tender document and marked Annexes 1 – 6:

21.1. Financial Proposal Form

21.2. Bid Submission Sheet

21.3. Bidder’s reference

21.4. Comments and suggestions on the Scope of Work;

21.5. Description of the methodology for performing the assignment; and

21.6. Proposed fees

22. The proposals must be submitted with a covering letter containing a confirmation and a description of how you have understood the Terms of Reference for the assignment. The bidders must also confirm and/or provide copies of documents evidencing that:

22.1. They have the legal capacity to enter into the contract (provide copy of certificate of incorporation);

22.2. 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 (provide copies of six months bank statement or 3 months audited accounts);

22.3. They have fulfilled their obligations to pay taxes and social security contributions (if applicable in the concerned country, and if not, provide a clear statement confirming the non-applicability in that country), and for that purpose, documentary evidence to be provided by the relevant authorities to demonstrate that the bidders have met their obligations (provide copy of valid and current tax compliance certificate);

22.4. That their servants/employees, or agents have not offered any inducement to any employees of the Commission.

23. Bidders who do not submit their proposal using the Annexes 1-6 and respond to the required documents under paragraph 21 above shall be disqualified.

H. DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT

24. The assignment is expected to be finalized within forty-five 45) days

I. COST OF TENDER

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

J. CANCELLATION OF THE TENDER

26. 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.

K. OWNERSHIP OF TENDERS

27. The Commission retains ownership of all tenders received under this Request for Proposals. Consequently, bidders have no right to have their tenders returned to them except in the case of any of the following circumstances:

• • Cancellation of the tender procedure
  • Rejection of tenders before the closing date or
  • Late submission of a bid.

N. NEGOTIATION AND FINALIZATION

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

O. PRICING

29. All prices MUST be indicated in USD.

30. There will be no price variation after signing of contract except upon a mutual written agreement between the two parties;

31. The price quoted shall be considered to be for all the services required by the Commission as contained in this Request for Proposal.

32. Prices must be exclusive of all taxes within Malawi.

33. Prices must be valid for 90 days from the date of close of tender.

P. PAYMENT

34. Bidders are advised to indicate their payment terms and conditions.

Q. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS

35. The bidder shall submit the proposal in one envelope containing two sealed envelopes inside by the closing date set forth in point no. 9 below through courier services or hand delivery to:

The Chairperson – Procurement Committee

COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION

KANG’OMBE HOUSE

5^TH FLOOR – WEST WING

P.O BOX 30742

LILONGWE, MALAWI

Tel: +265 (0)1 772 466

36. The outer envelope should be clearly marked at the top right-hand corner “CCC/RFP/6/1/2022 – CONSULTANCY SERVICE FOR REVIEWING ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION” DO NOT OPEN BEFORE 3 August  2022 at 15.00 Hours Malawi time zone.

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.

37. The first internal sealed envelope, which will be clearly marked “TECHNICAL PROPOSAL” must contain two (2) hard copies of the technical proposal with one marked ‘original’ and the other marked ‘copy’. The second internal envelope, which will be clearly marked “FINANCIAL PROPOSAL”, should contain the original and copy of the financial proposal.

38. In the event of any discrepancy between the original and the copy, the original shall govern.

R. CLOSING DATE OF TENDER AND OPENING OF BID

39. The closing date for submission of proposals is 3 August 2022 at 13:00 hours MALAWI time. Proposals received after this date and time will not be accepted. There shall be no exception to this requirement.

40. Bidders or their authorized representatives are invited to attend the bid opening ceremony either physically or virtually on 3 August 2022 at 15:00 hours Malawi Time at the Commission Offices, 5^th Floor Kang’ombe House, Lilongwe

41. Bidders who wish to attend the opening of the tender virtually; may request the log-in details from eabraham@comesa.int on 3 August 2022 between 12:00 to 15:00 hours.”

42. The Commission does not bind itself to accept any bid and reserves the right to accept the whole or part of any of the submitted bids.

S. TECHNICAL QUERIES

43. Technical queries related to this tender should be submitted in writing to AGMkandawire@comesa.int with a copy to mdisasa@comesa.int

Click here to download the English version of the Request for Financial and Technical Proposal for Consultancy Services to Review the Organisational Structure of the COMESA Competition Commission, CCC/RFP/06/1/2022 and its Annexes

Click here to download the French version of the Request for Financial and Technical Proposal for Consultancy Services to Review the Organisational Structure of the COMESA Competition Commission, CCC/RFP/06/1/2022 and its Annexes

Click here to download the Arabic version of the Request for Financial and Technical Proposal for Consultancy Services to Review the Organisational Structure of the COMESA Competition Commission, CCC/RFP/06/1/2022 and its Annexes

