Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) would like to make a request for an Expression of Interest for Consulting Service (Firms Selection) for carrying out an Independent Procurement Audit of the SEASN Project for EFY 2014.

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES - FIRMS SELECTION)

• Name of Country; Ethiopia
• Name of Project: Strengthen Ethiopian Adaptive Safety Net Project (SEASN)
• Credit no. IDA-67980
• Assignment Title: Independent Procurement Audit of SEASN Project for EF 2014
• Reference No.: ET-MOA/FSCD-292600-CS-QCBS

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has received financing from the International Development Association (IDA) and other Development Partners toward the cost of Strengthen Ethiopia's Adaptive Safety Net (SEASN) Project and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services,

The consulting services ("the Services") include the services of carrying out an Independent Procurement Audit of the SEASN Project for EFY 2014.

The objectives of the Procurement Audit are as follows:

• To review the planning, procurement, contracting, implementation processes, and record-keeping for a sample of contracts under the SEASN, to confirm their consistency with the Project Appraisal Document (PAD), Procurement Plan approved at the Federal, region, and woreda level, PIM and the FA;
• To seek a professional opinion on compliance by the procurement processes with the general principle of economy, efficiency, equal opportunities, transparency and verify technical compliance, physical completion, and price competitiveness of each contract in the selected representative sample of contracts;
• To review the capacity of implementing agencies (Federal, regions, and woredas) in handling procurement efficiently, comment on the quality of planning, procurement, contracting, procurement internal control, record keeping, and identify reasons for delays, if any, and overall, how procurement management facilitates project implementation;
• To identify any indicators of questionable standards of ethics in the procurement management and oversight environment that make the processes vulnerable to fraud and corruption or collusive and obstructive practices, and report any suspicious cases; and
• To recommend actions needed to improve project procurement performance in light of deficiencies.

The Food Security Coordination Directorate (FSCD) of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) now invites eligible consulting firms ("Consultants") to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.). The short-listing criteria are:

Core business and years in business, relevant experience, and technical and managerial capability of the firm.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank's "Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers" July 2016 revised November 2017, July 2018, and Nov. 2020 ("Procurement Regulations"), setting forth the World Bank's policy on conflict of interest.

Consultants may associate with other firms in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy to enhance their qualifications and should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture or a sub-consultancy.

In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost Based Selection Method (QCBS) set out in the Procurement Regulations.

Further information and the Terms of Reference for the consultancy assignment can be obtained at the address below during office hours, 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. From June 29-July14-2022

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, by mail, by fax, or by e-mail) on or before 4:00 PM local time on July 14, 2022.

• Attention, Degayehu Desso, Director, Procurement Directorate
• P.O. Box 62347,
• Email: degayehu@gmail.com ; or wihibisenbet@yahoo.com
• CMC Road, Behind Ministry of Mines and Energy, Building A, 2nd Floor, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)