Consultancy agreement regarding managing the redesigned Tax and Development Programme.

Since 2015 Denmark has supported the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) in its modernisation efforts laid out in the GRA's Second Strategic Plan 2015-2017 (SPII) through the Tax and Development Programme (T&DP) that, together with other development partners, supports the implementation of the Strategic Plan. Based on a mid-term review it has been decided to assign a Management Consultancy Company to manage the Programme and to extend the programme by one year to the end of 2019. Moreover, it has been decided to focus the programme by reducing the number of GRA projects supported by the T&DP from 49 to 24, most of which are on-going, and to streamline the project portfolio to mainly customs projects. The Consultant will assume, in close collaboration with the GRA, all technical, financial, and administrative tasks to ensure smooth and timely project implementation and completion procedures including documentation of results. For further information see II.2.4).

Ghana.

The objectives of the assignment are as follows:

1. Manage the Danish support to GRA within the re-designed Tax and Development Programme.

2. Strengthen the capacity of the GRA to deliver the outputs of its Second Strategic Plan.

3. Coordinate/liaise with other donors working with the GRA to implement the GRA's Second Strategic Plan to facilitate complementarity in our activities.

The Consultant will be responsible for all aspects related to achieving the outputs by completing the 25 projects of the T&DP. The Consultant will assume, in close collaboration with the GRA, all technical, financial, and administrative tasks to ensure smooth and timely project implementation and completion procedures including documentation of results. The Consultant will therefore be responsible for all aspects related to the implementation of the T&DP projects. This includes full responsibility for financial management, logistics, procurement and technical inputs (in the form of training, capacity building, technical advice, research, and process development), as well as monitoring and reporting.

The Consultant will establish a lean office in the proximity of the GRA, suitably equipped and conducive to the work of the Long Term Key Staff and Short Term Key Staff, including a driver. The Consultant must provide the following Long Term Key Staff: A Long Term Customs Specialist, a Long Term Procurement Specialist and Long Term Accountant. It is envisaged that the Long Term Customs Specialist will spend most of his or her time working at the GRA.

The Consultant is responsible for the administration, supervision and logistics required to operate T&DP and ensure implementation. The Consultant will submit agreed annual work plans and budgets as well as quarterly progress reports to the Danish Embassy. The Consultant is accountable to the Danish Embassy and will liaise on operational and contractual issues.

The Long Term Customs Specialist (as Team Leader) reports to the Customs Commissioner of GRA on technical matters. The Long Term Customs Specialist will report to the Embassy on a monthly basis and/or as needed.

The delivery of the Programme requires institutional capacity development of GRA with significant training that will be carried out by the Long Term Customs Specialist and the Short Term Key Staff.

The Consultant's home office shall provide the following, to be covered by the Consultant's overhead:

— General home office administration and professional back-up;

— The Consultant shall nominate an ‘Assignment Manager’ with overall responsibility for the Consultant's assignment, normally stationed at the Consultant's home office, but making at least one annual management visits to the field office in Accra and to liaise with relevant stakeholders including the Danish Embassy and the GRA.

— Quality assurance (QA) of the consultancy services in accordance with the Consultant's quality management and quality assurance system. The Consultant shall nominate a Quality Auditor and develop a Quality Assurance Plan for this assignment to be included in the Operational Manual. All QA activities shall be properly coordinated and documented. The Quality Auditor is expected to carry out one annual visit.

— Compliance with Danida's Anti-Corruption code of conduct and the principles of the UN Global Compact during implementation. The Consultant shall furthermore develop a BIMP for this assignment to be included in the Manual.

Re: section II.1.6) Rationale for not splitting the contract up into lots (cf. Danish Public Procurement Act §49, stk. 2): This contract has not been split into lots due to market and economic considerations. The size and character of the services to be provided makes it unsuitable for distributing over several lots.

Consultancy agreement regarding managing the redesigned Tax and Development Programme

The tender procedure is discontinued due to a lack of competition, since only one compliant tender was received. The contract will be re-tendered and a new contract notice is expected to be published shortly.

The following deadlines apply to the lodging of appeals pursuant to the Danish Act on The Complaints Board for Public Procurement (Lov om Klagenævnet for Udbud) (the Act is available at www.retsinformation.dk): Appeals for not having been prequalified must be submitted to the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement (Klagenævnet for Udbud) within 20 calendar days calculated from the day after the day when the contracting authority has notified the applicants concerned which applicants have been prequalified provided that the notification has included a short explanation of the relevant grounds for the decision.

In other situations, appeals regarding tender procedures must be lodged with the Complaints Board for Public Procurement within 45 calendar days after the contracting authority has published a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union that the contracting authority has concluded the contract. The deadline is calculated from the day after the day when the notice was published.

The complainant must no later than at the same time as lodging the appeal with the Complaints Board for Public Procurement notify the contracting authority that an appeal has been lodged with the Danish Complaints Board for Public Procurement and whether the appeal has been lodged within the standstill period, see section 3(1) of the Act. In the event that the appeal has not been lodged within the standstill period, the complainant must furthermore indicate whether he has requested a suspensory effect of the appeal, see clause 12(1) of the Act. The e-mail address of the Complaints Board for Public Procurement is set out in section VI.4.1).

The Complaints Board's own complaints procedure is available at www.klfu.dk.