Category Archives: OPPORTUNITIES

E-BOARD SYSTEM OF THE COMESA COMPETITION COMMISSION

September 16, 2019   OPPORTUNITIES, Tenders

Click here to download the Tender Document CCC/CEI/9/3/2019

  1. INTRODUCTION

The COMESA Competition Commission (the “Commission”) is an international body corporate established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations (“the Regulations”). The Regulations are promulgated pursuant to Article 55 of the Treaty establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (“the COMESA Treaty”).

The Commission is responsible for enforcing the Regulations, whose purpose is promoting and encouraging competition by preventing restrictive business practices and other restrictions that deter the efficient operations of markets, thereby enhancing the welfare of consumers in the Common Market. The Commission is composed of two enforcement institutions:

 

  • The Secretariat which is headed by a Director appointed under Article 9 of the Regulations. The Secretariat is also composed of staff members appointed by the Director with the approval of the Board. The Secretariat is responsible for carrying out investigations and advocacy work of the Commission among other things. The Commission’s Secretariat commenced its operations on the 14th of January 2013 and is located in Lilongwe, Malawi. The Commission’s Secretariat has so far 15 staff members; and
  • The Board of Commissioners which is established and appointed under Articles 12 and 13 of the Regulations respectively, is mandated with issuing determinations, performing adjudicative functions on any matter considered by it, hear appeals and recommending Rules for approval by the COMESA Council of Ministers (the Council) among others. Pursuant to Article 13 (4) of the Regulations, the Chairperson of the Board may assign three of the Commissioners to constitute a Committee responsible for Initial Determinations of matters brought before it.

The Commission currently has 13 non-executive Board members who meet 3-4 times annually. Further, the Board has two standing Committees who meet on a need basis and one adhoc Committee which meets minimum of quarterly basis. The estimate of the annual total number of Committee meetings is more than six (6). The Board meeting is assisted with 7 Management team of the Commission.

The Commission is inviting suitable qualified bidders for the Supply, Installation, Configuration, Commissioning and Implementation of an e-Board Management System for the Board. This system is intended to automate the Board’s business processes on board meetings which are currently handled manually.

The rationale for the Commission to automate its Board meeting process is as follows:

  • Lack of Board and Committee Management System that can be used to effectively manage and administer the Board and Committee meeting business processes;
  • Bulk printing works in preparation of the Board and Committee papers for each member causing unnecessary overhead costs’
  • Lack of a central repository of Board and Committee related documents, control and archiving, making it difficult to access previous Board and Committee resolutions, reports and minutes/agenda; and
  • Lack of audit trail on accessibility and distribution of Board and Committee meeting papers.

 

  1. OBJECTIVE OF THE ASSIGNMENT

 

The objective of the assignment is to:

2.1. Implement an e-Board Management System that will address the automation of the entire Commission’s Board and Committee operations. This system will be available to both Board of Commissioners and the Management of the Secretariat through a web portal (Internet based access);

2.2. Facilitate the dissemination/distribution of Board and Committee documents in soft copies;

2.3. Improve efficiency and minimize costs by providing flexible, alert notification to Board members and the Management of the Commission whenever the Board and Committee documents have been posted in the system and notify users on pending issues through emails; and

2.4. Ensure that Board members and the Management of the Secretariat are suitably trained in the usage of the e-Board Management System.

 

  1. SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work includes: -

  1. The Supply, Installation, Configuration, Commissioning and Implementation of an e-Board Management System with a web interface;
  2. Setup of necessary ICT security measures for the Board Management System;
  3. Ensure that the platform can provide service in all the Official COMESA languages namely Arabic, English and French;
  4. Supply and installation/setup of the appropriate client software, licenses and kits.
  5. Training of end users that is 13 Board members, 7 Management and selected staff of the Commission;
  6. Provision of warranty after successful commissioning (go-live) of system;
  7. Provision of support after Go Live;
  8. Preparation and timely submission of project reports; and
  9. Proposal must include cloud hosting with data storage and bandwidth for the first year. Depending on storage and bandwidth utilization for the first year the successful firm may negotiate to review the price for the second/third year of the contract period.

