1. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has received funding from the European Union under the Project to Support the Regional Food Security Storage Strategy in West Africa. This agreement is implemented through three contribution agreements implemented respectively by the French Development Agency (AFD), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and the Sahel and West Africa Club (SWAC/OECD). Within the framework of the Contribution Agreement concluded between the EU and AFD, the ECOWAS Commission, through the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA), intends to use part of the resources delegated to AFD to make payments under the Support Project for the Regional Food Security Storage Strategy in West Africa.
2. The Applicant's services will consist of providing support in the form of a Project Management Unit (PMU) to the ARAA in charge of the overall coordination and implementation of the Project. The details of the expected services are specified in Appendix 1.
3. To this end, the ARAA invites interested Applicants to express their interest in providing the services described below.
4. This Call for Expressions of Interest is aimed at design offices and groups of design offices or firms. Public industrial and commercial establishments (EPIC) may participate as a member of the Group, without being the lead partner.
5. The eligibility criteria for AFD funding are specified in Article 1.3 of the "Guidelines for the Procurement of Contracts Financed by AFD in Foreign States" (new version dated February 2024), available online on the AFD website: http://www.afd.fr.
6. Candidates may submit only one application in their own name or in a consortium. If a Candidate (including a member of a Group) submits or participates in several applications, these will be eliminated. On the other hand, the same Subcontractor may participate in several applications.
7. If the Candidate is constituted as a consortium, the Expression of Interest must include:

• A copy of the Grouping agreement concluded by all its members,

or

• A letter of intent to set up a Consortium, signed by all its members and accompanied by a copy of the proposed Consortium's agreement.

In the absence of this document, the other members will be considered as Data Processors. The references and qualifications of Subcontractors will not be taken into account in the evaluation of applications.

8. Interested Candidates must provide information demonstrating that they are qualified and experienced to perform these Services. As such, they will justify that they have references of recent and similar services. The similarity of the references presented will be analysed according to their relative relevance to the services to be implemented as described above.
9. In particular, Candidates are expected to submit references for contracts with characteristics similar to one or more of the following criteria:

• The size of the contracts (size and complexity ): contracts will be assessed with regard to their size, in particular when they relate to a duration equal to or greater than five (5) years and to a volume of services greater than 500,000 euros. Their complexity will also be taken into account, in particular when they concern the management or coordination of regional or multi-country projects, involving several stakeholders, various institutional arrangements, as well as a structured operational and financial organization.
• The nature of the Services : support for the management, coordination and implementation of projects, particularly regional or multi-country, including administrative and financial management, operational planning — AWPB, logical framework, timetable — as well as the management of long-term technical expertise. Experiences in the delivery, monitoring and quality control of technical support services, as well as the realization of detailed technical studies on request, will also be valued.
• Field and technical expertise : expertise on agricultural policies and food systems, regional integration, storage, prevention and management of food, nutrition and pastoral crises. Experiences relating to strengthening the institutional and human capacities of national and local actors, structures and mechanisms, as well as gender, "do no harm", financial engineering, communication and visibility themes will also be taken into account.
• The geographical area of intervention: experience in West Africa, in the twelve (12) ECOWAS Member States, the three countries of the Alliance of Sahel States, as well as in Chad and Mauritania. Particular attention will be paid to the experiences conducted with the various stakeholders working on food, nutrition and pastoral security issues, as well as to interventions carried out in at least two ECOWAS institutional languages.

References (active telephone contacts and/or email addresses of beneficiaries or donors) must be specified for each experience presented.  CVs or expert profiles will not be analysed at this stage.

10. The ARAA will also consider the suitability of the Expressions of Interest against the following criteria:

• The candidates' network: their ability to mobilise skills outside their core business and their local correspondents/partners;
• Internal skills and availability in terms of technical support provided to the experts to be mobilized (technical assistance team);

 

11. Due to the security risk in the areas where the Services are to be carried out, the evaluation of the Expressions of Interest will verify that the applications meet the following criteria:

• The Candidate has at least one (1) experience of providing services in a similar security risk area, for which he/she will provide proof of implementation of security measures (invoice or contract with a security service provider, proof of security awareness before departure on site, etc.);
• The Candidate has internal security management procedures: it will provide a description of its monitoring system and its crisis management system;
• The Candidate has, for services provided abroad, a contract for the assistance and repatriation of his employees: he must provide the certificate justifying this;
• The Candidate must describe its standard process for preparing for departure on a mission in sensitive areas, and will attach supporting documents for its implementation (mission orders with associated instructions, certificates of awareness-raising or training actions, etc.).

