RFP Number: RFP: 2023-10-001_ZM
Issuance Date: October 3, 2023
Deadline for Questions: October 13, 2023
Deadline for Offers: October 20, 2023
Description: Local Legal Counsel
For: Farmer to Farmer Southern Africa
Funded By: USAID, 7200AA23LE00013
Implemented By: CNFA
Point of Contact: Joyce Malasha, Plot 2031, Hillsview Office Park, [email protected]
Section 1: Introduction, Technical Background and Scope of Work

1.1  Introduction: The Farmer-to-Farmer is a USAID program implemented by CNFA in Zambia. The goal of the Program activity is to generate rapid, sustained economic growth in the agricultural sector.

Offerors are responsible for ensuring that their offers are received by CNFA in accordance with the instructions, terms, and conditions described in this RFP. Failure to adhere to the instructions described in this RFP may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration.

CNFA will consider proposals in response to this RFP from local and international independent consultants and firms.

1.2: Scope of Work: CNFA requires the services of local legal counsel to advise the organization in setting up operations in Zambia including but not limited to registration, guidance on the labor law, review of labor contracts, review of policy manuals, and guidance on tax exemption requirements.

1.3: Anticipated Period of Performance: November 1, 2023 – October 31, 2024

1.4: Tasks: The selected offeror will provide the following services through in-person meetings in Chipata, Zambia, phone calls, email, virtually, and/or in writing as requested by CNFA:

•  Provide guidance on the registration requirements for an international non-profit organization, process, required documentation, and anticipated timeline.
• Review registration documentation for compliance with requirements and facilitate the submission of the completed registration application.
• Advise on and directly conduct as needed any follow-up on the registration application to ensure timely approval.
• Advise on tax exemption requirements, if applicable, for international non-profit organizations.
• Provide an overview of key requirements of the labor law for long term employees and consultants such as labor categories, severance, leave policies, 13th month bonuses, probation and termination procedures, salary increases, other fringe benefits (required vs. industry norms), etc.
• Review CNFA’s long term employment agreement and consultant agreement and provide recommendations.
• Review CNFA’s Field Office Manual (employee policy manual) and provide comments and recommendations for revisions to adhere to local labor law and/or industry standards.
• Other tasks as requested and assigned by CNFA.

Section 2: Instructions to Offerors

2.1 Offer Deadline and Protocol: Offers must be received no later than 5:30 PM CAT, on October 20, 2023. Offers must be submitted by email to [email protected]

Please reference the RFP number in any response to this RFP. Offers received after the specified time and date will be considered late and will be considered only at the discretion of CNFA. The cover page of this solicitation summarizes the important dates of the solicitation process. Offerors must strictly follow the provided deadlines to be considered for award.

2.2 Questions: Questions regarding the technical or administrative requirements of this RFP may be submitted no later than 5:30 PM CAT on October 13, 2023, by email to Joyce Malasha at [email protected]. Questions must be submitted in writing; phone calls will not be accepted. Questions and requests for clarification—and the responses thereto—that CNFA believes may be of interest to other offerors will be circulated to all RFP recipients who have indicated an interest in bidding.

Only the written answers issued by CNFA will be considered official and carry weight in the RFP process and subsequent evaluation. Any verbal information received from employees of CNFA or any other entity should not be considered as an official response to any questions regarding this RFP.

2.3 Evaluation and Award: The award will be made to a responsible offeror whose offer follows the RFP instructions, meets the eligibility requirements, and is determined via a trade-off analysis to be the best value based on application of the below evaluation criteria. Best value determination will consider both technical and financial proposals, i.e., the best approach and anticipated results in combination with a reasonable cost. Proposed costs must reflect and clearly match the degree of sophistication of the technical approach.

The relative importance of each individual criterion is indicated by the number of points below:

Evaluation Criteria
Criteria Description
Maximum Points
Technical Approach and Demonstrated Knowledge
Technical Approach and Demonstrated Knowledge: Offeror should describe approach to providing legal guidance. What internal process will the successful offeror follow to review, understand, and respond to the client request for legal guidance? 12 points

Demonstrated Knowledge: Offeror will also be evaluated based on responses to “demonstrated knowledge” questions in Annex C – Technical Proposal. 13 points

Management, Personnel and Resources
Management, Personnel, and Resources: Offeror should describe qualifications of personnel proposed for carrying out scope of work. 25 points

Past Performance
Past Performance Criteria 1: Offeror should describe relevant experience and share at least 3 relevant reference contacts. Experience advising USAID-funded programs strongly preferred. 25 points

Cost Proposal
Cost Criteria 1: Reasonableness of price in relation to services provided. Offerors are required to submit their proposed payments terms as part of the cost proposal. 25 points

TOTAL OFFER POINTS: 100

Best-offer proposals are requested. It is anticipated that award will be made solely on the basis of these original proposals. However, CNFA reserves the right to conduct any of the following:

• CNFA may conduct negotiations with and/or request clarifications from any offeror prior to award;
• While preference will be given to offerors who can address the full technical requirements of this RFP, CNFA may issue a partial award or split the award among various suppliers, if in the best interest of the Project;
• CNFA may cancel this RFP at any time.

