Questions_and_Answers.docx

Gardening Pre-Proposal Conference March 15,2019 Question & Answer Question 1. On submission, the RFQ document states that electronic offers will not be accepted. Considering that mailing in Kenya takes considerable time to arrive at its destination, can offerors hand deliver the Quotation?

Answer: The solicitation shall be delivered in hard copy by the due date.

Question 2. Under clause 1.2 on General requirements, the Government will measure the Contractor’s work by the appearance of the landscape covered by the contract. Does this give the contractor room to come up with own designs?

Answer: The Contractor shall perform complete gardening and landscape maintenance services as described in the solicitation/resulting contract for all Government properties listed in 1.13.

Question 3. Is the contractor free to choose the type of grass, flowers and trees to use because the RFQ document is silent on the same.

Answer: The contractor shall be responsible for replacing grass, plant and bushes that perish with an equivalent product.

Question 4. On the quality assurance and surveillance plan, all required services are performed and no more than one customer complaint is received per month, what will happen in the event there be more than one complaint per month considering some of complaints arise out of personal opinions?

Answer: Any complaints received go through an internal verification process to ensure they are objective and are within the scope of the contract. Reference 8.c Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan (QASP).

Question 5. In reference to clause 1.4.5 (a) (4) on waste disposal. Should the contractor decide on locations considering the same is not to be done within the contracted location? E.g. burning of debris.

Answer: Reference 1.8 Removal of Debris. No burning of debris is allowed. Disposal shall be to an authorized disposal site by National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA). Also see 1.4.5 disposal in accordance with Kenyan laws and regulations.

Question 6. Clause 1.5.4 states that the Contractor shall replace any tree, bush or tree shrub that is killed or rendered unusable for its intended purpose through negligent or irresponsible practices that are attributable to the Contractor.

The question is, how is the Government planning to determine the level of negligence considering some may be as a result of natural forces. In this case is the contractor allowed to bill the Government after replacement?

Answer: It is the responsibility of the Contractor to have a maintenance plan that ensures all plants are healthy and any potential interventions that required replacement should be communicated proactively to the COR for consultation and management. They shall be replaced at no additional cost to the Government.

Offerors were advised to send any further questions in writing by email to NairobiGSO-Contracts@state.gov

The CO advised the contractors that the answers to written questions will be posted on the US Embassy website and FedBizOpps website for all potential offerors to access.