In the case of a Consortium, its representative (regardless of its country of registration) as well as any member having its registered office outside the Client's country, must meet each of these criteria.

An application that does not meet any of these requirements will be rejected.

 

12. ARAA will draw up a shortlist of up to six (6) Applicants, pre-selected on the basis of the applications received, to whom it will send the Request for Proposals for the performance of the required Services.
13. Expressions of Interest should be sent electronically to the following address: https://bit.ly/3QwE8iV with the reference: "UGP STOCK II-2026", no later than 23 July 2026 at 12:00 GMT (UTC).
14. Expressions of Interest must follow the format and include the following:

Format

One (1) single non-editable PDF file; Limit of thirty (30) pages all-inclusive (excluding presentation brochure).

Contents

Letter of Expression of Interest, drawn up according to the model in Appendix 2; If the Candidate is constituted as a Group: a copy of the Grouping agreement concluded by all its members OR a letter of intent to set up a Grouping (signed by all its members) and accompanied by a copy of the proposed Grouping agreement; The duly signed Declaration of Integrity, without modification, as provided in Appendix 3; A brochure presenting the Candidate (individual or Group); A list of references, experiences and similar, including information to assess the similarities mentioned in paragraph 9 above, and active telephone contacts and/or email addresses of clients (beneficiaries or funders).

 

15. Any application that is incomplete and/or submitted after the deadline for submitting expressions of interest will be automatically rejected.
16. The ARAA will confirm within 24 hours the receipt of each Expression of Interest it has received at the above email address. In the absence of such confirmation received from the Client within 24 hours of sending their Expression of Interest, the Candidate is invited to check with the Client that their Expression of Interest has been received.
17. Interested Candidates may obtain clarification by sending a written request to the above-mentioned email addresses, no later than five (5) working days before the deadline for submission of expressions of interest; with the subject line "UGP STOCK II-2026 - Clarification" to the following addresses: procurement@araa.org with copies to ctienon@araa.org and awaki@araa.org.
18. The ARAA will respond to requests for clarification in writing, publishing the response in the same media as the initial publication of this Call for Expressions of Interest, without identifying the source of the request for clarification.

 

 

Appendix 1 – Presentation of the expected mission

1 – Background and rationale

1. 1. Economic situation of the region

The population of West Africa is estimated at 435.2 million in 2023. An estimated 32.47% of this population lives on less than USD 2.15 per day in 2023, representing 141.32 million people living in extreme poverty in the region (ECA, 2023a, p.24).

The West African economy remains dominated by the primary sector, particularly agriculture, which accounts for 22.2 percent of GDP (ECA, 2023b, p.14). In addition, agriculture provides between 22 and 73 percent of employment in each country in the region in 2021 (FAO, 2023). However, the Sahel and West Africa region is recurrently facing food and nutrition crises affecting a significant part of its population.

 

1. 2. Food and nutrition situation in the ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS region

Since the first Cadre Harmonisé (CH) analyses in 2014, the number of people facing high levels of acute food and nutrition insecurity in the region has been steadily increasing, with the exception of 2018. Between 2020 and 2024, the number of people more than doubled, from about 22.1 million to 49.7 million (FSIN, 2024, p.16). The same Cadre Harmonisé analyses indicate that as of November 2025, out of a total of 384 million people analysed, about 36.9 million people, not including the results from Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Niger, are food insecure and in need of immediate food and nutrition assistance. Without appropriate measures, an additional 10.7 million people could be pushed into acute food and nutrition insecurity by the lean season of June to August 2026. While the overall prevalence remains relatively stable, around 9% in the current situation and 2% in the projected situation, it should nevertheless be noted that 113 million people, or 35% of the population analysed, are under food pressure. Countries with at least 10% of their population food insecure are Guinea with 1.5 million people (11.9% of the population analysed), Sierra Leone with 998,608 people (11%), Chad with 1.9 million people (10.7%) and Nigeria with 27.2 million people (12.5% of the population analysed) (RPCA,  Dec 2025). 

