Avis d’appel à manifestation d’intérêt pour le recrutement d’un Consultant chargé de la mise en œuvre du plan de suivi et d’évaluation (S&E) de l’Initiative « Desert-To-Power » Programme énergétique régional pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest (WAREP) y compris l’évaluation externe de fin de projet

 

 

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

CONSULTING SERVICES

Desert-To-Power Initiative West Africa Regional Energy Program (WAREP) — Phase 1

FINANCIAL AUDIT OF THE DESERT-TO-POWER INITIATIVE WEST AFRICA REGIONAL ENERGY PROGRAM–PHASE 1

The African Development Bank Group (the Bank) has been supporting the ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE) in its developmental efforts since 2014. The Bank’s Desert-to-Power (DtP) Initiative is designed to harness the abundant solar energy in the Sahel to generate an additional 10 GW of capacity to provide clean electricity to 250 million people. Phase 1 of the initiative is the West Africa Regional Energy Program (WAREP), which seeks to catalyse growth in access to electricity by addressing primarily financial barriers to private sector-led distributed power generation and mini-grid development from renewable energy. The development objective of the Program is « accelerated regional-scale development of solar generation, transmission, and decentralized energy projects across the Sahel Region. »

WAREP Phase 1 has three components – (i) pre-feasibility studies for the Sahel Backbone and associated solar parks to improve regional energy trade; (ii)preparation activities for the ECREEE Rural Electrification and Mini-Grids Program to expand mini-grid investments and generate economies of scale, and (iii) project management to ensure quality control and supervision of the project. Component 1 is being implemented by the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP), Component 2 by ECREEE, and Component 3 is project management activities by both WAPP and ECREEE.

There are two sub-components of Component 2 — (i) decentralized energy solutions to develop an actionable regional mini-grid program; (ii) to support a regional capacity building and certification program targeting mass training of technicians and relevant stakeholders. Under the first sub-component, Clean Mini-Grid Feasibility Studies will be carried out in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Bissau, Liberia, Mali, and Niger. National validation workshops will be held after feasibility studies have been concluded. Activities under the second sub-component include:

  • Selection of Training and Examination Centers for the Certification Program,
  • Development of Modules on the design, installation, and inspection of Clean Mini-Grids,
  • Regional Mini-Grid Training of Trainers, and
  • National Training of Developers/Designers/Promoters of Clean Mini-Grids.

Implementing the project’s Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) plan, including the external end-of-project evaluation by an independent consultant, is considered a cross-cutting activity.

A Grant of UA1.39 million was approved in December 2021 to finance the DtP WAREP–Phase 1. Subsequently, a Program Implementation Unit (PIU) was established within the Directorate of Operations, and it comprises a Program Coordinator, an Accountant, a Procurement Officer, a Clean Mini-Grid Specialist, and a Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist. The PIU’s responsibilities include, among other things, planning and implementing the technical activities under the two sub-components as well as tasks related to administration, financial management, procurement, quality control, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.

The African Development Bank entirely finances the project. The first disbursement occurred on September 29, 2022. As of February 14, 2023, two disbursements totalling UA 102,266.82 had been received. This represents 7.36% of the total Grant amount of UA1.39 million.

In line with the agreement Section 8.03-b: « Each audit of the financial statements shall cover a period of one (1) financial year except (i) the first audit, which may cover a period not exceeding eighteen (18) months after the date of the first disbursement of the Grant if such disbursement occurs in the second half of the applicable financial year », this first audit will cover the period September 2022 to February 2024, being sixteen (16) months. The specific audit period that the assignment will cover is September 2022 to February 2024.

In view of the above, ECREEE is seeking to recruit an eligible Audit Firm to provide consultancy services per the following criteria:

  • The auditing firm should be registered and have a license from a national or regional or international professional Accountancy Body;
  • The firm should have relevant experience in accounting and auditing development programs or projects, especially donor-funded operations;
  • Experience in auditing development programs or projects in the ECOWAS region; and
  • The firm should confirm the availability of the following key personnel:
  1. Audit Manager,
  2. Audit Supervisor,
  3. Audit Senior,
  4. Technical audit senior and
  5. Procurement Auditor.

The specific audit period that the assignment will cover is September 2022 to February 2024.

The shortlisting and selection procedure will be in accordance with the « Procurement Framework for Operations financed by the Bank Group, » October 2015 edition, which is available on the website of the Bank at the address: http://www.afdb.org. Upon the assessment of the REOIs, only shortlisted firms will be requested to submit full technical and financial proposals.

Interested firms are now requested to submit their Expressions of Interest (EOI) in line with the instructions below:

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

  1. Potential Auditing firms should submit their Expressions of Interest through warep@ecreee.org only, indicating the subject: « ECREEE WAREP FINANCIAL AUDIT. »
  2. The deadline for submission of EOIs is no later than 23:59 hrs GMT-1 (Cabo Verde time) on December 13, 2023.
  1. Further information/clarification can be obtained at the following email addresses: adeoliveira@ecreee.org and eetim@ecreee.org. Please do not copy these two email addresses when submitting your proposals.

« Disclaimer: This document has been translated into French and Portuguese to reach a wider audience. While reasonable efforts were made to provide accurate translations, portions may be incorrect. ECREEE assumes no liability for any errors, omissions, or ambiguities in the French and Portuguese translations. The English version remains the original and final version for reference. »

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