Avis d’appel à manifestation d’intérêt pour la réalisation d’une Étude conjointe d’économie politique sur la transition réussie et la stabilité durable au Gabon
Consulting Firms
CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK GROUP TRANSITION STATES COORDINATION OFFICE E-mail: k.m’bengue@afdb.org et a.l.sanogo@afdb.org
Joint political economy study on successful transition and sustainable stability in Gabon
The African Development Bank, through the Transition States Coordination Office (RDTS) hereby invites interested consulting firms (or consortium) to express their interest in conducting a Joint political economy study entitled: “Towards a successful transition and sustainable stability in Gabon: Challenges and issues“. This study is a joint initiative of four institutions, namely the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) through the Africa Facility to Support Inclusive Transitions (AFSIT).
Many African countries are currently facing challenging political and security situations, which prevent them from fully optimizing their natural resources and assets. Since 2020, there have been eight coup d’états in six African countries, leading to additional political and institutional challenges that hinder their development agenda. The pockets of vulnerability resulting from these political and institutional crises disrupt access to development aid resources and governance issues. This exacerbates poverty and pre-existing inequalities, while also impeding private domestic and foreign investment, economic performance, and development prospects. Caution is required to avoid compromising the efforts to reduce vulnerability and set countries on new development trajectories.
The study to be conducted, focusing on Gabon, aims to address the concerns, taking into account the recent developments in the country following the August 2023 elections. It will assess the current challenges and opportunities for the success of the political transition to avoid impeding development efforts. The study will also seek to better understand the opportunities for building resilience and the risks of vulnerability underpinning the current pollical transition period. It will focus on the priorities in terms of political-institutional, economic and social reforms needed to succeed the transition. It will also include an in-depth analysis of risks and opportunities and identify strategic and operational priorities for the Gabonese authorities, as well as the AfDB, IsDB, UNOCA, UNDP and others development partners.
Based on the context and objectives of the study, the AfDB, through a cost-sharing arrangement with the IsDB, UNOCA, and UNDP/AFSIT, is recruiting a consulting firm (or consortium) to perform the following tasks:
- Identify and analyze factors contributing to Gabon’s vulnerability, adapting them to the current political context, to determine how to restore and strengthen the country’s resilience and facilitate its return to constitutional order.
- Identify obstacles and challenges that could compromise the ongoing political transition and have a negative impact on the country’s development prospects.
Consulting Firms
- Evaluate Gabon’s economic model, highlight its key weaknesses, and propose reforms that can be implemented during the transition period.
- Identify opportunities for enhancing internal capacities, both at the state and civil society levels, to effectively mitigate and manage identified risks during the transition period.
- Formulate strategic and operational measures to ensure the proper functioning of the state apparatus during the transition, maintain peace and security, attract private investments, and improve living conditions for the population.
The eligibility criteria, short-listing and selection procedure will be in accordance with the AfDB’s procurement policy and procedure for the recruitment of firms. It should be noted that the interest expressed by a consulting firm does not imply any obligation on the part of the Bank to include it on the short-list.
The duration of the consultation is estimated at five (5) months and is tentatively scheduled to begin on January 25, 2024. Interested consulting firms may obtain further information at the following e-mail addresses k.m’bengue@afdb.org and a.I.sanogo@afdb.org during the Bank’s opening hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Abidjan time).
Expressions of interest must be sent by email in English or French to k.m’bengue@afdb.org and a.l.sanogo@afdb.org no later than December 11, 2023, at 5 p.m. (Abidjan time) with the subject ” Joint political economy study on successful transition and sustainable stability in Gabon“.
SELECTION OF A SHORT-LIST
A shortlist of six consulting firms will be established following the call for expressions of interest, based on the following criteria:
| Criteria | Score |
| General qualifications and experience in the countries covered by the study | 40 |
| Similar experience in the field of expertise of the assignment described in | 40 |
| the expression of interest | |
| Experience with MDBs in the field of research | 20 |
| Total | 100 |