SEED Rural Textbook Procurement - Amendment 3

UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTSOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT No 72061222R00007 – Amendment 03SUPPLY AND DELIVERY OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS TEXTBOOKS    Date Issued:                                                   August 8, 2022Extended Closing Date and Time:              From September 19, 2022 – 16.00hrs / Lilongwe-Malawi to September 26, 2022 – 16:00hrs / Lilongwe-MalawiThe purpose of the amendment 03 is to provide responses to questions as follows:Solicitation No. 72061222R00007 Section C Description / Specifications under sub section C5 – Additional Instructions:Insert additional paragraph paragraphs as follows:Question 1. When this subject document was launched first it contained a specific book list subject wise with titles coupled with the brand name too., due to which the specific publisher was identified and for which quotations/bids were sought and later on the winner was to supply the same  BUT when the first set of clarifications came in it seemed the

clarified/ revised list did not contain any specific details and was generic.Question 2. Referring to the 1st point again; we were in receipt of the entire Textbooks approval list from your end and this list we are aware is sought from the Ministry of Education/ Malawi Institute of Education as they are the approvers/ custodians/regulators of that approved list.Question 3. Further referring to Points 1 and 2- We understand that the clarifications issued by your office do not specify any subject etc. for which the bidder has to provide a quotation UNLESS you are saying that the same subjects as the first original list have to be considered. Then in such a case does the bidder have to select only ONE publisher to quote for or does the bidder have the option of quoting for all the 4 core books which belong to different publishers.Responses to Q1, Q2 and Q3  -  The bidder has to quote the 4  approved Core TextbooksQuestion 4. Further referring to points 1,2, and 3 if you refer to the said Ministry approved list besides the core books for each subject there are a huge number of "Supplementary books" for each subject. How does a bidder approach this selection of Supplementary books as a bidder may quote for a supplementary book considering it to of lucrative margin but at the evaluation the bidder might be voted out because a core book has not been quoted AND the end user was always interested in the core book. The clarifications clearly lead to this ambiguity.Response Q4   As above only Core Textbooks should be included in the bidder’s submissionQuestion 5. Further referring to points 1,2 3 and 4 take the case of Biology, Physics, Geography, Chemistry etc. ass these subjects have got " charts. globes, atlases as supplementary approvals. Now since there is NO clear direction in the clarifications as to what is required all these items could find way in the quotation as the request from your end is very open ended and the bidder cannot be blamed for making such extra submissions as each and every bidder will try best to supply all that is prescribed in the approved list.Response Q5 -  Only Core Textbooks should be quoted in the bidder’s submission.(b) Extend the deadline for receiving proposals until      Monday September 26, 2022, at 16:00 hours      Malawi Time.(c) All Textbooks supplied by the bidder should bear a COSOMA hologramIssuance of this amendment does not      constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government, nor does it commit the Government to pay for any costs incurred in preparation or submission of proposals. Submissions are made at the risk of the bidder.Complete set of the amended solicitation can be obtained on US Federal Business Opportunities website: https://sam.govIt is the Interested Applicant’s responsibility to download the amendment documents and attain thorough understanding of the changes made before engaging in the proposal development phase of the process.