Expressions of Interest (EoI)
Consultancy to conduct a gap assessment study on the implementation of the provisions of the AfCFTA Competition Policy Protocol.
Reference number: 83459010
Publication date: 02.02.2024
Introduction
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federally owned international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. The GIZ Office in Kigali covers GIZ’s portfolio in Rwanda and Burundi. GIZ Rwanda/Burundi implements projects on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and other commissioning authorities in the following priority areas: Sustainable Economic Development; Good Governance; Climate, Energy and Sustainable Urban Development; Digitalization and Digital Economy; and regional projects in the Great Lakes Region.
Context
The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight (8) Regional Economic Communities (RECs). As part of its mandate, the AfCFTA is to eliminate trade barriers and boost intra-Africa trade and advance trade in value-added production across all service sectors of the African Economy. The AfCFTA will contribute to establishing regional value chains in Africa, enabling investment and job creation. The practical implementation of the AfCFTA has the potential to foster industrialization, job creation, and investment, thus enhancing the competitiveness of Africa in the medium to long term.
Through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Germany currently provides technical support to the African Union Commission (AUC), specifically to the Department of Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry and Minerals (ETTIM) and the AfCFTA Secretariat, with its project “African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)”. The project’s main objective is to strengthen the framework conditions for intra-African trade. Besides the outstanding topics of AfCFTA Phase I on Trade in Goods and Trade in Services, phase II and III issues, such as Investment, competition policy, Intellectual Property Rights, and digital trade are supported. Furthermore, involvement of the private sector and civil society are supported.
To this end, the project pursues a multi-level approach on the continental level working with the AUC DTI and AfCFTA Secretariat, at the regional level supporting Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and the national level, specifically in the projects focus countries, like Rwanda.
Rationale
The adoption of the AfCFTA Protocol on Competition Policy constitutes a significant step in the process of continental integration. In the absence of safeguards regulating anti-competitive practices, businesses can abuse their dominant market positions through price fixing cartels, predatory behavior that eliminates local competition and other market-sharing agreements. Competition law is at the heart of making market economies functional. The objective of the protocol is therefore to eliminate anti-competitive and other restrictive business practices for improved market efficiency, inclusive growth and to ensure that gains from trade liberalization are not negated or undermined by anti-competitive practices.
The Competition Protocol includes definitions of key provisions such as “anti-competitive business practices” which decide the practices that are to be considered incompatible with the proper functioning of the market. These include, amongst others, decisions on mergers and acquisitions, prohibitions of certain horizontal and vertical anti-competitive business practices or related practices that lead to market distortion. Other provisions include the establishment of the AfCFTA Competition Authority, which will function as an autonomous body with powers to administer and enforce provisions of the Protocol and decide on any undertakings, including approving mergers.
Today, competition in many African countries is restricted by business practices that undermine competitive dynamics and by government interventions and regulations that create obstacles to healthy competition, often aggravated by the absence of competition laws or weak enforcement of existing laws. As the AfCFTA effectively eliminates tariffs and non-tariff barriers between its State Parties, new opportunities for competition to a wider continental market arise. The Competition Protocol will play a key role in the effort to ensure healthy competition on the continent, accelerate reduction of consumer prices, and improve business practices conducive for Africa’s socioeconomic transformation.
In Rwanda, a conducive policy and legal environment has greatly contributed to the realization of eliminating anti-competitive business practices. Rwanda Competition Policy aims to promote fair competition; its purpose is not to condemn or penalize those industries in Rwanda that have large shares of the market. Large and strong companies can enjoy economies of scale that enable them to minimize costs and withstand both domestic and foreign competition. On the other hand, such firms can occasionally practice anti-competitive behavior. It is important to ensure that consumers are adequately protected from firms, whether large or small, which engage in collusion that is designed to prevent competition.
Rwanda signed and ratified the AfCFTA agreement and is currently keen to implement the AfCFTA commitments including the implementation of the AfCFTA Competition Policy protocol.
Therefore, It is within this background that GIZ is seeking a consulting firm to conduct a gap assessment study on the implementation of the provisions of the AfCFTA protocol on Competition Policy.
Objectives and scope of the assignment.
The purpose of the assignment is to prepare an assessment report detailing the existing gaps in Rwanda in line with the provisions of the AfCFTA protocol on competition policy. The assessment report will suggest possible strategies, implementation modalities and specific recommendations of bridging the identified gaps to successfully implement all the provisions of the AfCFTA protocol on competition policy.
