Call for Proposals; Develop an EAC Renewable Energy Policy

1. CONTEXT AND JUSTIFICATION

The East African Community (EAC), founded in 1999, is one of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) designated by the African Union for establishing the African Economic Community. It comprises eight countries: Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda. The main objective of the Community is to develop policies and programmes aimed at widening and deepening cooperation among its member states in mainly political and economic, social, and cultural fields, research and technology, defence, security, legal and judicial affairs, for the partners’ mutual benefit.

2. OBJECTIVES

The 2 objectives of this consultancy are to develop a) an EAC renewable energy policy and b) a framework for increasing transboundary movement of renewable energy (RE) products between EAC partner states. The envisaged 2 documents will guide the development and implementation of present and future RE strategies, plans, and actions that are aligned with EACs a) development goals and strategies concerning energy access, productive use of renewable energy (PURE) and energy infrastructure b) RE potential and interest in manufacturing RE products based on the availability of critical minerals in some member states.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

The consultant shall consider, but will not be limited to, the following when executing the assignment

1. Review the existing RE policies, regulations and strategies, and taxation frameworks.
2.  Develop and recommend policy directions and options/pathways for RE transition in the EAC region.
3. Elaborate challenges in the transboundary movement of RE products under the Common Customs Act.
4. Review the EAC taxation handbooks and propose strategic interventions, policy directions and action plans for operationalisation and/or harmonization of RE transboundary protocols. This should be forward-looking to reduce barriers that are undermining transboundary investments in RE. An initial breakdown of activities is presented below. However, the consultant can propose alternative activities in their tender documents.

A) Development of the Renewable Energy Policy:

• Analyze the RE status/scenarios of the EAC region.
•  Review existing RE policies, legislation, strategies, challenges, opportunities, international agreements, and regional frameworks as they relate to the EAC region. The analysis should highlight strengths and weaknesses relative to RE risks and expansion opportunities.
•  Benchmark EAC renewable energy plans and strategies with policies and strategies of other RECs in Africa, America, Asia, Europe etc.
• Analyze the political influence on RE efforts in the region to outline legal mandates for RE governance, identify policy gaps, and provide recommendations to strengthen those gaps.
•  Provide an overview of private sector investments and public sector (government) expenditure. This analysis should also mention how these investments and expenditures can/have influenced the development of national policy frameworks and how these experiences can influence the regional RE transition.
• Develop an EAC renewable energy policy.

B) Transboundary movement of renewable energy products

• Identify the pain points, potential solutions and opportunities for increasing transboundary movement of RE products under the EAC Common Customs Act.
• Identify potential priority areas for engaging border control teams for fast-tracking transboundary movement of RE products under the EAC Common Customs Act.
• Provide recommendations for improving the EAC Common Customs Act to accelerate the RE transition.

C) Stakeholders’ Analysis and Consultations:

•  Identify, map and consult key regional stakeholders that a) might potentially influence and/or have a stake in the development and implementation of the EAC Regional Renewable Energy Policy b) will be affected by the recommended RE interventions.

 D) Policy Options and Recommendations

• Develop policy options on RE and transboundary movement of RE products under the Common Customs Act. Recommend the best options for EAC engagement based on predefined criteria such as energy access, NDC targets, and socio-economic impact, among others for both scenarios. The options analysis will outline the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and assess the capacity needs for various pathways.
• Provide overall recommendations for the next steps in both the above 2 objectives including stakeholders’ engagement, methods of engaging the private sector and other non-state actors and capacity-building needs.

E) Potential socio-economic impacts of the policy recommendations:

•  Analyze the current contribution and benefits of a RE transition to socio-economic well-being and livelihoods of the people of EAC.
•  Assess and provide recommendations for future EAC’s options in ensuring increased socio-economic benefits from RE.
• Assess the gender aspects in a just RE transformation of the EAC region. ● Analyze the socio-economic benefits and impacts of selected policy options.

4. METHODOLOGY

The following methodology is expected to be used with necessary improvements by the consultant:

•  Desk Review: Document analysis and literature review.
• Information surveying and check listing, data collection and analysis, in-depth interviews with policymakers and key stakeholders,
• Basic mapping of key stakeholders giving their geographic distribution and what they are currently doing.
•  Benchmarking and options analysis.
•  Drafting the RE policy and a separate report for the framework for increasing transboundary movement/investment of RE products between EAC partner states.

NOTE:

• Documents to be reviewed will include but will not be limited to: EAC and partner state policies and policy options on RE, natural resources management, environment; multilateral & bi-lateral organization reports (e.g., World Bank, IEA, IRENA, UNIDO, UNEP, UNDP, Sida, ADA, etc.).
•  Data validation with key sector ministries, development partners, NGOs; academic, research institutions and the private sector.
•  Qualitative data and information should be, where possible, supported with quantitative information.