Award will be issued only to the entity which submits a proposal in response to this RFP. CNFA will not issue an award to different offerors, entities, or third-parties other than the selected offeror(s). CNFA anticipates awarding a service agreement to the successful offeror.

2.4 Cost Proposal: Pricing must be presented in Zambian Kwacha (ZMW).  Offerors are required to submit proposed payment terms and proposed payment schedule if applicable. Failure to submit proposed payment terms may lead to disqualification of an offer from consideration. Offers must remain valid for not less than sixty days (60) calendar days after the offer deadline. Offerors are requested to provide offers on official letterhead in accordance with the format provided in Annex B.

2.5 Proposal Format Instructions: All proposals must be formatted in accordance with the below requirements:

(a)   English language only

(b)    Include the individual/agency/organization name, date, RFP number, and page numbers as a header or footer throughout the document.

(c)    The Technical Proposal must be in the format provided in Annex C.

(d)    The Cost Proposal must be in the format provided in Annex D.

A full proposal will include the following documents:

(a)    A proposal offer checklist (Annex A).

(b)    A cover letter on company letterhead, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror (Annex B).

(c)    A complete Technical Proposal in response to the evaluation criteria in Section 2.3 and in the format provided in Annex C.

(d)    A complete Cost Proposal in response to the terms of Section 2.4, the evaluation criteria in Section 2.3, and in the format provided in Annex D.

(e)   A copy of the offeror’s business license, or, if an individual, a copy of his/her identification card.

(f)     3 contacts for references from organizations/individuals for which the offeror has successfully performed similar work.

Annex A – Offer Checklist and Submission Instructions

To assist offerors in preparation of proposals, the following checklist summarizes the documentation to include an offer in response to this RFP:

• Cover letter on company letterhead, signed by an authorized representative of the offeror (see Annex B for template.
• Technical Proposal (see Annex C for template)
• Cost Proposal (See Annex D for template)
• Copy of offeror’s registration or business license, or, for individuals, a copy of his/her identification card
• 3 contacts for references from organizations/individuals for which the offeror has successfully performed similar work
• Background/biography of proposed personnel

Annex B – Offeror Cover Letter

The following cover letter must be placed on letterhead and completed/signed/stamped by a representative authorized to sign on behalf of the offeror:

To:                         CNFA

Reference:        RFP:2023-01-001_ZM

To Whom It May Concern:

We, the undersigned, hereby provide the attached offer to perform all work required to complete the activities and requirements as described in the above-referenced RFP. Please find our offer attached.

We hereby acknowledge and agree to all terms, conditions, special provisions, and instructions included in the above-referenced RFP. We further certify that the below-named firm—as well as the firm’s principal officers and all commodities and services offered in response to this RFP—are eligible to participate in this procurement under the terms of this solicitation and under USAID regulations.

Furthermore, we hereby certify that, to the best of our knowledge and belief:

• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any CNFA or project staff members;
• We have no close, familial, or financial relationships with any other offerors submitting proposals in response to the above-referenced RFP; and
• The prices in our offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• All information in our proposal and all supporting documentation is authentic and accurate.
• We understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery, and kickbacks.
• We understand and agree to CNFA’s prohibitions against funding or associating with individuals or organizations engaged in terrorism or trafficking in persons activities.

We hereby certify that the enclosed representations, certifications, and other statements are accurate, current, and complete.

Authorized Signature:____________________
Name & Title of

Signatory:_______________________________
Date:___________________________________
Company Name:_________________________
Company Address:_______________________

________________________________________
Telephone:______________________________

Website:________________________________
Company Registration or Taxpayer ID Number:________________________________
Does the company have an active bank account? (Y/N):__________________________
Official name associated with the bank account (for payment): ___________________________________________________________________________________
Annex C – Technical Proposal

Please include the below sections and information in your firm’s technical proposal. Please keep responses to the technical proposal to a maximum of 10 pages. To the maximum extent practical, please reference specific sections of the relevant local law to support your responses:

1.       Technical Approach – 12 points

a.       If the offeror represents a firm, describe the firm’s organization, size, structure, areas of practice, and office location(s). If the offeror is an individual, please provide areas of practice and location.

b.       offeror should describe approach to providing legal guidance. What internal process will the successful offeror follow to review, understand, and respond to the client request for legal guidance?