 

  1. DELIVERABLES

The firm is expected to deliver the following:

  1. Inception Report giving a detailed understanding of the assignment;
  2. Project charter;
  3. A detailed work plan with the resource requirements schedule;
  4. Risk management report;
  5. Functional Requirements Design;
  6. Weekly status reports;
  7. Training of administrators and end users for a day which may be online or face to face;
  8. Installed and commissioned e-Board system;
  9. Installed and configured supporting hardware and software systems as applicable;
  10. Final project report;
  11. Warranty of 1 year for software; and
  12. Service level agreement (SLA)

 

  1. OUTCOME AND PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

The vendor is expected to produce a complete project checklist, with milestone markers and delivery dates upon starting the project. The vendor should schedule weekly progress meetings for the duration of the project.

 

  1. MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT

6.1.  Following the successful completion of the project, the vendor is required to provide the following support information regarding technical support and other vendor services.

6.2. Materials describing the process for reporting a system failure in any of the components of the proposed system.

6.3. The methods available for contacting technical support (phone, email, website, etc.) including escalation procedures.

  • Standard warranty and maintenance for each of the components proposed.
  • Upgrade path for the software and any annual support fee for the software.

 

  1. DOCUMENTATION

 

Following completion of the project, the vendor is required to provide the following documentation regarding the scope of the project:

  • Detailed Technical Report-A document developed for the use of technical staff;
  • Executive Summary Report - A document developed to summarize the scope, approach, and results, in a manner suitable for senior management.
  1. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

The Recommended Minimum Technical Specifications for the system requested are described in detail below:

Item

 

 Requirement

 
Implementation

 

 Software as a Service (SaaS) – vendor must provide storage capacity and must specify connectivity capacity to the hosting servers.

The System should be connected securely via the internet (https)
Scalability

 

 The system must be scalable based on number of users.

 
Ease of use

 

 The system and App interface must be simple and easy to use

that even a computer novice can easily navigate
Availability

 

 The system must be hosted and allow access over the internet 24hours 7 days a week. The solution provider will be required to sign a contract committing to give 99% availability assurance.

 

The system should be designed for low bandwidth internet use.
Redundancy & Backup

 

 The system should be hosted in at least 2 separate locations which are being backed up daily. In the event of failure of one of the data centres, all other requests should be automatically directed to the backup data centres.
Evaluations Module

 

 The system should be flexible enough to allow for different types of Board evaluation and allow the user responsible to define their own questions for each evaluation.

 

This module should allow for facilitating Board evaluation of its own performance, including that of the Chairperson, Board of Commissioners and the Director & CEO of the Commission.
Minutes Modules

 

 Provide an interface for the Board Secretary & Committee Secretaries to capture the Agenda, Reports & Minutes of meetings directly into the system, capture actions to be taken and by whom and by what date
Reports

 

 The system should have a feature that organizes reports and file as per the user requirements.
iPad App/Android App Provide an App to be used on android app that can be accessed offline.
Compatibility

 

 Should integrate easily with Microsoft Office products, support multiple browsers as well as Windows/Android/Apple tablets or any other equivalent.
Data Security

 

 The provider to take responsibility of data security which will include storage and transmission over the internet, however the provider will have to convince ICT on measure taken to ensure data security.
Document and Information Management

 

 Secure storage in central repository, accessible over the internet
Role based access to documents
Convert documents produced in different formats to one uniform format for access by all members
Member Management

 

 Access to current roster of Board and committee members, key member data such as contact information, bio – data etc
Automatic tracking and reporting of time and expectations
Provide regular email digests with basic information on meeting schedules, links to meeting materials, and assigned tasks
Meeting Management

 

 Calendar  for meeting plans, and built-in functionality to automatically send meeting reminders and track member attendance
The system will automatically send out reminders to users to complete their respective tasks by the due dates
Built-in voting module to record the voting and poll results which are then viewable to applicable members
Member’s quick access organized Board books, meeting documents, minutes etc. including remote access by members
Communication

 

 Users to have the ability to send messages to each other within the system
Allow individual or group discussions within the system
Security

 

 Access by user name and password, data should be transferred through encryption
System users are roles and privileges based
System availability will remain responsibility of the provider as the solution is on the cloud
Database

 

 System should have a search engine that allows for searching of Board and Committee documentations
System should have capability to store corporate plans, financial forecasts and Board/Committee calendars
Licenses

 

 The bidder should specify the licenses model and upgrade path

 
Languages System able to allow post documents in three COMESA Official languages namely Arabic, English and French
Additions Notifications (Alerts)

Audit Trails

 

Note: Documentary evidence towards the above requirement to be submitted by the bidder.

