Amendment No.1 RFP 72061221R00005 Printing, Binding, and Distribution of LBs and TGs.pdf

AMENDMENT ONE (1) to RFP No. 72061221R00005 Printing, Binding, and Distribution of Learners Books (LBs) and Teachers Guides (TGs)

Issuance Date: August 10, 2021

RFP Closing Date and Time: August 23, 2021 – 15.00hrs (local time in Lilongwe)

The purpose of this amendment is to:

(1) Provide the correct quantity of STD 4 English Learners’ Books to be printed under this contract, from 231,714 to 283,205, making a total of 40,781,520 pages for Std 4 English

Learners’ Books.

(2) Revise the total quantities of books to be printed from 3,952,873 to 4,004,364.

(3) Provide responses to Offeror’s questions as outlined in Attachment A below.

Unless specifically stated herein, all other terms and conditions of the RFP remain unchanged.

Sincerely, Dion Glisan

Contracting Officer

Specifically, the RFP is revised as follows:

1. SECTION B: SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS:

DELETE the table under B.3 CONTRACT PRICE in its entirety and replace with the following:

Description Quantity Pages Unit Price Amount

A. Reprints Learners’ Books (LB)

Std. 1 Chichewa (144 pages) 817,892 117,776,419

Std. 1 English (136 pages) 681,577 92,694,404

Std. 2 Chichewa (184 pages) 614,303 113,031,826

Std. 2 English (208 pages) 511,920 106,479,256

Std. 3 English (152 pages) 384,877 58,501,334

Std. 3 Chichewa (136 pages) 384,877 52,343,299

Std.4 English (144 pages) 283,205 40,781,520

Std. 4 Chichewa (176 pages) 231,714 40,781,611

B. Teachers’ Guides (TG)

Std 1. Chichewa TG (412 pages) 12,000 4,944,000

Std 1. English TG (420 pages) 12,000 5,040,000

Std 2. Chichewa TG (402 pages) 12,000 4,824,000

Std 2. English TG (408 pages) 12,000 4,896,000

Std 3. Chichewa TG (256 pages) 12,000 3,072,000

Std 3. English TG (368 pages) 12,000 4,416,000

Std 4. Chichewa TG (260 pages) 11,000 2,860,000

Std 4. English TG (372 pages) 11,000 4,092,000

Covers 4,004,364 4,004,364

Total Distribution 4,004,364

TOTAL

2. SECTION C: DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK:

a. DELETE C.2. Purpose in its entirety and replace with the following:

“The purpose of this activity is to print, bind, and distribute 3,910,364 Standards 1-4 English and

Chichewa Learners’ Books and 94,000 teachers’ guides to 5,689 public primary schools across the country. The learners' books will be replenished based on the actual projected 2021 enrolment rate, across Standards 1-4.”

b. DELETE C.5 Specification and Description of Goods in its entirety and replace with the following:

The Contractor must print, bind, and distribute 3,910,364 Standards 1 - 4 Chichewa and English

LBs and 94,000 TGs to 5,689 public primary schools. The Contractor must print all LBs and TGs to the Specifications below.

c. DELETE the table under C.5.2. Quantities in its entirety and replace with the following:

“The quantities to be printed are contained in the table below:

Description Quantity Pages

A. Reprints of Learners’ Books

Std. 1 Chichewa (144 pages) 817,892 117,776,419

Std. 1 English (136 pages) 681,577 92,694,404

Std. 2 Chichewa (184 pages) 614,303 113,031,826

Std. 2 English (208 pages) 511,920 106,479,256

Std. 3 English (152 pages) 384,877 58,501,334

Std. 3 Chichewa (136 pages) 384,877 52,343,299

Std.4 English (144 pages) 283,205 40,781,520

Std. 4 Chichewa (176 pages) 231,714 40,781,611

B. Teachers’ Guides

Std 1. Chichewa TG (412 pages) 12,000 4,944,000

Std 1. English TG (420 pages) 12,000 5,040,000

Std 2. Chichewa TG (402 pages) 12,000 4,824,000

Std 2. English TG (408 pages) 12,000 4,896,000

Std 3. Chichewa TG (256 pages) 12,000 3,072,000

Std 3. English TG (368 pages) 12,000 4,416,000

Std 4. Chichewa TG (260 pages) 11,000 2,860,000

Std 4. English TG (372 pages) 11,000 4,092,000

Covers 4,004,364 4,004,364

Distribution 4,004,364

3. SECTION J: LIST OF ATTACHMENTS

DELETE Attachment J.2. List of Delivery Destinations and Quantities and replace with updated version.

Attachment(s): Questions & Answers

Attachment A – Questions and Answers

Question 1.

We are the largest book printer in the Caribbean and would like to know if we can tender on the above subject matter.

USAID Response: On the cover letter of the RFP, it states:

“This Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued as a limited competition for local printing firms in order to develop local capacity.

To be eligible to participate in this competition, prospective Offerors must be an individual, a corporation, a nonprofit organization, or another body of persons that:

1) Is legally organized under the laws of Malawi; and

2) Has its principal place of business or operations in Malawi; and

3) Is majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Malawi; and

4) Is managed by a governing body the majority of who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of Malawi.”

If a company meets the criteria stated, it is eligible to make a proposal.

Question 2.

I wanted to find out if only those people who are registered with USAID allowed to bid?

USAID Response:

Interested offerors are encouraged to be registered at https://www.sam.gov which is a U.S.

government prerequisite to being awarded a U.S. government contract. This registration takes time, so it is best to begin early. The registration is not required to bid, but it must be in place before an award can be made. There is not a USAID “registration.”