Specific tasks to be performed by the contractor.
The scope of work for the consultancy shall cover all activities necessary to accomplish the stated objectives of the project, whether a specific activity is cited in these terms of reference or not. During the first week of the assignment there will be an inception meeting between all parties (the consultant, GIZ, MINICOM, RICA and other relevant stakeholders) to introduce the assignment, clarify any open questions and to further determine the scope of work and the way forward (activities).
The contractor is responsible for providing the following.
The assignment is expected to be implemented within the period of 1st April – 30 May 2024. The total number of estimated days is 25 working days. The assignment requires physical presence in Rwanda (Kigali) as the study implies interviews with all relevant stakeholders and onsite research.
These milestones, as laid out in the table below, are to be achieved within the contract period. These milestones are for both the assessments.
Milestones | Days | Deadline |
Start of contract | 1st April 2024 | |
Kick off meeting with MINICOM, GIZ, RDB, RICA and other relevant stakeholders, presenting approach and process (including the final inception report after kick off meeting) | 1 | 1st week of the contract |
Conduct a desktop review | 5 | 2ndweek of the contract. |
Conduct interviews with all stakeholders | 7 | 3rd & 4thWeek of the contract |
Prepare the gap assessment report on the implementation of the provisions of the AfCFTA protocol on Competition Policy. | 8 | 5th & 6th week of the contract |
Presentation of the 1st draft study to MINICOM & all relevant stakeholders (validation, discussion of priority areas) | 1 | 7th week week of the contract |
Address comments raised by stakeholders during the validation meeting | 2 | 8thWeek of the contract |
Submission of the final study | 1 | 8th week of the contract |
Total | 25 |
The Consultant firm will provide one (1) Lead consultants and one (1) expert assigned to this activity.
The consulting firm should have a long-standing experience working in areas of Competition policy, trade policy, regional and international trade. Additionally, the consulting firm should understand the free trade agreements especially the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) matters and the WTO Competition Policy. The firm should also show previous experience working with other cooperating partners in the areas of competition policy and Free trade agreements.
The firm should also show experience of having previously worked with competition authorities and having a good understanding of regional and international competition and trade policies.
In the offer, the contractor is required to show how the objectives defined (Tasks to be performed) are to be achieved, if applicable under consideration of further method-related requirements (technical-methodological concept).
The consultant team shall consist of one lead consultant and one expert.
Qualifications of the lead consultant:
Qualifications of the Expert:
Costing requirements
Specification of inputs
Fee days | Number of experts | Number of days per expert | Total |
Designation of TL | 1 | 15 | 15 |
Designation of key expert | 1 | 10 | 10 |
Technical-methodological concept.
Strategy (1.1): The contractor is required to consider the tasks to be performed with reference to the objectives of the services. Following this, the contractor presents and justifies the explicit strategy with which it intends to provide the services for which it is responsible (Tasks to be performed).
The contractor is required to present the actors relevant for the services for which it is responsible and describe the cooperation (1.2) with them.
The tenderer is required to present and explain its approach to steering the measures with the project partners (1.3.1) and its contribution to the results-based monitoring system (1.3.2).
The contractor is required to describe the key processes for the services for which it is responsible and create an operational plan or schedule (1.4.1) that describes how the services (Tasks to be performed by the contractor) are to be provided. In particular, the tenderer is required to describe the necessary work steps and, if applicable, take account of the milestones and contributions of other actors (partner contributions) (1.4.2).
The tenderer is required to describe its contribution to knowledge management for the partner (1.5.1) and GIZ and to promote scaling-up effects (1.5.2) under learning and innovation.
Project management of the contractor (1.6)
The tenderer is required to explain its approach for coordination with the GIZ project.
Inputs of GIZ
GIZ will assume the costs for the venue for the validation workshop and the catering during the workshop.
Submission of offer
The Expression of Interest should contain the following:
Technical Proposal:
Financial Proposal:
Financial offer indicates the all-inclusive total contract price, supported by a breakdown of all costs based on parameters provided in “Specification of inputs”. The costs must be in RWF and VAT excluded.
Please submit electronically your EoI (technical & Financial offer) in 2 separated emails and should be in PDF files to this email ONLY: RW_Quotation@giz.de until latest 15th February 2024
Please you must write on each email subject this sentence: 83459010-Technical/financial offer, without this sentence, your offer may not be considered.
Hard copies are not allowed this time
GIZ reserves all rights
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