Zambia EITI - Request for expression of interest for consultancy services

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES

 ZAMBIA EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE (ZEITI) SECRETARIAT

MINISTRY OF MINES, ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT

Zambia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

Reference: ZEITI/SEC/C/001/14

Project Name: ZAMBIA EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES TRANSPARENCY INITIATIVE PROJECT

The Government of the Republic of Zambia has applied for financing from the European Union, DfiD and Norwegian Embassy through the Mining Basket Fund towards the cost of the Zambia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ZEITI) Project, and intends to apply part of the agreed amount of this grant to payments under the contract for Consultancy Services for the ZEITI Independent Administrator to produce the fifth (2012) and sixth (2013) ZEITI Reports covering the periods January 2012 to December 2012 and January 2013 to December 2013 respectively.

The services to be carried out by the consultant will include some of the following;

• Undertake a scoping study to establish payment streams and materiality thresholds of payments made by extractive companies and revenues received by government agencies in 2012 and 2013.
• Production of a Reconciliation report on payments made by extractive companies and revenues received by Government agencies for the periods January 2012 to December 2012 and January 2013 to December 2013 respectively. These accounts must be audited to international standards.
• Conduct a training workshop for all stakeholders to address the main issues that affect the reconciliation exercise once the Zambia EITI Council (ZEC) has approved the reporting templates.
• Undertake a review the relevant background information, including the governance arrangements, legal framework and fiscal regime in the extractive industries.
• Production data for the fiscal year covered by the EITI Report (Requirement 3.5)
• An overview of the extractive industries, including any significant exploration activities (Requirement 3.3)
• Where available, information about the contribution of the extractive industries to the economy for the 2012 and 2013 fiscal years to be covered by the EITI Report (Requirement 3.4)
• Information regarding state participation in the extractive industries (Requirement 3.6)
• Distribution of revenues from the extractive industries (Requirement 3.7) and any additional information on revenue management and expenditures (Requirement 3.8)
• Information on the licensing process and register (Requirement 3.9)and the allocation of licenses (Requirement 3.10)
• To carry out a reconciliation of payments and receipts in the forestry sector based on the results of the scoping study if need arises.

The Zambia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (ZEITI) Secretariat now invites eligible consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consultants must provide information (brochures, description of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc.) indicating that they are qualified to perform the services.

The consultants must;

i. Be a local or foreign firm, or a joint venture between a local and a foreign firm with international reputation: partnership with a local firm or local    representation will be an added advantage. The local firm must be actively involved in the entire process.

ii. Have adequate senior professionals with experience in relevant fields to provide impartiality and expertise for all parties including lead person      with not less than 5 years of relevant working experience;

iii. Possess adequate knowledge of the mining industry, taxation, and public and private accounting in Zambia;

iv. Have provided services in the context of large scale auditing and accounting projects before; and

v. Demonstrate how any conflict of interest would be addressed if he Independent Administrator has extractive companies as clients.

vi. Have an understanding of the EITI reporting process.

Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the Mining Basket Fund’s “Rules and Procedures for the use of Consultants” under projects financed by the World Bank Group, May 2008 Edition, revised on July 2012, which is available on the Bank’s website at http://www.worldbank.org

Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours, from 08.00 to 13.00 hours and 14.00hours to 17.00 hours.

Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address below by 6th March, 2014 at 16:30hrs Zambian Local time and should be clearly marked on the outer envelope “Consultancy Services for ZEITI Independent Administrator” ZEITI/SEC/C/001/14”.

Attention: HEAD-ZAMBIA EITI SECRETARIAT, Geological Survey Department, Corner of Government & Nationalists Roads, Ridgeway, P.O. Box 31969, Lusaka, Zambia.

Phone:   +260 977 611790, +260 977 761700

Email: infor@zambiaeiti.org or visit www.zambiaeiti.org