Addendum No. 1 – Re-advertisement- Request for Technical and Financial Proposals for Website Redesign and Development of the Comesa Competition Commission

This serves to notify prospective bidders that the COMESA Competition Commission (the Commission), wishes to issue this addendum amending the re-advertised Request for Proposals, RFP Number: CCC/RFP/08/03/2021, posted on the Commission’s website www.comesacompetition.org on 2^nd November 2021 regarding the website redesign and development of the COMESA Competition Commission as follows:

1.  Section 6.2.10. (a)-(e) on Content and Format of Applications

1.1. By the deletion of paragraph 6.2.10. under subsections (a)- (e) and the substitution of the following:

“The proposals must be submitted with a covering letter containing a confirmation and a description of how you have understood the Terms of Reference for the assignment. The bidders should also confirm and/or provide evidence that:

a.they have the legal capacity to enter 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.”

2. Section 13 on Submission of proposals.

2.1.  By the deletion of paragraph 13.2 and the substitution of the following:

“You may wish to submit your proposal electronically via compcom@comesa.int  complementary to the hard copy submission before the closing date. However, the electronic submission does not exclude the mandatory requirement of hard copy submission which is expected to be made withing the deadline”

3. Section 14 on Closing date for submission of proposals and opening of bids.

3.1. Addition of the third paragraph that reads “Vendors who wish to attend the opening of the tender virtually may request the zoom link via eabraham@comesa.int on 23^rd-November-2021 between 12 to 15 hours.”  Therefore, paragraph 14 should read as follows:

“14. CLOSING DATE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS AND OPENING OF BIDS

The closing date for submission of proposals is 23rd November 2021 at 12:00 hours MALAWI time. Proposals received after this date and time will not be considered.

Vendors or their authorized representatives are invited to attend the bid opening ceremony either physically or virtually on 23rd November 2021 at 15:00 hours Malawi Time at the Commission Offices, 5^th Floor Kang’ombe House, Lilongwe

Vendors who wish to attend the opening of the tender virtually; may request the log-in zoom link details from eabraham@comesa.int on 23^rd-November-2021 between 12 to 15 hours.”

4. Addition of the following annexes.

ANNEX 1: BID SUBMISSION SHEET

Date: [insert date (as day, month, and year) of bid submission]

Reference No: [insert Reference number]

To: The Chairman of the Procurement Committee

We, the undersigned, declare that:

We have examined and have no reservations to the Bidding Document.

We offer to provide the services in conformity with the Bidding Document for the [insert a brief description of the Services];

We hereby submit our bid which includes the following (to state the documents included);

Our bid shall be valid for a period of six months from the date fixed for the bid submission deadline in accordance with the Bidding Document, and it shall remain binding upon us and may be accepted at any time before the expiration of that period.

We are not participating, as Bidders, in more than one bid in this bidding process.

We do not have any conflict of interest and have not participated in the preparation of the project document for the COMESA Competition Commission.

Our Proposal is binding upon us, subject to modifications agreed during any contract negotiations, and we undertake to negotiate based on the staff proposed in our Bid.

We understand that this Bid, together with your written acceptance thereof included in your Letter of Bid Acceptance, shall NOT constitute a binding contract between us, until a formal letter of engagement is prepared and executed; and

We understand that you are not bound to accept the lowest bid or any other bid that you may receive.
Name: [insert complete name of person signing the Bid]

In the capacity of [insert legal capacity of person signing the bid]

Signed: [signature of person whose name and capacity are shown above]

Duly authorized to sign the bid for and on behalf of: [insert complete name of Bidder]

Dated on ____________ day of __________________, _______ [insert date of signing]

ANNEX 2: BIDDER’S REFERENCES

Relevant Services Carried Out that Best Illustrate Experience

Using the format below, provide information on each assignment for which the Bidder, either individually or as a corporate entity or as one of the major firms within an association, was legally contracted.

Bidder’s Name:

ANNEX 3: COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS ON THE SCOPE OF WORK

The bidder is required to give his comments and suggestions on the scope of work as follows:
Scope of work Comments and Suggestions

ANNEX 4: DESCRIPTION OF THE METHODOLOGY FOR PERFORMING THE ASSIGNMENT

Scope of work Methodology for performing the Assignment

ANNEX 5: TEAM COMPOSITION AND TASK ASSIGNMENTS (Applicable only where the worked will be undertaken by a group of people and not an individual)

ANNEX 6: PROPOSED FEES

The bidder is required to state his proposed fees for the various financial statements to be audited as follows:

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ADDENDUM NO. 1 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP NO. CCC /RFP/08/03/2021 RE-ADVERTISEMENT- REQUEST FOR TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL PROPOSALS FOR WEBSITE REDESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION