Request for Proposal (RFP) – Provision of IRS Transportation Services

Request for Proposal (RFP)

Provision of IRS Transportation Services

About Abt Associates:

Founded in 1965, Abt Associates Inc., is a mission driven, global leader in research and program implementation in the fields of health, social and environmental policy, and international development.

With a global staff of more than 3000, and in over 60 countries, Abt Associates is recognized as an engine for social impact, fueled by caring, curiosity, and cutting-edge research that moves people from vulnerability to security. Whether it’s welfare or weather disasters, the environment or economics, agriculture or HIV and AIDS, Abt Associates addresses the world’s most pressing issues, and is known for its rigorous approach to solving complex challenges.

Approximately 51% of our staff has graduate degrees; one in six has a doctorate. Examples of Abt Associates work include nationally recognized research, evaluation, and technical assistance to improve efficiency of health care systems, effectiveness of government housing programs, the production of food, and the measurements of public opinion, and international public health.

Abt Associates has been ranked among top 20 global research firms and one of the top 40 development innovators.

About the PMI Evolve Rwanda Project:

The U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) Evolve Project was awarded to Abt Associates on December 19, 2022. The purpose of this contract is to support PMI, as well as U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Missions and Bureaus, with the planning, implementing, and monitoring of malaria vector control programs, including indoor residual spraying (IRS), insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs), and larval source management (LSM). PMI Evolve will strengthen the capacity of local institutions, including national malaria programs (MOPDD), district health offices, and research institutions to independently conduct vector control programs. PMI Evolve is also responsible for entomological monitoring and conducting operations research on new vector control innovations. PMI Evolve will incorporate gender equity and social inclusion (GESI) and climate change initiatives as cross-cutting themes with the overall goal of ending malaria faster. Activities are carried out in full collaboration with the Rwanda Biomedical Center /Malaria and Other Parasitic Diseases Control.

To facilitate those activities, the PMI Evolve Rwanda Project is inviting interested, registered, reputable, experienced, and capable professional local transport companies to tender for the following RFPs below:

• RFP No: 01/015/2024 – Provision of IRS Transportation Services in Nyagatare District.
• RFP No: 01/016/2024 – Provision of IRS Transportation Services in Kirehe District.
• RFP No: 01/017/2024 – Provision of IRS Transportation Services in Ngoma District.

Interested local companies with demonstrated capacity and experience of having carried out similar services with reputable public and private organizations are requested to submit their bids.

Instructions to offerors:

1. All documents submitted in response to this RFP, as well as all related correspondence, will be in English.
2. Offerors are required to fully review all instructions and specifications contained in this RFP. Failure to do so will be at the offeror’s risk. Offerors are encouraged to only bid for bids which they have professional experience and capacity.
3. All documents with required certifications should be valid at the date of the award and all offers must include:
   1. The owner’s name / business name, e-mail, physical address, and phone number.
   2. Copy of registration certificate.
   3. Copy of tax clearance certificate from the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA).
   4. Copy of contributions clearance certificate issued by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB).
   5. Proof of having a certified electronic billing machine from the Rwanda Revenue Authority.
4. Financial offer clearly indicating the price and VAT separately for each item in the RFP.
5. At any time prior to award of the contract, should Abt Associates deem it necessary to change the RFP provisions, it will provide such amendment(s) in writing. No oral instructions by any person will in any way be considered to limit, exclude, modify, or otherwise affect any terms or conditions of this solicitation, and no offeror shall rely on any such instructions.
6. All responses to this RFP shall be submitted via email to: PMI_EvolveRwanda@abtassoc.com or drop box at the issuing address above.
7. Quotes from Offeror(s) on the U.S. Government debarred list will not be considered.
8. A bidder is not eligible if the bidder has been debarred by the Rwanda Public Procurement Authority because:
   • The bidder has been prosecuted and found guilty in court including any appeals process on corruption charges, fraud, money-laundering or any other such illegal activities.
   • The bidder is bankrupt.
   • The bidder has been excluded in accordance with regional or international conventions.
   • The bidder has a conflict of interest.
   • The bidder is a government owned enterprise which cannot establish that i) it is financially autonomous ii) operates under commercial law iii) is not a dependent agency of the purchaser.
   • The bidder is regulatorily compliant (registered with the appropriate professional bodies and fully paid up in all tax and social security obligations).
9. Bidder shall submit offer(s) with the following naming convention:
   1. E-mail subject line (no space before/after dashes “-“):
      • RFP# 01/015/2024 -Your company name
      • RFP# 01/016/2024 -Your company name
      • RFP# 01/017/2024 -Your company name
   2. Attachments: e.g. Quote/product literature/registration certificates etc.
      RFP# XXXX-Your company name- Quote
      RFP# XXXX-Your company name- Product Literature
      RFP# XXXX-Your company name- Registration certificate etc.

10. Abt Associates Inc. reserves the right to reject bids submitted without all requested information as non-responsive.

Quote Validity/Performance Period:

Submitted offers/bids shall be valid for at least a period of 120 days from RFP closing date.

Preparation of Bids:

Offerors/offerors are expected to examine the technical specifications and all instructions contained in this RFP. Failure to do so will be at the offeror’s risk.

Offers shall clearly indicate Price and VAT separately.

Descriptive literature, quality standard supporting documentation, full technical specification per quoted item must be submitted with the bid. Submitted literature will be used to demonstrate compliance with the stated technical specification but shall in no way be considered to amend the quotation and the applicable RFP requirement.

Any deviation from the RFP stated specification must be identified, explanation provided in the attached List of Exceptions document (Attachment C). In case of conflict between the RFP technical specifications and the offeror offered descriptive literature, the RFP specifications shall be the standard.

Amendments:

If it becomes necessary to modify this RFP before award, an amendment will be issued and be binding to all offerors. Amendment(s) will be sent return receipt requested, and will be numbered consecutively commencing with Amendment-01, 02 etc. Offerors are required to reference such amendments in their subsequent response and/or communication.

Questions:

All questions regarding this RFP shall be addressed to: PMI_EvolveRwanda@abtassoc.com. Abt will communicate the questions and its responses to all offerors and may at its sole discretion extend the quotation deadline. Oral communication concerning this RFP will not be accepted except for administrative clarification regarding submission format or location of the office, etc.

Exceptions:

To ensure clarity on the bids and their conformity to the RFP technical specifications and requirements, offeror shall furnish a list of all exceptions to any of the terms/conditions/technical specification/quality standards contained in this RFP and shall include an explanation or justification for the exception taken (See Attachment C – List of Exceptions).

Invoices and Payments: Payments will be made after Abt Associates receives a complete and correct invoice and signed vehicle log sheets from offeror after delivery of services. Offeror should indicate its bank accounts on the printed invoice clearly.

Payments will be made net thirty (30) days after Abt Associates receives a complete and correct invoice from offeror based solely on signed vehicle log sheets from offeror after delivery of services. No advance payment should be expected by vendors from Abt Associates.

Requested service:

The PMI Evolve Rwanda project implemented by Abt Associates Inc. is currently seeking firm, fixed-price bids for interested, registered, reputable, experienced transport companies to tender for transport services from 10^th July 2024 to 30^th October 2024, as described in the chart below:

Description of the Requested Services:

IRS Transportation for Nyagatare District RFP Number 01/015/2024

IRS Transportation for Kirehe District RFP Number 01/016/2024

IRS Transportation for Ngoma District RFP number 01/017/2024

Instructions to offerors:

