| Overview : TERMS OF REFERENCE Reference No. | PN/FJI/069/21 | Consultancy Title | Review of Kiribati Consumer Protection Legislative Framework | Application deadline | 25th August 2021 | Duty Station | Home Based | Type of Contract | Individual Contractor | Post Level | International Consultant | Languages required: | English | Duration of Initial Contract: | 4 Months (80 Working Days) |
- BACKGROUND
Kiribati consist of 32 atoll islands scattered in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a population of 119,438 (2020 Census)[1]. The public sector accounts for two-thirds of formal employment and about half of GDP. Only a small proportion of total labour force depend on salaries. The rest of the population work in subsistence farming or fishing. The outer islands remain economically underdeveloped, with limited economic activities. 80% of the population from the outer island depend on income revenue from copra. Agriculture, fisheries and marine resources remain the main sources of livelihood of the community living on the outer Islands. Kiribati has experienced growth in private sector, attributed to liberalised market economy. Liberalised Market in Kiribati is becoming extremely complex, with availability of a large variety of consumer goods and services provided both by the government and the private sector. It is critical for consumer to make a decision to procure goods or to avail a service on the basis of four fundamental considerations: quality, cost, access and choice. Over the years, issues of consumer protection in Kiribati have been addressed through different policy initiatives but seem to lack a comprehensive policy direction. For instance, the current Consumer Protection Act 2001 is not compatible with the current open trade policy regime, with inadequate mechanism to enhance inter-agency coordination to reinforce consumer protection. In addition, there is weak mechanism to receive, investigate and Act upon complaints raised by consumers and to assist consumers in making and pursuing complaints. The country suffers from inadequate local compliance to standards and weak enforcement of Consumer Protection Act 2001 and Consumer Protection Regulations 2004, which have exposed consumers to risk especially under the current open market regime. Creating a wealthier, healthier, and peaceful nation as envisaged in the 20 Year Vision Development plan requires a Sound consumer protection regime to promote and advance socio-economic welfare of consumers in Kiribati and establish a consistent enforcement regime. Effective consumer protection laws could assist in the development of the market economy in Kiribati. Sound legislative framework could put consumers in a stronger position to guard their own interests and to seek a remedy by making a complaint to the regulator if sellers refuse to correct a problem. It allows traders to compete on an equal basis, e.g. unscrupulous traders cannot gain competitive advantage over honest traders by misleading customers, applying unfair pressure to customers, or selling unsafe goods. Thirdly, effective consumer protection regime gives consumers confidence in markets – if consumers are not confident that they will receive what they pay for, they will spend less and markets will develop more slowly and to a lesser extent than if consumers were effectively protected. It is in this regard that the Trade Policy Framework adopted in 2017 seeks to Review and strengthen consumer protection enforcement legislative framework to promote and advance socio-economic welfare of consumers in Kiribati and to establish a consistent enforcement regime. This consultancy comes under the “Kiribati trade capacity development and institutional strengthening project Phase 2” funded by Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) Facility. This second phase of the EIF project commenced in July 2020. The objective is to strengthen the capacity of institutions and stakeholders to implement trade policies that support poverty reduction, inclusive economic growth, equitable sustainable development and wealthy economy in line with the Government’s 20-Year Vision development plan (KV20) 2016-2036). As part of the project, UNDP, as the Main Implementing Entity, is seeking the services of a qualified Legal consultant with expertise and experience in Strengthening Consumer Protection Regime to provide technical support towards review of Consumer Protection Act 2001, Consumer Protection Regulations 2004, identify enforcement gaps, draft a new Consumer Protection Bill and Consumer Protection Regulations. - DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
- Scope of Work
The primary objective of the assignment is to review Consumer Protection Act 2001, Consumer Protection Regulations 2004, identify enforcement gaps and draft a new Consumer Protection Bill. The review is expected to strengthen consumer protection enforcement legislative framework to promote and advance socio-economic welfare of consumers in Kiribati and to establish a consistent enforcement regime. The consultant is required to undertake the following specific key tasks to achieve the assignment objective: - Drafting Legal Report
- Review status of consumer protection regime in Kiribati including existing reports[2] and recommendations in regard to consumer protection and E-commerce /digital trade[3] considering the principles of the United Nations Guideline on Consumer Protection (UNGCP) 1999;
- Assess legislative and regulatory framework of consumer protection including Consumer Protection Act 2011and associated amendments in Kiribati, identify the gaps and propose policy recommendations; and
- Draft Consumer Protection Regime Legal Analysis report with identified legislative/enforcement gaps and recommendations to Strengthen consumer protection regime in Kiribati.