  1. QUALIFICATION AND RELEVANT EXPERTISE

 

In order to be eligible for participation in this tender process, prospective firm must demonstrate a proven track record of developing work of this nature at national or regional level. Specifically, firm must demonstrate the following:

 

  1. Have been in operation as a supplier and installer of the proposed e-Board Management System for a minimum period of three (3) years.
  2. Clearly demonstrate thorough knowledge on the business processes i.e. the bidder has developed, implemented and supported an e-Board Management System in any institution with similar business processes.
  3. Provide a written statement on security of the system, declaring any past or existing vulnerability experienced in the system and any known breaches to date.
  4. Have at least Five (5) sites where the proposed Board Management System has been implemented.
  5. Technical specialists with at least three (3) years’ experience installing and configuring Board Management Systems. The specialists should have the relevant certificates that indicate skills and training in installing, configuring and commissioning Board Management Systems of the nature proposed in the contract
  6. Must provide a sample copy of an elaborate SLA that guarantee accessibility, availability and security of the system including penalties on failures on the provider side. Hold at least a master’s degree in the relevant field from a recognized University;
  7. Clearly demonstrate their capacity to meet the specified deadlines.

 

  1. PRESENTATION AND SELECTION

 

Shortlisted candidates will be requested to provide a demonstration of their service to the Commission.

 

The service will be awarded to the successful firm based on the most economically advantageous tender on factors such as quality of the proposed service and the indicative costs.

 

 

  1. APPLICATION

 

Responses to this tender should include the following:

  • A proposal for the service;
  • A brief of the necessary professional and technical qualifications and competence and other physical facilities, managerial capability, experience in the service including the, reputation, and the personnel, to perform the contract;
  • Costs (in USD): The service providers should identify their rates which should be valid for the entire length of the assignment. The vendors should specify available options/packages based on data storage and bandwidth.
  • Vendors should also provide that:
  • They have the legal capacity to enter into the contract;
  • They are not insolvent, in receivership, bankrupt or being wound up, their business activities have not been suspended, and they are not the subject of legal proceedings for any of the foregoing;
  • They have fulfilled their obligations to pay taxes and social security contributions, and for that purpose, documentary evidence to be provided by a foreign candidate to demonstrate that it meets the criterion in this paragraph may consist of a written declaration to that effect by the candidate;
  • That their servants, or agents have not offered any inducement to any employees of the Commission.

       

  1. TIME PERIOD

The service will have three phases:

  • Phase One- The firm shall conduct situational analysis of the Commission;
  • Phase Two- Based on the analysis conducted, the firm shall develop the software and provide a demonstration to the Commission; and
  • Phase Three- The firm shall provide online or face to face training to the end users of the system.
  1. SUBMISSION

 

Responses to this request for proposal (in PDF formats only) must be submitted to the Commission by 4th October 2019 through the email compcom@comesa.int  or posted directly to:

 

The Director and Chief Executive Officer,

COMESA Competition Commission,

5th Floor Kang’ombe House,

P.O Box 30742,

Lilongwe 3,

MALAWI.

Tel. +265 1 772 466

 

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ADDENDUM NO 1 TO CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: SUPPORT FOR COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE FOR INITIAL DETERMINATION IN THE MATTER INVOLVING CONFÉDÉRATION AFRICAINE DE FOOTBALL AND OTHERS

August 2, 2019   Consultancies, Latest News

This serves to notify prospective bidders that the COMESA Competition Commission (the Commission), wishes to issue this addendum amending the Call for Expression of Interest REF: CCC/CEI/7/2/2019 on the Support for Committee Responsible for Initial Determination in the matter involving Confederation Africaine De Football and others

 

  1. Section B on Background of the Commission’s case against Confederation Africaine De Football and Others

 

1.1.      By the deletion of paragraph 4 and substituting it with the following:

 

“The Commission’s investigation report has led to the finding that provisions contained in the CAF/LS agreements and the other subsequent commercial agreements with broadcasters and sponsors relating to the above issues contravened Article 16(1) of the Regulations as they are likely to affect trade between Member States and have as their effect the restriction of competition in the market.”

 

1.2.      By the deletion of paragraph 6 and substituting it with the following:

 

“After completing its investigations, the Commission is planning to conduct a hearing before the Committee Responsible for Initial Determination(CID).”

 

  1. Section E on Expected outputs and deliverables

 

  • By the deletion of paragraph 2 subsection (i) and (ii) and substituting them with the following:

i) "Hold preparatory meetings with the CID on the adequacy and relevance of available information submitted by the Commission and the respondents.”

ii)“Prepare notes during the preparatory meetings and guide the CID in the analysis of the information provided on the scope of work under Section (D) above.”

