Government of Lesotho

ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION SUPPORT PROJECT

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (EOI)

(INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT)

DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES (SEZs) POLICY AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK

Financing Agreement Reference: 2100150036596

Sector: Enterprise Development

Project ID No.: P-LS-KF0-002

 

 

 

The Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho has received financing from the African Development Fund towards implementation of the Economic Diversification Support Project and intends to apply part of the agreed amount for this loan to payments under the contract for Development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy and Legal Framework for the government of Lesotho.

The aim of the project is to develop A long-term policy commitment to attract high quality foreign investment set out in an SEZ Act and supported through consistent and current government policies; develop an internationally competitive incentive offering that reduces the cost of capital investment in an SEZ and facilitates expedient and effective regulatory support for foreign investors operating in an SEZ; and develop a specified SEZ regulator that is housed outside of ministry silos and empowered with the ability to expedite necessary regulatory processes to meet investor requirements, preferably through direct agreements with relevant ministries

The overall objective of the assignment is to engage the consultancy firm to assist the Ministry of Trade and Industry to develop an SEZ Policy and Legal Framework for Lesotho. The scope of the consultancy services includes; a)Prepare SEZ Policy in line with the Lesotho Policy Guidelines.

Undertake stakeholder consultations on the process, content and structure of the proposed policy interventions as well as to solicit feedback on the draft policy, and validation of the final version of the policy; c) Develop a detailed implementation framework (including implementation modalities including structures needed to be created or strengthened to implement the policy) as well as a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan with detailed established targets to assess the effectiveness of the policy within specified periods; d) Make recommendations on the content of the SEZ law and f) Determine capacity to implement the policy and develop a capacity building plan for operationalization of the policy.

The estimated duration of this assignment is Four (4) months from the date of signing the contract.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry now invites eligible individual consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consultants must provide their Curriculum Vitae (CVs) indicating that they are qualified to perform the services.

Eligibility criteria, establishment of the short-list and the selection procedure shall be in accordance with the Procurement Policy and Methodology for Bank Group Funded Operations, dated October 2015, which is available on the Bank’s website at http://www.afdb.org.

Interested individual consultants may obtain further information and the Terms of Reference for the assignment at the address provided below during the office hours 08.00 hours to 16.30 hours.

Expressions of Interests must be delivered to the address below by 6th May 2021 at 16:30, and electronic submissions should mention as the subject message “Development of Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Policy and Legal Framework” and should be sent to the address below.

The Project Manager

Economic Diversification Support Project

1st Floor, Matanki House

Corner Kingsway and Balfour Road

P.O. Box 747, Maseru 100, Lesotho

Email : [email protected]  with a copy to [email protected]

Tel.: (+266) 22 315 100