19GE5026Q0148-Justification and Approval (JA).pdf

SBU - CONTRACTING AND ACQUISITIONS

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

SECTION 1: IDENTIFICATION OF THE AGENCY AND THE CONTRACTING

ACTIVITY

Department of State Contracting Activity Acquisition Management

Requiring Activity

Partner Security Liaison Services (PSLS) – Northern Mozambique

SECTION 2: NATURE AND/OR DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION BEING

APPROVED

Approval is requested to solicit and award on a sole-source basis to GardaWorld Mocambique Limitada for the supplies and/or services described in Section 3 on behalf of the Requiring Activity. The contract will be a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP).

SECTION 3: DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES REQUIRED TO MEET THE

AGENCY’S NEEDS

The PSLS contractor will serve as the primary security liaison between the Department of State and implementers operating in Northern Mozambique. The contractor will facilitate the collection, analysis, and dissemination of security information to enable implementers to make informed decisions, improve their security posture, and continue delivering U.S. Government-funded assistance safely and effectively.

Liaison and coordination with implementers, the Embassy, the UN, NGOs, the Government of Mozambique, and other donors to collect and share security-relevant information Information management systems, including a secure online information-sharing platform, standardized incident reporting templates, an emergency SMS/messaging notification system, an information cascade (phone tree) system, and a comprehensive implementer contact database Regular reporting, including weekly security updates, weekly security reports, weekly implementer incident reports, weekly activity reports, and immediate incident notifications

Meetings and engagement, including regular COR meetings, quarterly implementer risk management meetings, and OSAC coordination Non-prescriptive technical assistance, including security training information, best-practice sharing, security upgrade guidance, and on-site visits to implementer locations

The estimated value is $500,000

SECTION 4: IDENTIFICATION OF THE STATUTORY AUTHORITY PERMITTING

OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

This statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S. Code 1901 as implemented by FAR 12.000; see also FAR 12.102(b).

SECTION 5: DEMONSTRATION THAT THE PROPOSED CONTRACTOR’S

UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OR THE NATURE OF THE ACQUISITION REQUIRES

USE OF THE AUTHORITY CITED

Gardaworld has served as the incumbent provider of security liaison services in northern Mozambique under USAID award 72065624C000024 and has done so successfully for more than a year. During this period, Gardaworld has developed and maintained direct, trusted relationships with GRM security counterparts, local authorities, and community contacts in Cabo Delgado. These relationships are essential to obtaining timely, reliable security information in an environment where ISIS-Mozambique insurgent activity, criminal violence, and civil unrest pose direct and ongoing threats to the life, safety, and security of U.S.

Government personnel, implementing partners, and local staff.

These critical relationships are not the result of a documented, easily replicable process that can be transferred to a new contractor. Instead, they are the product of sustained, in-person engagement, cultivated trust, and demonstrated reliability over time with sensitive GRM and community interlocutors in a conflict-affected region. Transitioning to a new provider would require a lengthy period of relationship-building before comparable access, trust, and information flows could be re-established. During this gap, implementers would experience degraded situational awareness, delayed warning of emerging threats, and reduced ability to adjust movements and operations in response to evolving security conditions.

In the current threat environment in Cabo Delgado, any degradation in security liaison capacity creates an unacceptable increase in the likelihood of harm to personnel and disruption to critical U.S. Government–funded programming. Continuation of services by Gardaworld is therefore absolutely necessary to ensure continuity of security information, preserve hard-won access and trust with GRM and local actors, and protect the life and safety of agency personnel and implementing partners in the field.

SECTION 6. DESCRIPTION OF EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT OFFERS WERE

SOLICITED FROM AS MANY POTENTIAL SOURCES AS IS PRACTICABLE,

INCLUDING WHETHER A NOTICE WAS OR WILL BE PUBLICIZED AS

REQUIRED BY FAR SUBPART 5.1 AND, IF NOT, WHICH EXCEPTION UNDER

FAR 5.101(B) APPLIES

Due to urgency, a notice of the intent to sole-source this requirement was not published, IAW FAR (RFO) 5.101(b)(2).

SECTION 7. DETERMINATION BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER THAT THE

ANTICIPATED COST TO THE GOVERNMENT IS FAIR AND REASONABLE

The Contracting Officer has determined the anticipated price will be fair and reasonable based on price based on prior competition under a previous USAID contract for the same services. By signing the justification, the Contracting Officer makes a determination that the $500,000 is expected to be fair and reasonable.

SECTION 8. DESCRIPTION OF THE MARKET RESEARCH CONDUCTED (SEE

PART 10) AND THE RESULTS OR A STATEMENT OF THE REASON MARKET

RESEARCH WAS NOT CONDUCTED

A market survey was not conducted for this requirement due to the limited number of potential contractors capable of operating in Northern Mozambique. This limitation stems from two significant constraints inherent to the operating environment: (1) severely limited communication infrastructure throughout Cabo Delgado, Niassa, and Nampula provinces, which restricts the ability of prospective contractors to establish and maintain the operational presence necessary to perform this requirement; and (2) travel restrictions imposed on U.S. Government personnel traveling to the area, which limit the Department's ability to conduct in-person site visits, vet prospective sources, or otherwise engage directly with alternative contractors as part of a traditional market research process.

The urgency in ensuring that continuity of service is maintained precludes the execution of a formal, in-depth market research.

SECTION 9. ANY OTHER FACTS SUPPORTING THE USE OF OTHER

THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

None.

SECTION 10. LISTING OF THE SOURCES, IF ANY, THAT EXPRESSED, IN

WRITING, AN INTEREST IN THE ACQUISITION

To date, no other sources have written to express an interest.

SECTION 11. STATEMENT OF THE ACTIONS, IF ANY, THE AGENCY MAY TAKE

TO REMOVE OR OVERCOME ANY BARRIERS TO COMPETITION BEFORE ANY

SUBSEQUENT ACQUISITION FOR THE SUPPLIES OR SERVICES REQUIRED

The Department will initiate market research well in advance of the current contract's expiration rather than at the point of urgent need to allow adequate lead time to identify, engage, and assess potential sources capable of operating in Northern Mozambique, including firms without direct prior incumbency.

The Department will engage the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) and relevant industry associations (e.g., International Stability Operations Association) to identify qualified security liaison and risk management firms that may not have prior visibility into this specific requirement.

The Department will incorporate the lead time necessary for full and open competition into future acquisition planning and budget cycles, avoiding fiscal year-end time constraints that historically necessitated limited competition.

SECTION 12. CERTIFICATIONS

REQUIREMENTS CERTIFICATION

I certify that the facts and representations under my cognizance which are included in this Justification and its supporting acquisition planning documents, except as noted herein, are complete and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.

SIGNATURE:

Mark Troger Date Director, Office of Foreign Assistance

CONTRACTING OFFICER CERTIFICATION (FAR 6.104-1(a)(12)) I certify that this submission is accurate to the best of my knowledge, and that it contains complete information necessary to enable other officials to make an informed recommendation for approval or disapproval.

SIGNATURE:

Travis Keon Date Contracting Officer

Mark P Troger

Digitally signed by Mark P Troger Date: 2026.09.08 18:17:23 +02'00'

Travis C Keon Digitally signed by Travis C Keon Date: 2026.09.09 12:02:30 +02'00'