 

         George Lipimile

The Director and Chief Executive Officer

COMESA Competition Commission

 

Click here to download the addendum to the Call for Expression of Interest:

Click here to download the Call for Expression of Interest: Support for CID in the matter involving confédération Africaine de football and others posted on 24th July 2019.

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CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST: SUPPORT FOR COMMITTEE RESPONSIBLE INITIAL DETERMINATION IN THE MATTER INVOLVING CONFÉDÉRATION AFRICAINE DE FOOTBALL AND OTHERS

July 24, 2019   Consultancies, Latest News

  1. INTRODUCTION

The COMESA Competition Commission (the “Commission”) is an international body corporate established under Article 6 of the COMESA Competition Regulations (“the Regulations”). The Regulations are promulgated pursuant to Article 55 of the Treaty establishing the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (“the COMESA Treaty”).

The Commission is responsible for enforcing the Regulations, whose purpose is promoting and encouraging competition by preventing restrictive business practices and other restrictions that deter the efficient operations of markets, thereby enhancing the welfare of consumers in the Common Market and protecting consumers from offensive conduct by market actors.  The Commission is composed of two enforcement institutions:

  • The Secretariat which is headed by a Director appointed under Article 9 of the Regulations. The Secretariat is also composed of staff members appointed by the Director with the approval of the Board. The Secretariat is responsible for carrying out investigations and advocacy work of the Commission among other things. The Commission’s Secretariat commenced its operations on the 14th of January 2013 and is located in Lilongwe, Malawi. The Commission’s Secretariat has so far 15 staff members; and
  • The Board of Commissioners which is established and appointed under Articles 12 and 13 of the Regulations respectively, is mandated with issuing determinations, performing adjudicative functions on any matter considered by it and hearing appeals among others. Pursuant to Article 13 (4) of the Regulations, the Chairperson of the Board may assign three of the Commissioners to constitute a Committee responsible for Initial Determinations of matters brought before it.

2. BACKGROUND OF THE COMMISSION’S CASE AGAINST CONFÉDÉRATION AFRICAINE DE FOOTBALL AND OTHERS

On 13th February 2017, the Commission commenced an investigation, pursuant to Article 22 of the COMESA Competition Regulations (“Regulations”), into a possible violation of Part 3 of the Regulations, specifically Article 16 by the Confédération Africaine de Football (“CAF”).

The investigation relates to the agreements entered into between CAF and Lagardère Sports S.A.S (“Lagardere Sports”) in 2007 for the intermediation of the media and marketing rights for CAF competitions for the periods 2009 to 2016(“CAF/LS Agreements”); which agreements were renewed in 2015 for the period 2017 to 2028.

Pursuant to the CAF/LS Agreements, Lagardere Sports entered into agreements with specific broadcasters and sponsors for the commercialisation of the media and marketing rights. Specifically, the agreements were entered into by CAF and/or Lagardere Sports with three broadcasters (Canal + Overseas; beIN Sports; SuperSport International (Pty) Ltd) and two sponsors (Orange Brand Services Limited; and, Total SA) for the commercialisation of the media and marketing rights respectively (collectively, the “Commercial Agreements”).

The Commission’s investigation report has led to the conclusion that provisions contained in the CAF/LS agreements and the commercial agreements relating to the above issues, contravened Article 16(1) of the Regulations as they affected trade between Member States and had as their effect the restriction of competition in the Common Market.

Article 8, Rules 21, 29 and 49 of the Regulations and Rules respectively provide that the Commission shall have regard to the principles of natural justice in conducting its investigations. Both the Commission and the Board in conducting their hearings and making recommendations and/or determinations shall give the undertaking(s), which are the subject of the proceedings the opportunity of being heard.

After completing its investigations, the Commission is of the view that there is need to conduct a hearing before the Committee Responsible for Initial Determination (CID).

For this purpose, the Commission intends to engage the services of a consultant in terms of Rule 25(8) and (10) of the Regulations to provide support to the CID before, during and after the hearing and specifically in the legal and economic analysis regarding violations of Article 16 of the Regulations by CAF and other Respondents.

