GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE

 

PAKISTAN

Poverty Graduation of Extremely Poor and Flood Effected Households (PGEP)

Mode of Financing: Installment Sale and IsDB Grant

Financing No. PAK1061

 

 

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has received financing in the amount of US$ 118.4 million equivalent from the Islamic Development Bank toward the cost of the Poverty Graduation of Extremely Poor and Flood Effected Households and it intends to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, works, related services and consulting services to be procured under this project.

 

The Project will have five main components: (A) Livelihood Improvement, (B) Capacity Development and Knowledge Sharing, (C) Project Management Support, (D) Project Financial Audit and (E) Contingency for Emergency Response, along with contingencies.

 

Component 1 - Livelihood Improvement

This component entails transfer of assets, provision of access to finance, and training for the target households. The productive asset package is designed with customized training to ensure that the livelihoods of the targeted poor become more resilient, sustainable, and natural resource based. The main target groups who will receive the productive assets will be the households who fall under the PSC 0 -32 (i.e., recipient of cash transfer program of BISP, landless worker, people with disabilities). 137,000 households will receive productive assets augmented with capacity building training on climate smart agriculture and livestock techniques, financial literacy, enterprise development, asset management. The assets will be procured through community procurement processes with the assistance of Partner Organizations.

 

1. 1. Small-scale Rainwater Harvesting and Climate Resilience. In addition to providing productive assets, the project will also build small-scale rainwater harvesting facilities through community procurement. The facility will help the villagers in accessing water for domestic consumption and agricultural purposes (horticulture and livestock feeding). It may include rainwater harvesting with solar based water filtration system and/or water bore holes. The POs will facilitate the community consultation processes on designing the facilities and in determining the best type of technology to use.

Access to Finance – Qard Hasan. This sub-component will be fully financed by the GOP. Part of the borrowers (approximately 25%) will be the households that have received assets transfers and/or are BISP beneficiaries; the remaining will be for households with a PSC between the 19-40 poverty band that are not BISP beneficiaries. It is estimated that 37,863 households will receive financial support. Loan cycles on average extend over one year or are linked to agriculture seasons (thus seasonal loans could be 6 months or longer). Each loan will be re-cycled at least 3-4 times during the life of the Project.

1.2 Partner Organizations. The Project will recruit 5 to 6 Partner Organizations from among the experienced and established local civil society organizations that will be working with the target households, facilitating the preparation of Livelihood Investment Plan and subsequently supporting implementation and monitoring the community procurement. In addition to assisting / facilitating community procurement, the POs will recruit and train Community Resources Persons (~1,275 people) through a Training of Trainers (TOTs) arrangement. The CRPs will play a pivotal role in, among others, preparing and supporting the implementation of investment plans of the targeted households. The POs will also train selected villagers, who are considered entrepreneurial talents, to become Business Service Providers (BSPs). The BSPs will provide various agricultural services to the village communities as well in the area of health services, i.e., pre-clinical assistance (health record and follow-up). It is estimated that 1,550 BSPs will be formed under this Project.

 

Component 2 - Capacity and Knowledge Development

This component entails the capacity development and knowledge interventions under the project. Digital skill training for the rural youth is targeted to help them enter the job market. Approximately 2,500 rural youth in project area will receive customized digital skills training on the following areas: (i) Freelancing (Fiver and Amazon trainings – virtual assistant services), (ii) E-Commerce Management, (iii) Digital Literacy, QuickBooks, (iv) AutoCAD, (v) WordPress, (vi) Graphic Design, (vii) Creative Writing, SEO (Search Engine Optimization).

Establishment and promotion of Village Social Enterprises (VSE) through Technical Assistance in terms of market assessment, business plan, market integration platform, etc., total of 16 Village Social Enterprises (VSE) will be identified and established through mapping of Livelihood Investment Plans that will be prepared by the target households as well as outcome of market assessment. Impact Study: A consultant will be engaged to assess and verify the economic status of the target households after Project interventions as an input and knowledge source on practical application of social protection policy in the country.  

Component 3 - Project Management Support

This component entails support to PMU in staffing and supplies, MIS development and reporting. This component will also finance communication and visibility activities, as well as familiarization visits, workshops, project progress reviews and training for EA and PO staff.

 

Component 4 - Project Financial Audit

A reputable, independent audit firm will be hired to conduct project financial audits, including special account audits. The project will also have a second layer of external auditing from the GoP’s Supreme Audit Institution, which is headed by the Auditor General of Pakistan.

Component 5 - Contingency for Emergency Response

This standalone zero-value component is embedded in the project to allow for the use of the present project resources to cover emergency response activities in case of highly unpredictable events such as disasters, pandemics, etc., as a support to the Government’s rapid emergency response efforts in the future.

 

 

Procurement of contracts financed by the Islamic Development Bank will be conducted through the procedures as specified in the Guidelines for Procurement of Goods, Works and related services under Islamic Development Bank Project Financing (April 2019 edition, revised in February 2023), and is open to all eligible bidders as defined in the guidelines. Consulting services will be selected in accordance with the Guidelines for the Procurement of Consultant Services under Islamic Development Bank Project Financing (April 2019 edition, revised in February 2023).

 

Specific procurement notices for contracts to be bid under the Islamic Development Bank’s International Competitive Bidding – Limited to IsDB’s Member Countries (ICB/MC) procedures and for contracts for consultancy services (QCBS-MC and LCS methods) will be announced, as they become available, on IsDB Website.

 

Interested eligible firms and individuals who would wish to be considered for the provision of goods, works and consulting services for the above-mentioned project, or those requiring additional information, should contact the Beneficiary at the address below:

 

“Poverty Graduation of Extremely Poor and Flood Effected Households (PGEP)”

Mr. Abdul Hanif Chachar  

Deputy Secretary (P&D), Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety (MoPASS)

Evacuee Trust Building, 4th Floor; Islamabad

Email: hanifchachar@gmail.com