5. DELIVERABLES

The following constitutes the desirable deliverables:

  (i) Inception report demonstrating the consultancy’s comprehension of the Terms of Reference including the proposed methods and work plan.

(ii)  A draft report(s) that should among others include:

1. a) Background information on the preparation of the EAC Renewable Energy Policy and framework for improving the transboundary movement of RE products.
2.  b) A review of existing RE-related policies and instruments of partner states as well as background analysis i.e. climate change, socio-economics and renewable energy scenarios etc.
3. c) a draft framework for improving the transboundary movement of RE products within the EAC partner states.

The consultant will be expected to present the findings and recommendations of the assignment to key stakeholders. Further, the consultant shall submit 12 hard copies of each of the documents and a soft copy flash disk.

The final report should be clear and concise and should not be more than 70-80 pages (aerial font, space 1.5, font size 12). All other information should be contained in annexes to the report.

The report should also contain a short policy brief document (max 10 pages) annexed to the main report, containing key findings and policy recommendations.

6. COMPETENCIES

The consultant(s) should have excellent knowledge of RE planning and policy development and demonstrated experience in performing similar assignments.

7. REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE

The following are the major requirements of the consultant (s);

A. Renewable Energy Policy Expert

• A master’s degree or above in engineering, renewable energy, energy policy, or other relevant discipline.
• At least 10 years of general professional experience in the energy sector at the project management level. She/he must demonstrate experience in RE policy and markets.
•  At least three (03) similar RE policies developed.
• Demonstrated expertise in policy design and formulation as well as strong reporting skills
•  Knowledge of the EAC context is an asset. At a minimum, she/he should have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in the EAC region.
• Demonstrated analytical, communication, and report-writing skills.
• Fluency in English with good verbal and written skills. Fluency in French and Kiswahili will be an added advantage.

B) Renewable Tax Expert

•  A master’s degree or above in business management, taxation, economics, energy, or other relevant discipline.
•  At least 10 years of general professional experience in the finance and taxation sector at the project management level. She/he must demonstrate experience in RE policy, finance and taxation.
• At least three (03) similar taxation frameworks developed.
•   Demonstrated expertise in tax design and formulation.
• Knowledge of the EAC context is an asset. At a minimum, she/he should have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in the EAC region.
• Demonstrated analytical, communication, and report-writing skills.
• Fluency in English with good verbal and written skills. Fluency in French and Kiswahili will be an added advantage.

8. DURATION

The assignment shall be completed in a time not exceeding 35 man-days, spread within four months. A detailed activity schedule shall be prepared by the consultant(s) and agreed upon during the inception phase.

10. BUDGET AND MODALITIES OF FEE PAYMENT

The cost of travel, if any, and production of reports including printing expenses will be covered by the Consultant(s) as per the rules and procedures.

11. OBLIGATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF THE PARTIES

11.1. The Partner States

The Partner States, through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Working Group, shall:

1. Participate in interviews and discussions relevant to understanding the potential benefits, opportunities and challenges.
2.  Providing access to documentation relative to this consultancy and
3. Review and provide quality control to the Consultant(s).

11.2. The EAC Secretariat

 The Secretariat shall:

1. Make available to the consultant documentation and information relevant to RE, institutional capacity, and program management necessary to obtain regional RE policy.
2. Actively participate in facilitating discussions concerning options for appropriate RE policy development.
3. Provide access to key senior management staff and appropriate EAC council members to discuss opportunities and challenges for the development of the RE policy. Prepare and submit to the appropriate policy organs any necessary policy development drafts and legal documents policy.

11.3. The Consultant

The consultant shall:

1. Perform all expected activities and deliver all expected products outlined in these ToR
2. Report at determined intervals progress and results to the EAC Secretariat, EACREEE and WWF
3. dentify implementation issues at early and appropriate periods to enable adjustments.

12. SELECTION PROCEDURES

 i. The procedure in its entirety will be guided by the best interest of the EAC Secretariat, EACREEE, and WWF, respect for the dignity of all candidates and full transparency, fairness, and inclusiveness at all stages of the process to get the most competent team of consultant(s)

ii. A Committee for evaluating the tender documents will be designated and will determine detailed scoring criteria for evaluation.

iii. After evaluating the tender documents, the Consultant(s) with the highest score will be selected.

13. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applicants shall submit their written proposal in English as follows:

•  Technical proposal with the proposed approach and methodology, work plan, proven track record of implemented assignments as well as the proposed team (detailed CVs of experts should be included in the Annex)
• Financial proposal (including all costs in a detailed work-time-expert-diagram indicating daily rates for individual team members);

14. SUBMISSION OF THE TENDER DOCUMENTS

The tender documents should be submitted by midnight 22nd of June 2024 to the following two email addresses: info@eacreee.org and procurement@wwfuganda.org