Description
The USAID Regional Contracting Officer in Budapest, Hungary intends to award a sole source contract to BearingPoint. The contractor is currently providing technical assistance to the USAID/Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY)/Montenegro in carrying out a broad range of complex economic reforms. The reforms are designed to assist in Montenegro?s transition from a centralized, command oriented economy, to a market based economy. BearingPoint has been instrumental in initiating a number of major reforms which are now in the critical process of implementation. With USAID assistance provided through BearingPoint, a large amount of primary legislation was drafted and passed, and key institutional reforms were initiated, and to a large extent completed, from a policy and technical perspective. The currently proposed follow-on focuses on implementation and institutionalization of these reforms. Key areas of involvement are: tax and treasury reform, including implementation of five new tax laws, the restructuring of tax administration, and a complete tax IT system; financial sector reform, focusing on bank supervision and problem bank resolution; pension reform including reform of the policy framework and Fund administration; assistance in drafting of a new Energy Law and assistance to the state power company; assistance in drafting, and now the implementation of major business regulatory legislation; and assistance in drafting and implementation of key anti-corruption legislation including anti-money laundering, anti-corrupt practices act, and best practices public procurement and concessions legislation. BearingPoint has been instrumental in moving a number of key reforms forward in a range of areas. These reforms are currently at a critical point in the implementation phase, particularly with regard to the strengthening of key institutions. The BearingPoint advisors have been successful in developing effective relationships with counterparts and in providing capable assistance in order to achieve USAID/Montenegro?s reform objectives. In order to ensure the successful implementation and institutionalization of these reforms, USAID/Montenegro requires the additional follow-on services of approximately 6,845 person days of US expatriate and 16,900 person days of third country and cooperating country nationals and associated costs over the next 21 months. Under this proposed sole-source contract, BearingPoint will continue to provide technical assistance for the successful implementation of the reforms that have already been initiated. Focus will be on: stabilizing revenues by institutionalizing reforms designed to broaden the tax base, shifting the tax regime from direct to indirect taxes, increasing compliance, and completing the implementation of a nearly $1 million republic wide tax IT system; ensuring the smooth transition from the interim treasury system provided by USAID and the permanent system provided by the EU; institutionalizing the new Republic budget process during the critical months; ensuring adequate bank supervision capability is in place prior to the establishment of deposit insurance; providing assistance to bank liquidators as three major bank problems are in the final stages of resolution and off-shore banks are being closed; completing the conversion to IAS and the separation of accounts at the electric power company in compliance with EU standards, an MOU signed with the Stability Pact, and the draft Energy Law; establishment of the new energy regulatory agency; and completion of training in major pieces of business regulatory legislation such as bankruptcy, secure transactions, concessions, and public procurement laws. The proposed contract is to be sole sourced under AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(5) for the continued provision of highly specialized services when award to another resource would result in substantial additional costs to the Government or would result in unacceptable delays. In accordance with Number Note 22 the following is provided: The proposed contract action is for supplies or services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement or submit proposals. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all proposals received within forty-five days (thirty days if award is issued under an existing basic ordering agreement) after date of publication of this synopsis will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete with this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.