 

• 3. The main drivers of the food crisis
• Intensifying conflict and insecurity, the impact of economic shocks and the effects of extreme weather events continue to cause acute food insecurity. These interrelated factors exacerbate the fragility of food systems, disrupt the socio-economic fabric, and lead to regional displacement.
• Conflict and insecurity have caused massive internal and cross-border displacement, disrupted traditional agricultural and pastoral practices, as well as the functioning of markets and trade, and hampered the distribution of humanitarian assistance. This situation reveals the interconnected nature of the food and nutrition crises in these regions (CILSS, March 2024). The situation has led to a gradual increase in regional displacement levels, with 8.4 million forcibly displaced people in 16 countries in the first quarter of 2024 (UNHCR, 2024; IOM, 2023 and 2024).
• Economic shocks: The economic inability of poor households to access food has resulted from a decline in purchasing power, exacerbated by high inflation and weakened economic activity. These economic challenges have been compounded by the lingering effects of COVID-19, economic and political sanctions, and terrorism-related insecurity in some countries in the region. This has led to disruptions in the functioning of markets, resulting in shortages of goods, adding inflationary pressure on food prices and the cost of humanitarian assistance, and restricting the mobility of people and pastoral transhumance (CILSS, March 2024).
• Extreme weather events: Every year, climate crises affect people, with episodes of severe floods, storms, droughts, fires, epidemics and diseases. Floods and cumulative rainfall deficits have affected crops in some countries, including Niger, Nigeria and Chad. These extreme climatic events have also affected the availability of pastoral resources, leading to an early start to the pastoral lean season.

 

1. 4. National and regional initiatives to address food and nutrition crises

To address food crises, countries in West Africa and the Sahel, regional organizations and their technical and financial partners have put in place various response and solidarity mechanisms. Each year, States develop National Response Plans (NRPs) to ensure access to food, treatment of malnutrition and support for the livelihoods of vulnerable populations. However, their implementation remains limited by the limited resources mobilized. The report of the NRP 2025, presented at the regional consultation in Dakar (17–18 November 2025), shows a mobilization of 177.9 billion CFA francs, covering only 34% of needs, revealing a financing gap of 66%. Resources were allocated 56 per cent to food, 43 per cent to nutrition and livelihoods, and less than 1 per cent to coordination.

 

Faced with these constraints, countries with at least one area in phase 3 or more of the Cadre Harmonisé can mobilize regional solidarity mechanisms, in particular the Regional Food Security Reserve (RRSA) set up by ECOWAS. A true pillar of the regional response, the RRSA has mobilized more than 65,037 tons of cereals since 2017. In 2025, its global capital is estimated at nearly 70,000 tonnes, divided between seven storage countries: Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal, Ghana and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS continued its interventions in 2025 with the delivery of 500 tons to Mali and Sierra Leone, the distribution of 230 tons of Supercereals+ to Nigeria, and the preparation of the provision of about 400 tons of nutritional products to Chad, Togo and Sierra Leone. In addition, WAEMU has contributed 5,000 tonnes and activities to set up the risk financing mechanism, aimed at consolidating the physical and financial reserve for more consistent and diversified responses, faster and more sustainable.

In perspective, ECOWAS plans to strengthen national responses, fight malnutrition and accelerate the operationalization of the financial reserve, in order to improve responsiveness and regional coordination in the face of food crises.

2 – Brief presentation of the Project

Since 2012, ECOWAS has had a regional food security storage strategy. This is part of the regional agricultural policy, ECOWAP. It aims to respond in a sovereign manner to the food, nutrition and pastoral crises in the 17 countries of the ECOWAS-UEMOA and CILSS area. It is based on three complementary storage scales: local stocks managed by producer organizations, national safety stocks managed by States, and finally, the Regional Food Security Reserve (RRSA) created in 2013 by the Heads of State and Government.

The RRSA has a dedicated governance mechanism and its operation is based on precise rules and a clear regulatory framework. The management of this mechanism involves the three regional institutions (ECOWAS, CILSS and UEMOA), all States as well as agricultural and livestock producer organizations, civil society, and national storage organizations. Technical management is provided by the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food.

