Selection & employment of Consulting firm of an Independent Verification Agency for the Result Based Finance Distribution of Solar Home System in rural and deep rural areas in Ethiopia under ADELE project Component 3.1 implemented by MoWE.

Source: World Bank — Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE)

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (Selection of Firm)

FEDERAL DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF ETHIOPIA

Project: Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE)

Credit No. IDA - 6857-ET

Assignment Title:  Independent Verification Agent (IVA) to support Implementation of the Results-Based Financing windows

Reference No. ET-MoWE-334006-CS-QCBS

The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of Access to Distributed Electricity and Lighting in Ethiopia (ADELE) and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services for Independent Verification Agent (IVA) to support Implementation of the Results-Based Financing windows.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT 

• The objective of the assignment is to carry out the verifications of claims submitted by the participating solar companies under the RBF component of ADELE project. The verifications will serve as a trigger for payments from the MOWE to the grantees with the facilitation of the Grants Administrator Support consulting firm contracted under the project. The IVA will establish validity and correctness of the sales claims submitted by the grant beneficiaries for the distribution of eligible products in the eligible areas/Weredas. The IVA will determine the precise methodology of verification, taking into account country context and budget.

SCOPE OF THE WORK

• Independent verification is a key component of output-based grant; a form of Result based financing that links the disbursement of funds to the achievements of specified results. The verification process built into the RBF based project design, helps to integrate monitoring and quality control into the project cycle and triggers disbursements. Verification is linked with subsidy disbursement; the IVA can improve service quality and accountability, providing assurance to donors and governments that their funds have been used for the intended purpose. Although verification is ultimately focused on outputs, it is ongoing throughout the project cycle, so that short comings or obstacles can be identified and corrective actions based on the feedback are put in place before final verification.

DURATION OF ASSIGNMENT

• The total duration of the assignment will be 365 days with possible extension based on performance. The Independent Verification will be conducted as per the request of the claims by the grantee of the project with a total estimated input of 36 man-months. 

DETAIL TOR ATTACHED: The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be found at https://www.mowe.gov.et/en/resource_types/ToR-files-.

The Ministry of Water and Energy 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.

Short-listing criteria are:

Firm’s Core business and years in business

Qualification and experience in the field of assignment and

Organizational, managerial and technical capabilities 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 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting fourth edition 2020 the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. 

Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications, but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/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 set out in the Procurement Regulation.

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 9:00 am to 12:00 am noon and 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm after noon from Monday to Friday.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail or by e-mail) on or before 17th October 2023, 2:00 PM (Afternoon)

Attn: Mr. Wagari Madera, Executive Procurement Officer

Haile Gebresilasie Avenue 1st floor, Room Number 112

P.O. Box: 5744

Tel: +251116898006

E-mail: procurement@mowe.gov.et

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ministry of water and Energy (MoWE)