| Overview : Dear Bidder,
The UNDP Botswana invites reputable and experienced individual consultants to submit bids in response to the below consultancy.
Background:
African governments have in foresight emphasized the primary significance of domestic resources in their 2001 NEPAD Founding Statement. Since then, there have been commitments at various fora, reiterated during the 17th African Union Summit (30 June 2011)’ which stressed the need to transform existing political will on domestic development finance into concrete policy responses and actions. In particular, the Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC) underscored the need to step up the mobilization of additional domestic resources in support of NEPAD implementation to advance ownership, self-reliance and development effectiveness. In this regard, the HSGOC further noted the necessity for continuous engagement with relevant countries, regional bodies, pan-African institutions and the private sector on taking forward identified regional projects.
Most recently, at the summit of the HSGOC on the 28th January 2012, it was emphasised that mobilization of domestic resources by African Governments is critical for the implementation of projects that have been identified and prioritized through NEPAD. Hence, the dependency of the NEPAD programme on voluntary contributions by Member states and partners is untenable . To move forward in this respect, the NEPAD Agency was directed to work with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and other partners to recommend appropriate mechanisms on domestic resource mobilization and to present these at one of the meetings of the HSGOC for consideration .
AfDB, UNECA, WorldBank and ATAF have done significant research into the effective, inclusive and efficient DRM thus there is a need to consolidate the knowledge from these varied sources. There is also the need to identify the knowledge gaps in this previous research and fill this knowledge gap at regional and national levels.
Various constraints limit Africa’s efforts to mobilize domestic resources. On the public sector side, these include low income levels that impact on government’s direct taxation; cross-cutting structural bottlenecks, including high levels of informality, a lack of fiscal discipline and legitimacy and huge administrative capacity constraints as well as excessive granting of tax preferences, inefficient taxation of extractive activities, inability to fight abuses of transfer pricing by multinational enterprises, and excessive reliance on a narrow set of taxes for revenue.
The reform of the domestic financial sector is also critical in the mobilization of domestic resources for development. Several factors affect the depth and breadth of financial services provision in Africa. On the supply side, most of the African financial markets are still shallow and mostly dominated by the banking sector and thus by short-term financial instruments. This has made it harder for both the private and public sectors to tap on resources from the financial markets to finance investments that are critical to increase their production capacity. On the demand side, the majority of the population (mainly small enterprises and households) still lack access to formal financial services due to a combination of factors, including the cost of the services, lack of collateral for credit and other such conditions that exclude them from fully participating in the market.
Against this background, the NEPAD Planning and Coordinating Agency in collaboration with UNDP and UNECA is undertaking a study to explore strategies and viable modalities for improving the mobilization of domestic resources for national and NEPAD programmes.
The target country in this case is Botswana.
1. Submission requirements:
Proposals should be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly labeled “STUDY ON DOMESTIC RESOURCE MOBILISATION AND CREATION OF FISCAL SPACE TO ENABLE COUNTRIES TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE FINANCING OF NEPAD PROGRAMMES”.
The submission should be registered upon delivery at the following address:
The UNDP Resident Representative
United Nations Building
Ground Floor Reception
Cnr Khama Crescent and President’s Drive
P. O. Box 54
2. Requirements For Experience And Qualifications
- Solid demonstrated knowledge and understanding of domestic resource mobilization and public finance issues;
- Experience in carrying out studies for the UN and/or international organizations;
- Ability to synthesize technical knowledge and case evidence in order to formulate informed practical policy and programme recommendations;
- Excellent communication, particularly writing skills, in English; and
- Ability to work independently
- Post-graduate degree in Economics, or other relevant field within the social sciences. A PhD degree is an asset.
- A minimum of 10 years of progressively responsible and relevant experience in the field of development;
- Excellent command of written and spoken English is essential;
- Experience with NEPAD process; and
- Record of research work and publications on the issues of domestic resource mobilization and public finance.
3. Detailed Terms of Reference and instructions to bidders should be obtained from: enquiries.bw@undp.org OR from above quoted address (Ground Floor Reception Desk).
4. Submission Deadline: 4TH January 2013 at 12:30pm (Botswana Time).
5. Requests for Clarification: Requests for clarification shall be writing through fax number (+267 3956093) or by email to enquiries.bw@undp.org |