- Drafting Consumer Protection Bill
- Prepare Policy paper to inform drafting of a new Consumer Protection bill based on the findings and recommendations in the legal Analysis report considering practicability of the proposals in the context of Kiribati and UNGCP 1999;
- Ensure the policy proposals responds to the status of the business environment, provide adequate mechanism to enhance inter-agency coordination in reinforcement of consumer protection; provide mechanism to receive, investigate and Act upon complaints by consumers and to assist consumers in making and pursuing complaints;
- Ensure the consumer protection bill responds to the enforcement gaps in the Legal Analysis Report and work closely with the Office of Attorney General in Kiribati;
- Conduct consultative meetings with the policy makers; private sector, NGOs, Women Representatives; and relevant stakeholders at different stages to discuss the various aspects of Policy paper to arrive at a consensus view on the policy;
- Draft Consumer Protection Bill based on the approved Policy paper considering the UNGCP 1999;
- Conduct consultative meetings at different stages to discuss the various aspects of Draft Consumer protection Bill to arrive at a consensus view on the proposed Bill; and
- Draft the Consumer Protection Regulations.
GEOGRAPHICAL AREA TO BE COVERED The project will be implemented in Kiribati and consultation will be undertaken in Tarawa and Kiritimati. EXPECTED BENEFICIARIES - Ministry of Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives (MCIC); and
- Policy makers, Consumer representatives and key stakeholders.
EXPECTED OUTPUTS AND DELIVERABLES - Legal Analysis Report on the status of consumer protection regime in Kiribati;
- Policy paper to inform drafting of the Consumer Protection Bill based on the Legal Analysis report;
- Draft Consumer Protection Bill based on the approved Policy paper; and
- Stakeholder consultative reports providing outcome and list of stakeholders consulted at different stages of outputs development.
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT - The activities will be managed in coordination with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives (MCIC); and
- MCIC will provide access to office space, organise meetings and provide administrative support where needed. The assignment will be delivered through a stakeholder-driven approach. The consultant is expected to work closely with Officer of Attorney General (OAG); Business Regulatory Centre of MCIC and other stakeholders identified in collaboration with MCIC.
DURATION OF THE WORK - All the activities are expected to be completed in a 4 months’ period.
DUTY STATION AND RESOURCES PROVIDED - The assignment is to be undertaken remotely due to In-country COVID-19 Restrictions
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- REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
The consultant is expected to meet the following requirements. - Qualification and skills
- Degree in Law, with specialization in Commercial Law or related field;
- Excellent communication, analytical, and report writing skills; and
- Excellent team working abilities.
- General professional experience
- Minimum 10 years, of relevant post-graduate professional experience in issues related to Consumer protection and legal reform.
- Specific professional experience
- Minimum 10 years, of post graduate experience in Consumer protection, legal reform and governance;
- experience in facilitating dialogue among key stakeholders at a high political level to formulate, validate and adopt policies and policy statements;
- Demonstrated experience and understanding of consumer protection, with the ability to identify gaps related to Kiribati context;
- Experience in providing legal advice to improve legislative and regulatory frameworks consistent with international best practices to strengthen consumer protection legislative framework; and
- International working experience, including work in the Pacific region which would be an asset.