Between 2016 and 2021, a first stage of operationalization of the storage strategy was implemented with financial assistance from ECOWAS and the European Union, as well as technical support from AFD, AECID and the Agrhymet/CILSS Regional Center. On the basis of the achievements and lessons learned from this phase, the region has embarked on the design of a new phase of deployment of this strategy, in order to deal with the continuous deterioration of the food and nutrition situation in the region.

Since 2022, the combination of resources from ECOWAS, UEMOA, AFD, AECID and the World Bank has made it possible to consolidate the three storage lines (local, national and regional) and prepare the necessary reforms, in a context of increasing crisis growth and complexity.

Today, the RRSA has a capital of nearly 70,000 tons of cereals. It has intervened on 26 occasions in support of 7 countries facing severe food crises. It has also mobilized nutritional products to address malnutrition among children, pregnant and lactating women.

A new financing agreement for an amount of €20 million has been signed between ECOWAS and the European Union for the period 2026-2029. An amount of €16 million is allocated to food security storage and is implemented by the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA) through two contribution agreements, with AFD on the one hand and AECID on the other.

This call for expressions of interest concerns the component of activities delegated to AFD. However, the human resources mobilized will be placed at the service of the entire storage support project, whether the activities are delegated to the AFD or the AECID.

The contribution agreement aims to "contribute to the improvement of the integrated and coordinated implementation of the ECOWAS Regional Food Security Storage Strategy".

It focuses on three main areas: (i) ensuring the deployment of a revised storage strategy at the local, national and regional levels, (ii) reforming and deploying the adjusted Regional Food Security Reserve (RRSA), and finally, (iii) strengthening the capacities of the ECOWAS technical agency, the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (ARAA).

The geographical coverage concerns the seventeen countries of the ECOWAS-UEMOA-CILSS area and the duration of the project is four (4) years.

The detailed activities are structured around each of the three axes. Under the first axis, the main activities concern (i) strengthening the capacities of local storage organizations, (ii) supporting the deployment of national storage strategies, (iii) revising the regulatory framework, diversifying the products and storage methods of the Regional Reserve and managing information at the three storage scales.

Under the second axis, the main activities concern the implementation of reforms to the rules and operating procedures of the Regional Reserve and in particular the operationalization of the financial component of this Regional Reserve managed by the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID). It is also a question of deploying the nutritional component of the RRSA.

Under the third axis, the action focuses on support to the RRSA Division in charge of the management of the system, and on the various cross-cutting services provided by the ARAA in the field of administrative and financial management, procurement, communication, capitalization and monitoring and evaluation.

ECOWAS, through its various services (Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture – AE-A; Directorate of Agriculture and Rural Development – DADR; Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food – ARAA), will assume the functions of project owner through the "Regional Food Security Reserve Division" (DRRSA) hosted at ARAA, in Lomé, Togo.

The RRSA Division, the technical body of the ARAA responsible for the implementation of the ECOWAS Regional Food Security Storage Strategy (including the RRSA), is composed of the following ECOWAS human resources:

• A division chief of the RRSA;
• An operations officer of the RRSA;
• A market and database analyst; and
• An assistant statistician and database.

 

Within the framework of the Project, the RRSA Division will be responsible for the operational planning and technical execution of the activities included in the framework of the Project's contractual documents.

As part of the implementation of the Project, it is expected that part of the funding will be used to use the services of Consultants to support ARAA in the coordination and overall execution of the project.

 

3 – Presentation of the Mission

The project will be coordinated from Lomé (Togo) within ARAA.

The Project Management Unit (PMU) must be staffed to support the DRRSA in the implementation of the Project, under the hierarchical responsibility of the Executive Director of ARAA. It will be mobilized by the Design Office or a consortium within the framework of this call for tenders, the latter will demonstrate its ability to have the administrative and technical capacities to meet the needs of the ARAA.

