Unsolicited PPP proposals in Rwanda under Law No. 14/2016

The law and its definitions

Law No. 14/2016 Governing Public Private Partnerships was signed in Kigali on 2 May 2016 and published in Official Gazette No. 22 of 30 May 2016. It came into force on publication ¹.

The law defines an unsolicited proposal as a proposal to undertake a PPP project submitted without a call for tenders ¹. Article 11 lets a contracting authority contract with a partner selected through an unsolicited proposal, or with a special purpose vehicle that partner sets up ¹.

The 2018 PPP Guidelines define an unsolicited proposal as a proposal to undertake a PPP project that is not in response to an explicit request for qualifications or request for proposals ².

When an unsolicited proposal may be used

Article 25 lists four cases in which the contracting authority may use the unsolicited route ¹.

• There is an urgent need to keep an infrastructure facility or service running and a competitive procedure may cause delay or is not in the national interest ¹.
• The project involves national security ¹.
• The required service is a monopoly ¹.
• There is little private interest in investing in infrastructure or services that the Government considers of national interest ¹.

Steps in the law

Under Article 26 the partner prepares the project on its own initiative or at the contracting authority's suggestion. The contracting authority reviews it and reports to the Steering Committee for approval. It then tells the partner the decision ¹.

Under Article 27 a feasibility study follows. The contracting authority and the partner decide who carries it out. The study must meet the content rules of Article 13 ¹. A study by the partner goes to the contracting authority first. If the Steering Committee does not approve it, the committee gives guidance on what should be done ¹.

Under Article 28, once the Steering Committee approves the study, the contracting authority calls the partner to negotiate with the institutions concerned. The parties sign when all concerned institutions agree on the agreement ¹.

Who decides

The Steering Committee approves and oversees PPP projects. Its members are the ministers for finance and economic planning and for infrastructure, the Chief Executive Officer of the Rwanda Development Board, and the head of the contracting authority for the project ¹.

The Rwanda Development Board is the designated PPP unit ³. Under the law it issues general guidelines for procurement, acts as lead negotiator on PPP agreements and advises the Government ¹.

The 2018 Guidelines say the Steering Committee approves the preliminary proposal, the feasibility study and the selected partner in unsolicited cases. A Technical Committee reviews the proposal and the feasibility study and supports the Board in negotiations ².

Disqualification

Article 30 bars a partner from PPP projects for five years for giving false information about the company, forgery, breaking laws to obtain a project, fraud linked to a PPP project, or corruption. A repeat offender is barred permanently. A partner on the list of persons barred from public procurement is barred too ¹.

Under Article 31 the Rwanda Development Board decides disqualification. The partner is heard within 15 days and the decision follows within 15 days of the hearing ¹.