2.       Demonstrated Knowledge – Please provide answers to the questions listed below: 13 points

a.       Registration:

•  What are the laws and regulations applicable to non-profit organizations that plan to work in a country short term (1-5 years)?
• What type of registration or legal entity status is the organization required to have in order to carry out activities in the country?
• What are the implications for not registering?
• From the time the law firm receives all requested documents, how long does it typically take for registration to be granted?

b.       Employment:

•   Many non-profit organizations hire local consultants as their entrée into a country – what are the implications of doing this in Zambia? Could we hire consultants or employees before registering?
• What are the criteria to determine the difference between an employee and a consultant (independent contractor)? If consultants are utilized, are there certain requirements they must meet?
• What types of employment agreements are permissible per the labor law – for example, fixed-term, indefinite, etc. – and what are the definitions of each category of employee?
• What employee benefits are required by law to be included in employment agreements (i.e. retirement/provident fund, health insurance, life insurance, vacation and sick days, holidays, severance/gratuity, 13th month, etc.)?
• If an employer needs to terminate an employee, what, if any, restrictions does the law in Zambia impose on termination?

c.       Tax and Banking Considerations:

•           What types of tax exemptions are possible for a non-profit, such as exemptions for expatriate staff, income tax, customs, exemptions for USAID-implementers, etc.?
• Do any bilateral agreements exist between Zambia and the United States?
• What are the major international banks with a solid operating presence in the country?
• Is the organization able to secure a Tax ID number prior to completing registration?

3.       Personnel – Describe the qualifications of attorneys/lawyers to be assigned to the representation-25 points

Descriptions should include:

a.       Professional and educational background of each attorney;

b.       Overall supervision to be exercised over the assigned attorneys;

c.       Prior experience of the individual attorneys with respect to the required experience listed above.

4.       Past Performance  – 25 points –  Describe relevant experience conducting the tasks in section 1.4 for internationally funded NGOs or other USAID implementers.

5.       References – Provide the names, addresses, contact persons, and telephone numbers of at least 3 clients – preferably donor-funded clients, especially USAID-funded clients

Annex D – Cost Proposal  – 25 points

The offeror’s cost proposal should include the hourly billing rates of each attorney or other legal staff who are expected to work on this representation as well as the estimated amount of time/hours the offeror anticipates to complete the Scope of Work and Tasks required.

CNFA reserves the right to negotiate with the offerors on the structure of the cost proposal and payment terms.

Note: Proposed payment terms and payment schedule must be included in the cost proposal.

Annex E – CNFA Terms and Conditions

5.1 Ethical and Business Conduct Requirements: CNFA is committed to integrity in procurement, and only selects suppliers based on objective business criteria such as price and technical merit.

CNFA does not tolerate fraud, collusion among offerors, falsified proposals/bids, bribery, or kickbacks. Any firm or individual violating these standards will be disqualified from this procurement, barred from future procurement opportunities, and may be reported to both USAID and the Office of the Inspector General.

Employees and agents of CNFA are strictly prohibited from asking for or accepting any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation from current or potential vendors or suppliers in exchange for or as a reward for business. Employees and agents engaging in this conduct are subject to termination and will be reported to USAID and the Office of the Inspector General. In addition, CNFA will inform USAID and the Office of the Inspector General of any supplier offers of money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, object of value or compensation to obtain business.

Offerors responding to this RFP must include the following as part of the proposal submission:

•  Disclose any close, familial, or financial relationships with CNFA or project staff. For example, if an offeror’s cousin is employed by the project, the offeror must state this.
• Disclose any family or financial relationship with other offerors submitting proposals. For example, if the offeror’s father owns a company that is submitting another proposal, the offeror must state this.
• Certify that the prices in the offer have been arrived at independently, without any consultation, communication, or agreement with any other offeror or competitor for the purpose of restricting competition.
• Certify that all information in the proposal and all supporting documentation are authentic and accurate.
• Certify understanding and agreement to CNFA’s prohibitions against fraud, bribery and kickbacks.

Please contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns regarding the above information or to report any potential violations. Potential violations may also be reported directly to CNFA via email at [email protected] or you may make an anonymous report by calling the CNFA Global Complaint Hotline at 202-991-0931.