- Language requirements
Fluency of English language is required. - SCHEDULE OF PAYMENTS
Deliverables | Due Date | % of overall contract amount: | - Signed Contract and submission of a work plan
| - Upon Signing the Contract
| 10% | - Legal Report on the status of regulatory and legislative framework of Consumer protection in Kiribati, with identified gaps and recommendations
| - Upon submission of the Final Legal Report
| 20% | - Policy paper to inform drafting of the cooperative bill based on the legal report
| - Upon submission of the Final Policy Paper approved by MCIC
| 30% | - Final Consumer Protection Bill based on the approved Policy paper
| - Upon submission of the Final Consumer Protection Bill
| 30% | - Draft Consumer Protection Regulations
| - Upon submission of Draft Consumer Protection Regulations
| 10% |
- EVALUATION METHOD AND CRITERIA
- Cumulative analysis
The proposal will be evaluated using the cumulative analysis method with a split of 70% and 30% financial scoring. The Proposal with the highest cumulative scoring will be awarded the contract. Applications will be evaluated technically, and points are attributed based on how well the proposal meets the requirements of the Terms of Reference using the guidelines detailed in the table below: Criteria | Weighting Scoring | Qualification | | - Master’s degree in law, with specialization in Commercial Law or related field.
| 10 | Experience | | - Minimum 10 years, of post graduate experience in Consumer protection, legal reform and governance.
| 10 | - Experience in facilitating dialogue among key stakeholders at a high political level to formulate, validate and adopt policies and policy statements.
| 15 | - Demonstrated experience and understanding of Consumer Protection Legislative Framework related to Kiribati context.
| 15 | - Experience in providing legal advice to improve legislative and regulatory frameworks consistent with international best practices to strengthen consumer protection regime.
| 20 | Technical Criteria | 70% | Financial Criteria | 30% |
Only candidates obtaining a minimum of 49 points in the Technical Evaluation would be considered for the Financial Evaluation. Interviews may be conducted as part of technical assessment for shortlisted proposals. The final evaluation method will be based on a cumulative analysis of both the technical and financial proposals. When using this weighted scoring method, the award of the contract will be made to the individual consultant whose offer has been evaluated and determined as: - Responsive/compliant/acceptable; and
- Having received the highest score out of a pre-determined set of weighted technical and financial criteria specific to the solicitation.
- Technical Criteria weight: 70 per cent; Financial Criteria weight: 30 per cent.
Documentation required Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications. Please group them into one (1) single PDF document as the application only allows to upload maximum one document: - Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided in Annex II.
- Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
- Technical proposal, including a) a brief description of why the individual considers him/herself as the most suitable for the assignment; and b) a methodology, on how they will approach and complete the assignment.
- Financial proposal, as per template provided in Annex II. Note: National consultants must quote prices in United States Dollars (USD).
Consultant must send a financial proposal based on a Lump Sum Amount. The total amount quoted shall be all-inclusive and include all costs components required to perform the deliverables identified in the TOR, including professional fee, travel costs, living allowance (if any work is to be done outside the IC´s duty station) and any other applicable cost to be incurred by the IC in completing the assignment. The contract price will be fixed output-based price regardless of extension of the herein specified duration. Payments will be done upon completion of the deliverables/outputs. Incomplete and joint proposals may not be considered. Consultants with whom there is further interest will be contacted. The successful consultant shall opt to sign an Individual Contract or a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) through its company/employer with UNDP. Annexes - Annex I - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions
- Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template
For any clarification regarding this assignment please write to Mr. Dale Kacivi - procurement.fj@undp.org/dale.kacivi@undp.org All applications must be clearly marked with the title of consultancy, Reference Number and submitted by 5:00pm, 25th August 2021, 5pm (Fiji Time) online via UN Jobs website https://jobs.undp.org/ or etenderbox.pacific@undp.org |
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