The PMU will have the primary responsibilities of:

• Provide administrative, technical and financial support for the day-to-day management of activities, and in particular to report to ARAA, ECOWAS and AFD through the reporting system put in place, the organization under the hierarchical responsibility of the Executive Director of ARAA of the meetings of the Steering Committee and the Technical Monitoring Committee,  the production of periodic reports in accordance with the procedures of each of these institutions;
• Deliver part of the transversal expertise (procurement and monitoring of the dedicated plan, administration and accounting, permanent technical support, ad hoc support, etc.); and
• Strengthen the capacities of the ARAA common services (in terms of communication, monitoring and evaluation, accounting, procurement, etc.).

The PMU will have to report directly to the ARAA, It will have to ensure the production of quality deliverables and ensure that all deliverables and contractual documents transmitted by the ARAA to the AFD as part of the execution of the Project are delivered according to the planned schedule and are qualitatively and formally compliant with the requirements and procedures resulting from the Financing Agreement signed between this institution and ECOWAS. These procedures will also be translated into a Manual of Administrative, Operational and Financial Procedures, which the PMU will be responsible for ensuring is properly applied.

It should be noted that the staff mobilized by the Design Office or the Group will be placed under the direct hierarchy of the Executive Director and the technical coordination of the Head of Division of the RRSA and the project coordinator, recruited directly by the ARAA.

This staff will be composed of:

• Five (5) "long-term" experts based within the ARAA:

1. A Deputy Coordinator, expert in planning and monitoring and evaluation
2. An Administrative and Financial Manager
3. An international senior expert specializing in the storage and management of food and nutrition crises
4. A Senior Regional Storage Expert, in charge of supporting national policies)
5. An expert specialist in communication and knowledge management;
6. An expert in procurement ;

 

In addition, the service will also provide for the mobilization of specialized ad hoc expertise on:

• Gender issues  and the "do no harm" approach;
• Monitoring and evaluation ;
• Financial engineering;
• Communication-visibility and publishing;
• Training;
• Support for political and institutional dialogue;
• And any other need for specialized expertise identified during the implementation of the project.

Details of each of these positions will be provided as part of the Terms of Reference of the Tender Document that will be sent to the Candidates selected to be shortlisted following this CEI.

 

Appendix 2 - Sample Letter of Expression of Interest

[Location, date]

A

Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food

To the attention of the Executive Director

4th and 5th Floors, CRBC Building, Reconciliation Square

Cité OUA, Quartier Atchanté, 01 BP 4817 – Lomé, TOGO

Phone: +228 22 21 40 03

Email: araa@araa.org

 

Dear Sir,

 

                  I, the undersigned [____], have the honour to express my interest in carrying out theSupport of the Project Management Unit (PMU) to the ARAA in the framework of the implementation of the "Support Project for the Regional Food Security Storage Strategy in West Africa", in accordance with your Call No. [_____] issued on [date].

                  I acknowledge and agree to:

1. that ECOWAS reserves the right to cancel the procedure and reject all Proposals at any time prior to the award of the contract, without incurring any liability to me as a result,
2. that in the event of non-signature of the Financing Agreement between AFD and ECOWAS, none of the Proposals received will be accepted.

 

                  Please accept, Sir, the assurance of my distinguished consideration.

 

Name of Consultant:      

Signature of the Consultant:       

Address:               

 

 

Annex 3 – Statement of integrity, eligibility and environmental and social responsibility

(To be provided signed with the application, without modification of the text)

 

Title of the contract: Support of the Project Management Unit (PMU) to the ARAA in the framework of the implementation of the "Project to support the regional food security storage strategy in West Africa", (the "Market")

 

To: the ECOWAS Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (the "Project Owner")

 

1. We acknowledge and accept that the French Development Agency (AFD) only finances the Client's projects on its own terms which are determined by the Financing Agreement that directly or indirectly binds it to the Client. The Contracting Authority retains exclusive responsibility for the preparation and implementation of the Procurement process and its execution. As a result, there can be no legal relationship between AFD and our company, our group, and our subcontractors. Depending on whether it is a contract for works, supplies, equipment, intellectual services (consultants) or other services, the Contracting Authority may also be referred to as the Client, Contractor or Buyer.
2. We certify that neither we, nor anyone acting on our behalf[1], nor any of our group members, nor any of our subcontractors, are in any of the following situations:

2.1    Be in a state or be the subject of bankruptcy, liquidation, judicial settlement, safeguard, cessation of activity, or be in any analogous situation resulting from a procedure of the same nature;