5.2 Terms and Conditions: This solicitation is subject to CNFA’s standard terms and conditions. Any resultant award will be governed by these terms and conditions; a copy of the full terms and conditions is available upon request. Please note the following terms and conditions will apply:

(a)      CNFA’s standard payment terms are net 30 days after receipt and acceptance of any commodities or deliverables. Payment will only be issued to the entity submitting the offer in response to this RFP and identified in the resulting award; payment will not be issued to a third party.

(b)     No commodities or services may be supplied that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.

(c)      Any international air or ocean transportation or shipping carried out under any award resulting from this RFP must take place on U.S.-flag carriers/vessels.

(d)     United States law prohibits transactions with, and the provision of resources and support to, individuals and organizations associated with terrorism. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFP must ensure compliance with these laws.

(e)      United States law prohibits engaging in any activities related to Trafficking in Persons. The supplier under any award resulting from this RFP must ensure compliance with these laws.

(f)      The title to any goods supplied under any award resulting from this RFP shall pass to CNFA following delivery and acceptance of the goods by CNFA. Risk of loss, injury, or destruction of the goods shall be borne by the offeror until title passes to CNFA.

(g)     The offeror is prohibited from providing certain telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as a critical technology as part of any system, produced by the following covered companies, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, in the performance of any resulting award: Huawei Technologies Company; ZTE Corporation; Hytera Communications Corporation; Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company; Dahua Technology Company; and any other company as determined by the United States Government. The offeror certifies it will not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to CNFA in performance of the resulting award. If covered telecommunications equipment or services are offered, the offeror must disclose it.

5.3 Disclaimers: This is a Request for Proposals only. Issuance of this RFP does not in any way obligate CNFA, the Project, or USAID to make an award or pay for costs incurred by potential offerors in the preparation and submission of an offer. In addition:

(a)      CNFA may cancel RFP and not award;

(b)     CNFA may reject any or all responses received;

(c)      Issuance of RFP does not constitute award commitment by CNFA;

(d)     CNFA reserves the right to disqualify any offer based on offeror failure to follow RFP instructions;

(e)      CNFA will not compensate offerors for response to RFP;

(f)      CNFA reserves the right to issue award based on initial evaluation of offers without further discussion;

(g)     CNFA may negotiate with short-listed offerors for their best and final offer;

(h)     CNFA reserves the right to order additional quantities or units with the selected offeror;

(i)       CNFA may reissue the solicitation or issue formal amendments revising the original RFP specifications and evaluation criteria before or after receipt of proposals;

(j)       CNFA may modify the specifications without issuing a formal notice to all offerors when the revisions are immaterial to the scope of the RFP;

(k)     CNFA may choose to award only part of the activities in the RFP, or issue multiple awards based on multiple RFP activities;

(l)       CNFA reserves the right to waive minor proposal deficiencies that can be corrected prior to award determination to promote competition;

(m)    CNFA will contact all offerors to confirm contact person, address, and that the bid was submitted for this RFP;

(n)     CNFA will contact all offerors to inform them whether or not they were selected for award;

In submitting a response to this RFP, offerors understand that USAID is not a party to this solicitation and the offeror agrees that any protest hereunder must be presented – in writing with full explanations – to the Project for consideration. USAID will not consider protests regarding procurements carried out by implementing partners. CNFA, at its sole discretion, will make a final decision on any protest for this procurement.

5.4 Source/Nationality/Manufacture: All goods and services offered in response to this RFP or supplied under any resulting award must meet USAID Geographic Code 935 in accordance with the United States Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), 22 CFR §228. The cooperating country for this RFP is Zambia.

Offerors may not offer or supply any commodities or services that are manufactured or assembled in, shipped from, transported through, or otherwise involving any of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria.

5.5 Taxes and VAT: As an organization that is implementing a project on behalf of USAID, CNFA is exempt from being charged VAT, customs duty or fee, excise tax, or any other form of tax or tariff for goods and services purchased for USAID funded activities. As such, CNFA is exempt from being charged VAT, customs duty or fee, excise tax, and any other form of tax or tariff for goods and services purchased for USAID funded activities. As such, offerors agree to exclude VAT or any similar taxes or fees from its cost proposal.

5.6 Eligibility: By submitting an offer in response to this RFP, the offeror certifies that it and its principal officers are not debarred, suspended, or otherwise considered ineligible for an award by the U.S. Government. CNFA will not award a contract to any firm that is debarred, suspended, or considered to be ineligible by the U.S. Government.