11. All documents submitted in response to this RFP, as well as all related correspondence, will be in English.
12. All quoted prices shall be in Rwandan francs.
13. Offerors are required to fully review all instructions and specifications contained in this RFP. Failure to do so will be at the offeror’s risk.
14. At any time prior to award of the contract, should Abt Associates deem it necessary to change the RFP provisions, it will provide such amendment(s) in writing. No oral instructions by any person will in any way be considered to limit, exclude, modify, or otherwise affect any terms or conditions of this solicitation, and no offeror shall rely on any such instructions.
15. No inquiries will be answered over the phone or in person, except for administrative clarification regarding submission format or location of the office, etc.
16. Responses to technical questions will be distributed to all offerors.
17. All responses to this RFP shall be submitted to Abt Associates Kigali office or via e-mail as per instructions on Page 1 of this RFP under (Mode of submission).
18. Quotes from Offeror(s) on the U.S. Government debarred list will not be considered.
19. Vehicles shall be supplied with comprehensive insurance. Abt assumes no insurance or safety liability whatsoever.
20. All vehicles carrying SOPs shall be supplied with “turnboys” to ensure non-authorized passengers do not use vehicle or vehicles are not left unattended to during SOPs working hours.
21. At a minimum, offered vehicles must meet the following requirements (except where otherwise provided/explained, these requirements are absolute):
    1. Comply with all regulatory requirements in Rwanda including but not limited to, safety, e.g.: functioning seat belts, lights, tires, triangles, etc.
    2. Wholly owned by the offeror (please include certified copy of vehicle registration). If offeror is not the legal owner, a letter authorizing the offeror to commit the offered vehicles and associated terms is required.
    3. Copy of vehicle registration certificate.
    4. Copy of comprehensive insurance certificate.
    5. Copy of certificate of vehicle inspection.
    6. By submitting an offer, the offeror confirms that it is compliant with the forementioned requirements.

Note: upon the award, the vehicles will be inspected, and the vendors should be ready for the inspection of the vehicles.

22. No advance payment is expected after winning the contract and successful offeror/s shall be paid after Abt Associates receives a complete and correct invoice and signed vehicle log sheets from offeror after delivery of services.
23. By submitting an offer and response to this RFP, the offeror guarantees to replace any defective vehicle during the transport services period within 24 hours at no extra cost. If no replacement is made within the agreed time frame, the offeror will accept cancelation of the contract with Abt Associates with no penalty or will cover any rental costs incurred by Abt.
24. Bids shall be valid for 120 days after submission; however, upon signing of the contract the validity of the quoted unit cost shall remain for the duration of the contract.

25. Notwithstanding any prior agreement in place between Abt and the offeror, by signing and returning this RFP and/or submitting an offer, offeror:
    1. Acknowledges receipt and acceptance of all terms and conditions contained in this RFP.
    2. Confirms that all information contained in the offeror’s quotation (including all applicable supporting documentation) is complete, accurate (i.e., no material omission or falsification), and current.
    3. Owns the vehicles contained in their quote and/or has the requisite full legal right to commit these vehicles as proposed. If offeror is not the legal owner of quoted vehicles and applicable services, then proof of owner authorization to commit the quoted vehicles and applicable services is required.
26. Bids must be signed by a duly authorized representative of the offeror, and must contain the offeror’s full address, and contact details.
27. Bid submitted without all above requested information can be disqualified as non-responsive.
28. Abt Associates is an equal opportunity employer and strongly encourages women to apply for this tender.

Requirements:

1. Bidding companies for the above RFP should submit bids with the required valid certifications on the date of the award, and all bids must include:

The owner’s name(s) / business name, physical address, and phone number.

• Copy of registration certificate.
• Copy of tax clearance certificate from the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA).
• Copy of contributions clearance certificate issued by the Rwanda Social Security Board (RSSB).
• Proof of having a certified electronic billing machine from the Rwanda Revenue Authority.

2. All vehicles must be insured with passengers’ insurance.
3. Fueling, maintenance and other vehicle repairs are the responsibility of the offeror/ transport company.
4. Vehicles must be in very good operating condition. Proof of a technical inspection certificate issued by the Rwandan police is required. Vehicles that are offered with worn out tires and mechanical issues will be eliminated from providing the stated service.
5. The successful offeror/s will provide vehicles with drivers and the vehicle will be hired per day.
6. The offeror shall be responsible for drivers’ daily expenses such as salary, per diem, lodging and other expenses related to this agreement.
7. The offeror/driver is not allowed to carry unauthorized passengers who are not staff of Abt Associates/ PMI Evolve Rwanda Project or MOPDC/RBC (Rwanda Biomedical Center /Malaria and Other Parasitic Diseases Control) during the duration of this contract.

Award Criteria:

Award will be based on an offer’s overall best value with the following factors considered:

1. Compliance with specifications and RFP instructions.
2. Price and price-related factors.
3. Payment terms.
4. Past performance.