U.S. Agency for International Development, (USAID), REDSO/WCA/OP, Agidjan (ID), Deparment of State, Washington, D.C. 20521-2010

R -- MALI SPECIAL STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE FOR THE NORTH SOL RFA NO. 624-98-001 DUE 010998 POC Contact Point: Gary C. Juste, Regional Contracting Officer, REDSO/WCA/OP, (Abidjan, Ivory Coast), Tel: (225) 41-45-28; Fax: (225) 41-35-44 or (225) 41-34-60; Internet address: gjuste@usaid.gov. USAID requests Applications from private firms, universities, or PVO'S to provide technical services to help the Mission and its partners (GRM, PVO/NGO, Malian communities) meet defined performance measures necessary to achievement of the "Mali Special Strategic Objective for the North". One of the basic goals of USAID/Mali's overall strategic plan is to help fully "democratize" the nation. In order to achieve the Mission's long-term effort to eliminate the need for concessional foreign assistance, the strategic plan identifies the need not only for social and economic development, but also for political cohesion and stability. Northern Mali is key to the nation's political stability. In developing its strategic plan, the Mission recognizes that ignoring the unique needs of the North could jeopardize its entire program. Mali's three northern regions (Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal) contain only ten percent of the population, but two-thirds of the country's land. A Tuareg rebellion broke out in the North, in June 1990, because the North lacks the natural and human resources needed to develop as quickly as the rest of the country. If the Northerners remain unconvinced of the Government's avowed commitment to development of the North, they are likely once again to threaten the country's security and stability. The technical services required will focus on the following three Intermediate Results (IR): IR # 1: Management training of community organizations, Financial and Organizational management training of professional, civic and trade associations, Management training of Government officials and elected communal representatives, and Technical and financial assistance to media. IR # 2: Income-generating activities in the irrigated agriculture and livestock/fishery sectors, and handicrafts, Microfinance activities, Emergency relief activities, and Environmental protection activities. IR # 3: Development of community schools and improvement of public schools, Development of community health centers and improvement ofpublic health centers, and Development of potable water sources for humans and livestock. The overall "Mali Special Strategic Objective for the North" program will be fully presented in the RFA cited under item 9. The Recipient will not be responsible for achievement of the overall program results. The Recipient will work as part of the expanded Separate Special Objective (SPO) team with GRM (executive and elected, central and decentralized levels), PVO/NGO, commercial sector, community organizations, and others as necessary to achieve those program results. A five-year Cooperative Agreement is expected to be awarded based upon the criteria set forth in the RFA, which shall include an evaluation of the applicant's past performance. All questions related to this notice and requests for a copy of the RFA must be addressed in writing or by fax to the contracting officer at the address stated above. Specify the RFA requested, and include your complete firm name, street address, phone and fax no. No telephone requests will be honored. The issuance date of the RFA is expected to be approximately fifteen (15) days from the date of publication of this notice. The closing date for submission of Applications will be approximately forty five (45) days from the actual issuance date, and will be specified in the RFA. The preferred method of distribution of USAID procurement information is via the internet or by request of a solicitation on a 3.5" floppy disk (Wordperfect 5.1/5.2 format). Only in instances where internet access or utilization of diskettes are not possible will hard copies of the RFA be distributed upon request. This CBD notice can be viewed and downloaded using the Agency web site. The worldwide webb site address is http://www.info.usaid.gov. Select Business and Procurement Opportunities from the home page, then "USAID Procurements." On the following screen, select "Download Available USAID Solicitations." The RFA can also be downloaded via Anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP). The FTP address is FTP.INFO.USAID.GOV. Logon using the user identification of "anonymous" and the password is your e-mail address. Look under the following directory for the RFA: pub/OP/RFA/62498001/62498001.rfa. Mali Special Strategic Objective for the North. Receipt of this RFA through internet must be confirmed by written notification to the contact person noted above. It is the responsibility of the recipient of this solicitation document to ensure that it has been received from INTERNET in its entirety and USAID bears no responsibility for data errors resulting from transmission or conversion processes. (0317)

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