KINGDOM OF LESOTHO
MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY
SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
(CONSULTING SERVICES- INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANTS SELECTION METHOD)
LOAN NO: P119432
CREDIT NO: IDA 61440-LS
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: External evaluation on Ineligible Expenditure Consultancy
REFERENCE NO: LS- SADP-134846-CS-INDV
Background
The Government of Lesotho is currently implementing the Smallholder Agriculture Development Project (SADP) with funding from the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The project includes a program of grants provided on a competitive basis to rural businesses for introducing and testing technological innovations and improved business practices. The project enters into an agreement with the beneficiaries. The Recipient shall open and maintain an account or subaccount (the Grant Account), and may withdraw from there for expenditures in respect of the reasonable cost of goods, works and services required for the Activities and financed out of the proceeds of the Grant in accordance to Annex II of this Agreement (Project Budget). Expenditure of grant funds must adhere to the specific line items in the grant recipient’s approved budget. When transfers among the items of the approved budget become necessary and the estimated change is more than 10% of the value approved in the budget, the grant recipient should request the approval of the Project Management Unit (PMU)/ Competitive Grants Committee (CGC). When the grant recipient wishes to establish a new line item that affects the technology or business initiative, he/she/it shall promptly request in writing authorization from the PMU/CGC.
The Competitive Grants Competitive (CGC) holds right to terminate this Grant Agreement with the PMU approval at any time, if (a) the Recipient does not follow provisions of this agreement; (b) the CGC believes that the Recipient cannot provide achievement of project objectives; (c) the Recipient fails to submit complete financial report; (d) the Recipient fails to submit copies of financial documents to complete financial reporting; (e) no proper accounting exists in financial records; (f) false documents or information is provided; (g) the Grant is used to finance expenses not approved by the CGC, and conducting activities other than approved; (h) the Principal Applicant terminates participation in the project; (i) the World Bank and/or IFAD terminate financial support.
SADP is looking for a consultant to look into this issues, prepare a detailed report after investigating the cases that will be submitted to the Government of Lesotho, World Bank and IFAD management to make an informed decision.
Scope of services:
i)Review the progress report of the 50 beneficiary’s groups activities, amount received and amount of money spent.
(ii) Review all the invoices attached and reconcile them with the budget items in the grant agreement.
(iii) interview farmers and their service providers to determine the level of irregular expenditure and the reasons why it happened.
(iv) Review the cases reported to the police and their status.
(v) Prepare a detailed report with the necessary attachments for submission to the Project Management Unit.
Documents to be provided: Project Appraisal Document (PAD); Concept Note for Competitive Grants Program; CGP Operations Manual; Applicants Guide; and Supervision Mission Aide-Memoires and beneficiary progress reports.
REPORTING
The consultant will prepare comprehensive report in English that describes the results of the above analysis. The Consultant will work closely with Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation and report shared with the Project Manager incorporating the comments from PMU.
Duration:
Two Months
Qualifications and Experience.
a) University degree in Law/Agriculture/Economics/Management or related field.
b) 3 years’ experience in management, implementation and evaluation of grant programs.
c) Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of stakeholders including farmers, staff of donor-funded projects, and local and central government officials.
d) Previous experience with World Bank and or IFAD-funded projects and an understanding of its requirements.
The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III paragraph 3.14 to 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated July 2016 and revised in November 2017 setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.
A consultant will be selected in accordance with selection of Individual Consultants Method set out in Procurement Regulations.
Expressions of interest accompanied by detailed CV must be delivered in a written form to the address below in person or by email by16:30Hrs local time on the 7th October 2019 clearly marked ‘’ Expression of Interest for Consulting Services LS- SADP-134846- CS-INDV.
To: Project Manager-SADP
Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security
Department of Livestock Services -Moshoeshoe 11
P.O. Box 24
Maseru 100 Lesotho.
Email: [email protected] copied to [email protected]
Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.