2.2    Have been the subject of a final administrative sanction, a final conviction by a competent authority, or any other out-of-court resolution within the last five years^[2] in particular having an extinguishing effect of the public action, i.e. (i) in the country in which we are established, (ii) in the country where the Contract is performed, (iii) in the context of the award or performance of a contract financed by the AFD, (iv) issued by an institution of the European Union or (v) issued by a competent authority in France,  Pros:

1. Prohibited Practices, as defined in Article 6.1 below, or for any offence committed in the context of the award or performance of a contract (in the event of such a sanction, conviction, or resolution out of court, we have the possibility of attaching additional information, such as a compliance program, to this Integrity Statement,  to justify that we (or the person acting on our behalf, the member of our group, or our subcontractor) consider that the sanction, conviction or resolution is not relevant to the Contract, if applicable);
2. participation in a criminal organization, terrorist or terrorism-related offences, child labour, or other offences related to trafficking in human beings;
3. have created an entity in a different jurisdiction with the intention of evading tax, social security or any other legal obligation applicable in the territory in which its registered office, central government or principal place of business is located or (ii) by virtue of being an entity created with the intention of avoiding such obligations;

2.3    Have been the subject of a termination pronounced at its exclusive fault in the last five years due to a serious or persistent breach of its contractual obligations during the performance of a contract, provided that this termination has not been the subject of a dispute on its part that is currently being processed or that has given rise to a court decision reversing the termination at its exclusive fault;

2.4    Be subject to a measure of ineligibility taken by one of the multilateral development banks signatories of the mutual recognition agreement of 9 April 2010^[3](in the event of such a measure of ineligibility, we may attach to this Declaration of Integrity the additional information that would allow it to be considered that this measure of ineligibility is not relevant in the context of the Contract), if applicable;

2.5    Have not fulfilled our obligations relating to the payment of taxes or social security contributions in accordance with the legal provisions of our country of establishment, or those of the country of the Project Owner;

2.6    Have produced false documents or been guilty of false declaration(s) by providing the information required by the Employer in the context of this procurement and award process.

3. We certify that neither we, nor anyone acting on our behalf2, nor any of the members of our group, nor any of our subcontractors, nor our direct or indirect shareholders, nor our subsidiaries, acting with our knowledge or consent:
   1. is directly or indirectly targeted, controlled by, or acts in the name of or on behalf of a person or entity subject to individual sanctions measures adopted by the United Nations, the European Union and/or France;
   2. is directly or indirectly targeted, controlled by, or acts in the name of or on behalf of a person or entity subject to sectoral sanctions measures adopted by the United Nations, the European Union and/or France;
   3. is ineligible for the implementation of the project due to any other international sanctions measure pronounced by the United Nations, the European Union or France.
4. We certify that neither we, nor anyone acting on our behalf2, nor any of the members of our consortium, nor any of our subcontractors, are [nor have been (in the event of the refinancing of a contract already awarded)] in any of the following situations of conflict of interest:

4.1    Be a shareholder controlling the Project Owner or a subsidiary controlled by the Project Owner, unless the resulting conflict has been brought to the attention of AFD and resolved to its satisfaction;

4.2    Have business or family relations with a member of the Client's services involved in the Procurement process or the supervision of the Contract resulting therefrom, unless the resulting conflict has been brought to the attention of AFD and resolved to its satisfaction;

4.3    Control or be controlled by another candidate, tenderer or consultant, be under the control of the same company as another candidate, tenderer or consultant, receive from another candidate, tenderer or consultant or award grants directly or indirectly to another candidate, tenderer or consultant, have the same legal representative as another candidate, tenderer or consultant,  directly or indirectly maintain contacts with another candidate, tenderer or consultant allowing us (i) to have given, and/or to give access to information contained in our respective applications, tenders or proposals likely to distort competition, (ii) to influence them, or (iii) to influence the decisions of the Client;

4.4    Be engaged for an intellectual services mission which, by its nature, is or could be incompatible with the mission envisaged on behalf of the Project Owner;

4.5    Have prepared, been or have been associated with a natural or legal person who has prepared specifications, terms of reference and other documents that have been used in the context of the procedure for the award of this Contract, and which contain provisions likely to encourage an application, offer or proposal;

4.6    Have access or had access to, have prepared oneself, be or have been associated with a natural or legal person who has access, had access to, or prepared specifications, plans, calculations, studies and other documents that have not been communicated to all candidates, tenderers or consultants in the context of this Procurement, and which thus confer an undue competitive advantage;

4.7 In the case of a procedure for the award of a Contract for works, equipment or supplies, be recruited yourself, or must be recruited (or that one of the companies with which we are affiliated is, or must be), to supervise or control the services in the context of the Contract.

