THE REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
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NORTHERN REGION WATER BOARD
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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT)
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PROCUREMENT AUDIT OF MZIMBA INTEGRATED URBAN WATER AND SANITATION PROJECT

Background information :

  1. This request for expression of interest follows the general procurement notice for Mzimba Integrated Urban Water and Sanitation Project that appeared in the UN Development Business issue of 20th August 2015 under reference no. AfDB573-08/15.
  2. After noting that the capacity of Mzimba Water Supply system could not match the water demand at Mzimba Town, the Government of the Republic of Malawi obtained a credit from OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) and African Development Fund (ADF) for implementation of Mzimba Integrated Urban Water and Sanitation Project (MIUWSP) to address the water supply and sanitation challenges at Mzimba Town.
  3. The project development objective of MIUWSP was to increase access to reliable and sustainable potable water supply and improved sanitation services for the socio-economic growth and development of Mzimba Town and the country. The project involved design and construction of water treatment plant, water transmission pipelines, storage tanks, pump stations and distribution pipelines, among others. The project also promoted sanitation and hygiene by conducting awareness campaigns as well as constructing demonstration sanitation facilities in schools, health centres and market places. The Project also constructed a solid waste management site, liquid waste treatment plant and sanitation centre. In addition, a Sanitation and Hygiene Investment Plan for Mzimba Town was prepared under the project.
  4. The Executing Agency (EA) is the Northern Region Water Board (NRWB). To carry out the above activities, the EA entered into a number of contracts categorized as follows:
    • Design review and supervision of works for water infrastructure, sanitation facilities, road works and conducting baseline survey ;
    • Promotion of sanitation and hygiene ;
    • Preparation of strategic sanitation plan ;
    • Construction of water infrastructure, sanitation facilities and access roads ;
    • Supply and delivery of various items including vehicles, construction materials, water connection materials, and office equipment, among others ;
    • Project management consultancies such as midterm/endline review and annual audit.

         5. Overall, the implementation of the project has reached 97% and the project will close on 31st December, 2019.

        6 .The NRWB intends to apply part of the proceeds of the credit from ADF and OFID to payments under the contract for Consultancy Services for Procurement Audit of Mzimba Integrated Urban Water and Sanitation Project.

Objectivite of the procurement audit :

  • The objective of the Procurement Audit is to conduct a performance audit of the Client by: reviewing the adequacy of the country/borrower procurement system used by the Client that was agreed for the implementation of the project,  reviewing procurement, contracting, and implementation processes which have been followed for contracts in the project to confirm consistency with the country procurement system and the Financing Agreement (FA); and (examining the adequacy of the Client’s management capacities ;
  • The Procurement Audit serves an important role in the Northern Region Water Board and African Development Bank’s general review responsibility by ;
  • Contributing to the AfDB and the Borrower’s ability to maintain their fiduciary responsibilities with regard to the procurement function ;
  • Identifying weaknesses in the Borrower’s procedures with regard to the selected projects and recommending corrective action ;
  • Identifying systemic weaknesses that may be apparent in these countries and providing recommendations for corrective action ;
  • Contributing to the improvement of project implementation; and
  • Creating a deterrent to negligence in procurement management, decision-making and oversight, ensuring that an environment conducive to prohibited practices is not allowed to develop and that any such practices are brought to light and eliminated.

The purpose of the Procurement Audit is to:

  • Review any modification in the country procurement system since the time of project appraisal ;
  • Verify that the agreed procurement and contracting processes have been followed ;
  • Verify technical compliance, physical completion, and price competitiveness of each contract ; and
  • Compliance with the FA provisions regarding the Borrower’s obligations to maintain during project execution an executing agency (the Client) with due capacities to fulfill fiduciary responsibilities .

Scope of the procurement audit :

This review assignment shall be executed with the requisite due diligence and professional expertise to achieve its objectives, and to that end, the following shall be undertaken:

  • Determine whether the procurement and contracting processes were carried out in accordance with the country procurement system and the FA, and achieved the expected economy and efficiency, effectiveness and equity ;
  • Determine to the extent possible whether identified non-compliance with the country procurement system and the FA, inappropriate practices or questionable decisions/actions, may have been related to prohibited practices ;
  • Evaluate that procurement, contracting and disbursement is being carried out in accordance with the country procurement system and the FA ;
  • Determine any deficiency and/or failure of the Executing Agency in conducting procurement and contract management; and
  • In light of any deficiencies, identify ways of improving the procurement and contracting process.

The review shall cover contracts financed from the proceeds of the loans (or credits) and whose procurement procedures were carried out using the Borrower Procurement System.

A thorough review of the contracts shall be conducted, making visits to project sites and physical inspections of the goods and works procured as needed. The Consultant will then carry out a detailed review of the procurement process and documentation for all Procurement Audit sample contracts, verification of technical compliance, physical verification of goods and works, cost analysis. Where appropriate, prices and quality should also be compared with similar contracts financed by agencies in the country and the region and verified against international market prices for the items in question.

  To cover systematically the various objectives and scope defined in the TOR the review should focus on four main areas:

  • Adequacy of the country procurement system, with particular focus on the 21 sub-indicators of the OECD-MAPS selected by the AfDB as critical ;
  • Compliance of the procurement procedures, process, documents, and decisions with the country procurement system and the FA ;
  • Timeliness of the procurement/contracting process and decisions ;
  • Compliance of the delivered goods and completed works and services with the requirements and specifications defined in the contract; and
  • Cost effectiveness of contracts .