Question 3.

STD 4 English Learners Books is 144 pages, and the quantity is 231,714 Books with 40,781,611 showing as Number of Pages. However, the correct number of pages should read 33,366,816.

Please confirm this figure.

The correct quantity for STD 4 English Learners’ Books is 283,205 from 231,714 with a total number 40,781,520 pages. The correct overall total number of learners’ books to be printed in this RFP is 3,910,364. Revised distribution list is attached.

Thank you to interested parties for catching the error.

https://www.sam.gov/

Question 4.

What are the delivery points for TG Books?

The total number of Teachers' Guides (TG) to be printed in this RFP is 94,000 (12,000 per class and per subject for Stds 1 to 3 and 11,000 for each subject for Std 4) to be delivered to 5,689 schools. Two (2) TGs per subject per class should be distributed to the 5,689 schools where the learner's books will be delivered.

Section F.1 subsection 5 requires delivery of completed books to a list of destination points as indicated in Attachment J.2 which has been uploaded as an excel document under this solicitation

(RFP) on www.sam.gov.

Question 5.

PUR – Can we maintain Hot Glue or other types of same quality Glue as PUR Glue or is it only

PUR Glue which should be used?

C.3. Binding specifications

“The contractor must use Perfect Binding with Polyurethane Reactive (PUR) binding for the

Learners’ Books (LBs). PUR Binding is a form of perfect binding, where the pages and cover are glued together at the spine and the other three sides of the book are trimmed as needed to give them clean “perfect” edges. PUR binding is the preferred type of binding for LBs to give a longer lifespan. For Teachers’ Guides (TGs) the binding specification should be thread sewn and PUR binding because the number of pages is over 300 for each book.”

USAID/Malawi expects offerors to follow the above binding specifications as outlined on page 8 of the RFP.

Question 6.

Cover Page Paper gsm – Request for proposal is requesting to print cover pages on 240gsm but previously this has been done on 250gsm B/B which is a standard paper for covers. Please confirm the right gsm cover paper to use.

USAID confirms that the specification for covers is 240gsm.

Question 7.

PAYMENT - We will be sourcing our Raw Materials to enable us to Perform this Request for

Proposal from different suppliers and these suppliers will be invoicing us in USD $. May we therefore request you to revisit this arrangement and consider paying the Contractors in USD $ instead of Malawi Kwacha.

https://sam.gov/opp/d8fd2e960dbe4b76b5a6499ff4d27fa5/view

This can be requested at the award stage and will only be allowed if the offeror has a Foreign

Currency Denominated Account (FCDA).

Question 8.

PRINTING SPECS – Printing Specs of Text and Covers is mentioning four colors for the

Teachers Guide while the previous Books were printed in Black and White for Teachers Guide.

May you please guide us accordingly.

Teachers’ Guides Text will be printed in black and white. The cover for the Teacher’s Guide will be printed in four colours as specified in Section C.5.1 of the RFP.

Question 9.

Can the offeror subcontract to an international company for printing, binding, and packaging, while maintaining responsibility of the production process?

USAID/Malawi does not recommend that a local firm subcontracts printing, binding, and packaging to an international company while maintaining responsibility for the production process of the work described under section C of the RFP.

“This Request for Proposals (RFP) is issued as a limited competition for local printing firms in order to develop local capacity…”

Question 10.

The Printing industry in Malawi used to be dominated by a few players and now we have many new players with the necessary equipment from prepress to finishing but they have not had an opportunity to print similar textbooks orders as such orders come once in a while and to the very veteran players but if due diligence visits is done it can prove the capacity of those print houses which have never had a chance to print similar jobs and quantities. Now that there is a requirement to submit 5 different samples which already relegate such Malawian printers with capacity.

Question: As printing of books is regulated by copyright law, it will be difficult to get somebody's books (Intellectual Property) and print. Is the USAID going to provide material (soft copy) to be printed for the samples required to level the ground for fair competition with those who have the capacity but………

(B). Printing Sample Quality (P. 57 of the RFP):

Demonstrated capacity of printing and binding similar printing work completed by the Offeror.

Demonstrated evidence that the printer has integrated controls through the printing process to produce materials with consistent color, correct collation of the sections, and perfect binding is the required type of binding.

The emphasis on printing sample quality is for the Offeror to provide samples of the similar printing work which was previously done by the Offeror with similar printing quality and binding specifications as outlined in the RFP. We are asking for samples so as to evaluate/see evidence of an offeror’s expertise.

Question 11.

Solicitation document has 60 pages and on page 60 there is J.2. List of Delivery Destination and quantities but there is no such a list.

Question: Should we say that pricing of our offerors will not include transport to those various destinations and that transport will be charged separately after the award of contract?

Section F.1 subsection 5 requires delivery of completed books to a list of destination points as indicated in Attachment J.2 which has been uploaded as an excel document under this solicitation

(RFP) on www.sam.gov. Therefore transportation costs should be included in the price.

Question 12.

Page 1 of this Solicitation (RFP No. 7206122R00005 on eligibility to participate point 3 says the offerors must be majority owned by individuals who are citizens or lawful residents of Malawi

Question: Should we say that margin of preference will be given to indigenous / black Malawians in line with the Procurement law so that the contract benefits local Malawians.

Please see response to Q1.

End of Questions and USAID Responses for AMENDMENT ONE (1) to RFP No.

72061221R00005 the Question and Answer period is now closed.

https://sam.gov/opp/d8fd2e960dbe4b76b5a6499ff4d27fa5/view