5. If we are a public institution or a public company, in order to participate in a competitive tendering procedure, we certify that we have legal and financial autonomy and that we are managed according to the rules of commercial law.
6. In the context of the award and performance of the Contract:

6.1    Neither we, nor anyone acting on our behalf2, nor any of the members of our group, nor any of our subcontractors, have committed or will commit any Prohibited Practice as defined in the document entitled "AFD Group's General Policy on the Prevention and Fight against Prohibited Practices", available on AFD's website[4].               

6.2    Neither we, nor anyone acting on our behalf2, nor any of our group members, nor any of our subcontractors, will acquire or supply [have acquired or supplied (in the event of refinancing of a contract already awarded)] of equipment or intervene [did not intervene (in the event of refinancing of a contract already awarded)] in areas embargoed by the United Nations, the European Union or France.

7. We undertake to, and we undertake to, anyone acting on our behalf2, any member of our group, any subcontractor undertake to:

7.1    comply with the environmental standards recognised by the international community, including the international conventions for the protection of the environment, and in particular to take all reasonable measures to avoid or limit the adverse effects on vegetation, biodiversity, soil, groundwater and surface water tables, and on persons and property, resulting from pollution,  noise, vibration, traffic and other effects resulting from our activities, consistent with the laws and regulations applicable in the country where the Contract is carried out.

7.2    implement environmental and social risk mitigation measures when indicated in the environmental and social management plan provided by the Employer, and that the emissions, surface discharges and effluents produced by our activities comply with the limits, specifications or requirements applicable to the Market.

7.3    respect workers' rights relating to wages, working hours, rest and holidays, overtime, minimum age, regular payments, compensation and benefits in accordance with internationally recognised standards, including the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), in line with the laws and regulations applicable to the country where the Market is realised; indicate these elements in a document annexed to the employment contracts of our employees and at the disposal of the Client; and respect and facilitate workers' rights to organize and set up a complaint handling mechanism for direct or indirect workers.

7.4    Establish non-discrimination and equal opportunity practices, and ensure the prohibition of child labour and forced labour.

7.5    maintain a record for each local staff member of the hours worked by each person, the type of work, the wages paid and the training received, and that these records are available at all times so that they can be examined by the Employer and authorized government officials, in compliance with the laws and regulations applicable to the protection of personal data in the country where the Contract is performed.

8. We, whoever acting on our behalf2, the members of our group, our subcontractors, our direct or indirect shareholders, and our subsidiaries, authorize AFD to conduct investigations, and in particular to examine the accounting documents and records relating to the award and performance of the Contract, including, but not limited to, our internal processes and procedures related to compliance with international sanctions imposed by the United Nations,  the European Union and/or France, and to have them verified by auditors appointed by AFD.
9. We represent that we have paid, or will pay, commissions, benefits, fees, gratuities or costs in connection with the procurement process or the performance of the Contract for the benefit of the following third party(ies) (such as an intermediary/agent)(*):

 

Name of the beneficiary	Contact Information	Reason	Amount(Specify currency)
_________________	_________________	_________________	________________
_________________	_________________	_________________	________________
_________________	_________________	_________________	________________

(*): If no amount has been paid or is not to be paid, indicate "None".

 

10. We undertake to communicate without delay to the Client, who will inform AFD, any change in the situation with regard to the foregoing points, including in the event of any sanction or embargo measure adopted by the United Nations, the European Union and/or France following our signature of this Declaration.

 

Name: _____________________________________ As : _______________

Duly authorized to sign for and on behalf of[5] :________________________

Signature:_____________________________________________________

As of: ________________________________________________________