Consultancy Services for the Independent Verification Agent of Performance Based Conditions (PBCs)

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ESWATINI ELECTRICITY COMPANY

Request for Expression of Interest (REOI)

Consultancy Services for INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION AGENT (IVA) FOR THE VERIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE-BASED CONDITIONS

For the proposed

Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eswatini

Project ID No: P508960

Request for Expression of Interest (REOI)

Eswatini Electricity Company (EEC)

(Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini)

Independent Verification Agent (IVA) For the Verification of Performance-Based Conditions

First date of publication: 21 May 2026

Country: Kingdom of Eswatini

Name of Project: Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eswatini (ASCENT Eswatini) Project

Sector: Energy Sector

Project ID No.: P508960

Reference: SZ-ECC-549999-CS-QCBS

Assignment Title: Consulting Services for Independent Verification Agent (IVA) for the verification of Performance-Based Conditions

• The Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini (GoKE) has received financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Agency (IDA) and grant funding from the Global Public Good (GPG) Facility, which are all under the World Bank. The received financing is for the purposes of implementing the Accelerating Sustainable and Clean Energy Access Transformation in Eswatini (ASCENT Eswatini) Project (P508960) (the Project), with the involvement of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy, as set out in the Loan Agreement, Financing Agreement, Grant Agreement and Project Agreements.

• The EEC now invites Expression of Interest (EOI) from interested and eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to provide the consulting services for Consulting Services for Independent Verification Agent (IVA) for the verification of Performance-Based Conditions.

• PBC 1: Strengthening capacity of the electrical contractors selected by EEC to support implementation of last mile electrification

• PBC 2: Improving operational efficiency and effectiveness of EEC.

• PBC 3: Ensuring financial viability of EEC.

• The principal activities for the consulting services shall include inter alia the following:

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• Inception: Review all relevant project documents, data collection methods, reporting systems and finalize a detailed Verification Methodology for each PBC.

• Monitoring and Data Collection Support: monitor progress toward PBC achievement and provide advisory support on data collection and evidence documentation.

• Verification of PBC Achievement: comprehensive review of all documentation and activities to verify PBC Achievement.

• Interested consultants must provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform all the services. The following documents shall also be submitted along with the EOI applications by all the consulting firms including each member of JV firms:

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• Copies of certificates of incorporation/registration of the consulting firms

• Financial information of firm for the last 5 years

• Corporate profile of the firm with quality assurance plan, e.g. ISO 9001, information on organizational strength (Organization structure, number of permanent professional staffs and their expertise, qualifications and number of total staff), availability of licensed software and tools for the execution of the assignment and any other necessary information deemed appropriate.

• The qualification and short-listing criteria are: The consulting firm, audit firm, academic institution, or international organization must have at least 5 years of consulting experience in verification of project outputs, disbursement-linked indicators (DLIs), or PBCs, including development or application of verification protocols, field inspections, data validation, and reporting and as minimum must have completed the consulting job/contracts (i) at least two (2) assignments involving independent verification, validation, or technical auditing of operations/projects, preferably under results-based financing (RBF), Performance-Based Conditions (PBCs), or similar frameworks funded by multilateral development institutions ideally including electricity reform and access projects in Sub-Saharan Africa (ii) At least one (1) assignment of similar nature conducted in an African country, preferably in developing or comparable project environments.

• The purpose of this EOI is to establish a shortlist of not more than eight (8) Prequalified Respondents for the subsequent Request for Proposal and to invite technical and financial proposals from these Respondents. All responses shall be assessed for completeness. The following shall be assessed on a Yes/No basis to determine a PASS or FAIL result; (five) 5 years’ experience, organizational structure, quality assurance plan, certificate of registration, two (2) relevant projects, one (1) completed project in Africa and five (5) years financial information. Respondents who have attained a PASS result shall be shortlisted and the short-listing criteria are: General experience, specific project experience (IVA), Energy sector/electricity utility experience and regional experience.

• In order to substantiate the aforementioned consulting jobs/contracts, the Consultant shall submit the End User Certificate from clients depicting main scope of the contract. All end user certificates should be in English; End user Certificates in other languages should be translated and notarized. Incomplete Consulting Contracts will not be taken into account and hence will not be evaluated.

• Consultants may associate with other consultants to enhance their qualifications. For a JV/consortium, the qualifications and experience of the members may be combined to meet the qualification requirements, only if the lead partner meet the qualification requirements independently. Where firms are associating, the submission must include verifiable evidence of association from all the parties. Experience and qualifications of parent or subsidiary of the firm will not be considered for evaluation.

• All submittal from the consulting firms shall be in English language.

• The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraphs 3.14 to 3.17 of the Seventh edition of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated September 2025, setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.

• The Consultant(s) shall be evaluated and shortlisted based on the qualifications, experience and capability. Qualifications and Experience of key personnel will not be evaluated at this stage. Shortlisted Consultants will subsequently have their RFPs evaluated in accordance with the Quality and Cost Based (QCBS) selection method as per the Seventh edition of Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers dated September 2025.

• Interested eligible consultants may obtain further information by sending an email to the address below or visiting during office hours from 10.00 to 16.00 hrs. The Terms of Reference for the proposed consulting services can be accessed on the link: https://www.eec.co.sz/electricity/projects/ascent/docs/INDEPENDENT_VERIFICATION_AGENT_IVA_TORS.pdf

• Expression of interest must be delivered in a written form (in person or by e-mail) to the address below no later than 11h00 SAST on 15 June 2026

The Procurement Manager

ASCENT Eswatini Project

Eswatini Electricity Company

Eluvatsini House, Mhlambanyatsi Road,

Mbabane, Kingdom of Eswatini

Tel: +268 2409 4165

Email: [email protected] copied [email protected]

The procedures for making a Procurement-related Complaint are detailed in the “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (Annex III).” If an Applicant wishes to make a Procurement-related Complaint, the Applicant shall submit its complaint following these procedures, in writing (by the quickest means available, that is either by email or fax), to:

For the attention: Mr Mphumuzi Maziya

Title/position: Managing Director

Employer: Eswatini Electricity Company

Email address: [email protected]

In summary, at this stage, a Procurement-related Complaint may challenge any of the following:

• the terms of the Prequalification Documents; and

• the Employer’s decision not to prequalify an Applicant.