19GB5024Q0002_Pre-proposal conference V2.pdf

ATTACHMENT 4

Pre-proposal conference – Multi Purpose Room & MSGR kitchen

U.S. Embassy Libreville

Date: August 19, 2024

Minutes from Pre-Proposal Conference of August 14, 2024 at 14:00.

Introduction

A Pre-Proposal Conference was held on August 14, 2024 at 14:00. 3 different companies participated.

The visit consisted of a conference and actual visit of the kitchen in the Marine Security Guard

Residence.

The Detachment Commander, Tamara Paz, is the Contracting Officer Representative for this

Contract.

The current Contracting Officer is Roger Riojas (Facility Manager).

The Contract assistant is Judith Abourou.

Discussion of the Solicitation Package

The following sections of the solicitation were highlighted:

The offer

Vendors were reminded that offers shall be in two (2) distinct volumes and include

1. Section 1 Pricing

2. Section 3, Technical Proposal criteria

3. Section 5, Representations and Certifications

(Refer to solicitation Section 3 for more details).

Vendors were encouraged to provide proper offers with sufficient details to allow a good evaluation of the bids.

The Zadroga Act

Vendors were advise to pay attention to the Zadroga since this contract is subject to an excise tax of 2% per. Accordingly, this applies to all payment under this contract.

Scope of Work

The Contract assistant did a thorough review of the scope of work in Section 1 and Attachment 1 and vendors could ask questions for clarification.

Solicitation & Contract clauses

Offerors were asked to pay special attention to the following clauses:

(2) 52.204-23, Prohibition on Contracting for Hardware, Software, and Services Developed or Provided by Kaspersky Lab and Other Covered Entities (Jul 2018) (Section 1634 of Pub. L.

115-91).

(3) 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video

Surveillance Services or Equipment. (Aug 2020) (Section 889(a)(1)(A) of Pub. L. 115-232).

52.228-3 Worker’s compensation Insurance (JUL 2014)

52.228-5 Insurance-work on a government installation (JAN 1997)

52.229-6 Foreign fixed price contracts (FEB 2013)

52.217-8 Option to extend services (NOV 1999)

52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (MAR 2000)

52.232-19 Availability of funds for the next fiscal year (APR 1984)

652.204-70 Department of state personal identification card issuance (MAY 2011)

SAM Registration

The Government reinforced the importance to start the registration process in SAM right away as this is mandatory for the current contract, since prospective contractors shall be registered in the

SAM database at time of submittal of an offer (FAR 4.1102).

For this purpose, Procurement office is willing to assist potential vendors by providing supplemental guidance documents are available at sam.gov.

Evaluation factors

The evaluation factors were presented to the vendors (Compliance review, technical acceptability, price analysis and determination of responsibility).

Questions:

https://acquisition.gov/far/52.204-23 https://acquisition.gov/far/52.204-25

The attached questions were asked during the conference:

Vendors were allowed to ask further questions up until Thursday August 22, 2024, at 1500, local time.

Conclusion

The conference concluded and attendees were thanked for their presence and expression of interest in serving the U.S. Government. The meeting was adjourned at 15:35.

Enclosure: Questions and Answers (1 to 10)

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

Questions & Answers

1 – You mentioned that this contract has a base year and options years, does this mean that a contract can end after the base year.

Answer:

It is a possibility. Please refer to page 50 of solicitation document on clause 52.217-9, “(a) The

Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within the performance period of the contract or within 30 days after funds for the option year become available, whichever is later.”

We will exercise if it is still in the best interest of the Government.

2 – taking into consideration the 2% tax, how do we present our invoices?

Answer:

The 2% tax is not listed on your invoice as a separate line item. We are notifying you, so that you take it into account while preparing your offer. All payments will therefore be deducted by

2%. Indeed, per section 1, page 3, “…payments to this procurement are subject to an excise tax of 2%...”

3- Shall all individual working under this contract speak English?

Ideally, all workers should speak English, given that the service to be provided is for the

Marines. On the other hand, there must be a POC / Project Manager from your company that can speak English and communicate with the Contracting Officer Representative.

4- Can a local contractor be paid with a foreign banking detail?

Per our Financial Department, all local contractors are to be paid in local banks.

5 – Is there a maximum number of employees who can work in the kitchen?

Refer to the first four paragraphs of Attachment 1 (see below paragraphs extracted from our

Solicitation).

The Contractor shall provide all management, supervision, administrative support, labor, logistics, training, and transportation required to conduct food service operations.

6 – I went on the website that you have provided for the DBA insurance, but I am at loss, could you assist?

Answer:

Per the solicitation, “pursuant to 52.228-3, The Offeror shall include Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance premium costs covering employees. The offeror may obtain DBA insurance directly from any Department of Labor approved providers at the DOL website at http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dlhwc/lscarrier.htm”

You shall select any of the vendor in the list provided in the abovementioned link and look for their website, to obtain their contact details. To increase your chances of response, we recommend contacting several insurance companies at the same time.

7– Could you please list, for me, all the administrative documents that are needed for this call for tender?

Please refer to section 3 solicitation provision and review paragraph A2 in its entirety. You are asked to provide documents proving that you are a legal business in Gabon, that you have financial resources and that you have all local mandatory certificates. To name a few, per local regulations, and this, amongst others:

- Attestation for Soumission CNSS

- Attestation for Soumission CNAMGS

- Attestation de non faillite

- Tax certificate

- Business Registration

- Etc … https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dol.gov%2Fowcp%2Fdlhwc%2Flscarrier.htm&data=05%7C02%7CAbourouJH%40state.gov%7C525ff6c48a894e29ba6608dcc130ea5e%7C66cf50745afe48d1a691a12b2121f44b%7C0%7C0%7C638597663046587722%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xEy0UjZxjEHu22DFBDltCDNykyZxJrZWr%2BgBfsyLOtk%3D&reserved=0

8– Could you specify if any other parts of the solicitation need to be filled out, apart from the pricing tables for the different option years? Furthermore, which boxes shall be checked on the cover page, especially on page 4 of the solicitation document?

Per the cover letter, prospective quoters are required to complete the required portions of the

Standard Form 1449 (on page 3 and 4) of the solicitation documents (11, 12, 17a, through 24, 30a through 30c).

9 – I would like to confirm whether the contractor is required to supply the food or if the U.S.

government will be covering the food costs for this contract. Clarification on this matter will help us better understand the scope and prepare accordingly.

Per Attachment 1, (page 20) when requested by MSG Mess Non-Commissioned Officer, the

Contractor may be required to accompany the Mess NCO on local food purchasing trips. Please review the following paragraphs of the solicitation:

- In “c. Food Provisioning and Storage, review”, “iii. Supply Chain Management” in paragraph 2. Receipt of Supplies.

- Per “1. Prices and period of performance”, “…The Government will pay the Contractor the fixed price per month for services. Food is purchased separately by Mess NCO (after approval of 30 day menu) and maybe accompanied by the Contractor if needed.”

10 – I was wondering if it would be possible to arrange a brief WhatsApp video call to conduct a virtual site visit. This would allow us to view the kitchen equipment available and ensure we are fully prepared to meet all requirements. Should you have availability arise for this request, please let me know.

Answer:

The kitchen equipment available are listed in Attachment 2. Please review the following paragraphs of the solicitation:

- “6.0 Government Furnished property / Equipment” (page 11);

- In “c. Food Provisioning and Storage, review”, “iv. Supplies, Utensils, Dishware and

Consumables” (page 29-30);

- “d. Equipment and Facilities” (page 30).

With regard to a WhatsApp video call, please note that …..