Methodology :

The procurement review should follow three broad phases:

  • Design of the scope and program of the review, defining the essential information requirements and contacts;
  • Fieldwork; and
  • Preparation of the Procurement Audit Report following discussions of the preliminary report with the Borrower

 In the design of the Procurement Audit, the Consultant should use standard review methodologies. If the Consultant intends to introduce variations or substantial changes to these broad guidelines, it should be indicated in.

  The Consultant shall perform his/her duties in the field with full respect for and communication with officials of the Client.

Deliverables and reporting :

 

The Consultant shall be required to submit the following deliverables as ten (10) hard (printed) copies and one (1) electronic copy on a CD.

 

Inception report :

 

The Consultant shall submit the inception report within 14 days from commencement of the assignment. The Inception Report shall be reviewed and accepted by the Client.

 

Draft procurement audit report :

The Consultant shall submit the Draft Procurement Audit Report within 60 days from commencement of the assignment. The Client shall review the Preliminary Procurement Audit Summary and the draft Procurement Audit Report and give the Consultant a set of comments. The Consultant would be required to incorporate the comments within 7 days of receipt of comments from the Client.

 

Final procurement audit :

 

  • On completion of the review, and prior to completing the Procurement Audit Report, the Consultant should present his/her initial findings to the Client in the form of a Preliminary Procurement Audit Summary ;
  • The Procurement Audit Report should focus on the Procurement Audit findings and recommendations without going into details of what transpired during the review. Details of the review methodology and procedures, evidence substantiating the review findings, and elaboration on the recommendations should be covered in the Annexes ;
  • Except as otherwise justified by the Consultant, the report should be structured as follows ;
  • Summary of findings and recommendations .
  • Outline of the Procurement Audit objectives; and
  • TORs scope, approach, and review sample.

Findings on:

  • Procurement System and Country/Borrower issues;
  • Procurement processes (specific contracts issues with respect to compliance with main principles);
  • Specific projects/agencies and Client’s performance;
  • Indication of Possible Prohibited Practices
  • AfDB’s actions; and progress of implementation of last Procurement Audit’s recommendations
  • Visit to implementation site and general issues.
  • Recommendations (if any)

Annexes, including:

  • Terms of Reference ;
  • Review Methodology and list of contracts reviewed; o Procurement Audit Data (by contract and by project) ;
  • Details of all findings of the review with evidence substantiating the findings; and o Tables and graphs illustrating the detailed analysis carried out during the review .
  • The final Procurement Audit Report which shall be the sole responsibility of the Consultant and will represent the opinions of the Consultant.
  • The final Procurement Audit Report shall be submitted within 75 days from commencement of the assignment

Reporting :

The Consultant will be responsible to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Northern Region Water Board for the successful execution of the assignment. However, for carrying out day-to-day operational activities he shall interact with the Director of Infrastructure Development or the Project Coordinator.

Time shedule :

The Procurement Audit should be completed within 75 days of the Client’s instructions to proceed with the Procurement Audit. The required input is estimated to be 30 staff days.

Data ,Documents, Services, and facilities :

  • The documents and information on the procurements to be audited will be available from the Client. Much of this information will be in the Client’s project files, and the Consultant should be prepared to review and inspect this information in the offices of the Client ;
  • The Consultant should aim to give the Client advance notice of the information and documents which he/she would require .

 

Payment Schedule :

The payment schedule of the assignment will be as follows:

  1. Inception Report – 20% shall be made after submission and acceptance of the report by the Client.
  2. Draft Procurement Audit Report- 50% shall be made after submission and acceptance of the report by the Client.
  3. Final Procurement Audit Report – 30% shall be made after submission and acceptance of the report by the Client.

Eligibility crteria :

  • The Consultant will be an individual consultant ;
  • The Consultant performing the Procurement Audit should have wide experience in public procurement under AfDB or other equivalent Multilateral Development Bank financed projects and the country/borrower procurement system with the following Qualification and Experience ;
  • A minimum of Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management or Purchasing and Supply or relevant field ;
  • At least 10 years post-qualification practical experience in Procurement and Contract Management ;
  • Experience in project or assignment in procurement, procurement auditing, or assessment/evaluation of procurement systems carried out for Multilateral Development Banks and International Financing Institutions ;
  • Be familiar with Malawi national procurement systems, guidelines, policies and regulation ;
  • Must be a registered member of MIPS or such equivalent bodies and be eligible to practice in Malawi ;
  • Eligibility criteria and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the African Development Fund’s ;“Procurement Policy for Bank Group-Funded Operations, dated October 2015, which is available on the Fund’s website at http://www.afdb.org ;
  • The selected Consultant shall be requested to submit a workplan and financial proposal which shall form basis for contract negotiations.

Submission of expression of interest :

  • The Northern Region Water Board now invites eligible interested Individual Consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consultants must submit detailed Curriculum Vitae (CV) that provide information that they are qualified to perform the services and a letter expressing their interest ;
  • Interested consultants may obtain further information during office hours [07:30 to 16:30 hours (Malawi time)] from:

The Project Coordinator

Attention:      Eng Jackson Mtungila

Telephone:    (265) 0992 013 600

E-mail     :       jmtungila@yahoo.co.uk

10.3.       Expressions of interest must be delivered by mail or electronically or hand delivered in sealed envelopes clearly marked “PROCUREMENT AUDIT OF MZIMBA INTEGRATED URBAN WATER AND SANITATION PROJECT” to the address indicated below by 14:00 hours (Malawi time) on 19th June 2019.

The Chairperson

Internal Procurement and Disposal Committee

Northern Region Water Board

Bloemwater Street

Kawiluwilu House

Room No. 6 (Chief Executive Officer’s Secretary)

Private Bag 94

Mzuzu

MALAWI

E-mail : mbewe08@gmail.com

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