3. OBJECTIVES

The objective of this consulting assignment is to provide a comprehensive legal, procedural and economic guidance to the CID into possible violations of Article 16 of the Regulations. Specifically, the consultant will provide support to the CID in assessing the evidence used by the Commission in arriving at its findings of the possible violation of the Regulations involving CAF and other Respondents. Further, the consultant will assess the defenses presented by the respondents on the said violations.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

The overall scope of the assignment is to undertake analysis on the anticompetitive conduct involving CAF and other Respondents. Specifically, the assignment will involve the following tasks. The consultant will support the CID as follows:

  • Provide guidance on the jurisdictional and procedural analysis to evaluate the alleged anticompetitive practices;
  • Provide guidance on the elements of the alleged breach of competition Regulations;
  • Provide detailed interpretation of Article 3 of the Regulations on appreciability;
  • Provide guidance on the Legal and economic tests that will be used;
  • Prepare for the oral hearing including:
    • The list of questions on which the respondents are required to make their views known;
    • Focal areas for debate or disputed areas; and
    • Specific issues which need to be clarified.
  • Address any questions that may be raised regarding the jurisdiction of the Commission on the case;
  • Advise on Article 16(4) submissions-What to take into account in the assessment and for better appreciation of the meaning of the terms;
  • Review information received from parties to the case;
  • Conduct relevant legal, jurisdictional, procedural and economic analysis;
  • Provide briefing notes on each of the alleged anticompetitive conduct;
  • Evaluate potential anticompetitive effect of the alleged anticompetitive conduct;
  • Provide guidance on potential remedies for the assessed case; and
  • Provide guidance for the preparation of the report of the hearing.

The consultant is expected to fully participate before, during and after the hearing and work closely with the CID. The specific schedule for the hearing will be defined in coordination with the Commission.

5. EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES

The consultant under the guidance of the Chairperson of the CID is expected to sit in the hearing in order to provide briefs and guidance on the proceedings of the hearing as stipulated under the scope of the assignment above.

The consultant shall undertake activities and payment will be made against deliverables to be submitted by him or her on completion of the specific deliverable of the assignment. The specific activities include:

  • Hold preparatory meetings with the Commission and prepare report to the CID to communicate the position on the adequacy and relevance of available information;

  • Hold preparatory meetings with the CID and prepare notes on the results of the analysis and tests conducted to evaluate the alleged anticompetitive practices and notes on potential remedies for the assessed case;

  • Sitting through the actual hearing; and

  • Hold post hearing meetings with the CID and prepare a report of the hearing.

6. COMPETENCE AND RELEVANT EXPERTISE

The consultant must have experience in advising competition agencies on effective competition law enforcement. Specifically, analysis of anticompetitive practices and experience in conducting economic analysis and in sports broadcasting and marketing or related field. Possession of expertise in the adjudication of sports related matters will be highly desirable.

7. SELECTION

The service will be awarded to the successful individual based on the most economically advantageous tender on factors such as quality of the proposed service and the indicative costs.

  •  APPLICATION

Responses to this call for expression of interest should include the following:

  • A proposal for the consultancy service;
  • A brief cover letter indicating relevant experience and any information about availability
  • Curriculum Vitae or profile of the Consultant;
  • Costs (in USD): The service providers should identify their rates which should be valid for the entire length of the assignment.

8.  TIME PERIOD

The service will have three phases:

First phase- The Consultant shall hold preparatory meeting with the Commission, prepare and submit a report to the CID on the adequacy and relevance of the available information and Prepare notes on analysis and tests conducted and notes on potential remedies for the assessed case and hold preparatory meetings with the CID-11 days;

Second phase- The Consultant will sit through the actual hearing and hold post hearing meeting with CID-5 days

Third phase- The Consultant will draft and submit a hearing report to the CID- 5 days

The Consultancy is envisaged to take 21 person days.

 9. SUBMISSION

Responses to this request for proposal (in PDF formats only) must be submitted to the Commission by 5th August, 2019 through the emailcompcom@comesa.int  or posted directly to:

The Director and Chief Executive Officer,

COMESA Competition Commission,

5th Floor Kang’ombe House,

P.O Box 30742,

Lilongwe 3,

MALAWI.

Tel. +265 1 772 466

 

Click here to download the Call for Expression of Interest

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August 13, 2018   Tenders

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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June 20, 2018   OPPORTUNITIES, Vacancies

NOTE: Applications MUST be submitted through the Coordinating Ministries of the respective Member States. Click here to access the contact details of the Coordinating Ministries.

Click here to download the Arabic version of the application form.

Click here to download the English version of the application form.

Click here to download the French version of the application form.

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