FROM: / RAF
DATE: / 10 August 2012
SUBJECT: / RFP: RAF/2012/00021
Questions and Answers: Pack 1
Question 1:How will instructions be distributed?
Answer 1:
At this stage the RAF cannot provide a full response because the RAF does not know the number of bidders that will qualify to be appointed to the panel. Bidders must read clause 9 on page 17 of the Agreement as an indication.
Question 2
If the bidder is on the old panel what will happen to the files that are with them if they do not make it into the new panel?
Answer 2:
If the attorney does not succeed to be appointed on the new panel, the RAF and the attorney will enter into an exit agreement whereby all files will be returned to the RAF, and an arrangement will be made in respect of outstanding fees.
Question 3:
If the bidder is currently on suspension do they have to tender?
Answer 3:
The advertised bid is an open bid; therefore any bidder who wishes to respond can do so. All bids will be subjected to an evaluation process.
Question 4:
If there is an increase in tariffs as set out in the Rules of Court, will the panel’s fee be adjusted accordingly?
Answer 4:
Yes, the bidders will receive the increase.
Question 5:
If an attorney with right of appearance in the High Court personally appears on behalf of the RAF, will the Firm be allowed to charge an additional fee for an additional attorney assisting the appearing attorney?
Answer 5:
If the Rules of Court allows it, the RAF will align to that.
Question 6:
Are we allowed to type-in details into the spaces provided in the tender document by computer in stead of completing it by hand without changing the original tender?
Answer 6:
Yes you may type in your response.
Question 7:
May panel attorneys instruct Assessors if required?
Answer 7:
Section 16 on page 74 of the SLA provides that attorneys shall obtain written instructions prior to appointing assessors
Question 8:
May panel attorneys appoint correspondent attorneys?
Answer 8:
Section 18 on page 75 of the SLA provides that correspondent attorneys may be appointed where necessary, but they may only act as “post boxes”.
Question 9:
What will happen to the firms that have work that they are still doing against the RAF?
Answer 9:
Section 8 on page 16 of the SLA provides that the Firm shall have 30 days to terminate its mandate in all matters where they were acting against the RAF.
Question 10:
What will be the penalties if the firms do not complete the work?
Answer 10:
Please refer to the SLA for penalties on page 33 of the SLA section 18.
Question 11:
Who will be responsible for recovering cost orders in favour of the RAF?
Answer 11:
The RAF will deal with the situation as and when it happens.
Question 12:
Is it mandatory that the Firm must have a fidelity certificate?
Answer 12:
Yes, it is a mandatory requirement. If the firm does not provide a fidelity certificate their bid will be disqualified.
Question 13:
How do you define High value?
Answer 13:
It is matters where the total estimated liability exceeds R3 million.
Question 14:
Please inform whether the Tender documents can be handed in at any branch of the RAF Reception.
Answer 14
No, the tender must be submitted at the RAF Menlyn Office, 38 Ida Street Menlopark, Pretoria
Question 15:
Will my firm qualify if it does not have a BEE certificate / a poor BEE rating?
Answer 15:
A bidder may respond to the bid. All bids will be evaluated on technical / functional mandatory requirements, technical / functional criteria where bids will be subjected to a score and will be scored accordingly for their B-BBEE level.
Question 16:
Do we need to submit different tender documents for each category?
Answer 16:
You will have to submit 3 responses (1 original and 2 copies) of each category meaning that there will be 9 submission. However you can submit 1 separate envelope with the original documents and mark it as such.
Question 17:
With regards to the requirement of audited financial statements for the past three years, kindly advise if we need to submit statements for 2012, or whether it will be sufficient to submit statements up to 2011.
Answer 17:
Submit the financial statements that you currently have and it must be recent financial statement.
Question 18:
I have just seen the advertisement of a tender for the panel of attorneys – my question is; is it not the same one that we just submitted some three weeks ago?
Answer 18:
No it is not the same. RAF/2012/00019 was for inviting bidders to be listed in the Panel of Service Providers to provide Specialist Legal Service for Corporate Legal Services Department and RAF/2012/00021 invites bidder to be listed in the Panel of Attorneys to Provide Specialist Litigation Services.
Question 19:
Are service providers/bidders expected to score themselves?
Answer 19:
No, the RAF Bid Evaluation Committee will conduct the evaluation process.
Question 20:
Will you be disqualified if you do not have audited financial statements?
Answer 20:
You will need to have financial statements as it shows level of accountability, it is important to demonstrate the period of time mentioned in the bid (3 years). It shows how accountable you are as a company or business.
In case of a newly formed company you can submit management accounts with a covering letter from a registered accountant, either IRBA or SAICA accredited.
Question 21:
Do I have to submit original documents with each separate bid?
Answer 21:
All documents which are required to be original should be placed in a separate envelope clearly marked as originals. Copies of these documents should be included in each separate bid or response. The document which is required to be original is a valid tax clearance certificate (TCC) only.
Question 22:
Is it necessary for a bidder to submit a fee proposal?
Answer 22:
No the fees are fixed as per the SLA which is attached as Annexure G
Question 23:
Do we have to submit the SLA with the Bid document?
Answer 23:
Yes, the SLA must be returned signed and initialled on each page. The commencement date is 1 January 2013.
Question 24:
Is it necessary to index and paginate the bid document?
Answer 24:
Yes, properly mark all relevant documents as it will make it easier for the Bid Evaluation Committee to evaluate your bid.
Question 25:
If a firm has offices in other provinces can they submit bids for all provinces?
Answer 25:
A firm may submit a bid for each province in which it has offices.
Question 26:
Can you be appointed to all 3 categories of the panel?
Answer 26:
Yes.
Question 27:
If I’m a director in another unrelated company do I have to declare my interest?
Answer 27:
Yes, and it also goes to having a relationship with RAF employee/s.
Question 28:
If you have more than one office in one province do you have to submit for each office in that province?
Answer 28:
No, because this is a provincial bid
Question 29:
Does it pose a conflict of interest if I act as a correspondent for plaintiff attorneys
Answer 29:
All possible conflict of interest should be avoided. You may act as correspondent attorney for a plaintiff attorney provided that you do not appear on behalf of the plaintiff against the RAF, you do not issue summons against the RAF and you do not issue a warrant of execution against the RAF.
Question 30:
Do you have to submit a certificate of insurance in each category?
Answer 30:
Only for High Value and High Court Matters, for Magistrate court we only require Fidelity Fund Certificate.
Question 31:
The requirements in page 20 to 22 of the bid document can they be submitted as company profile?
Answer 31:
Yes.
Question 32:
Do we have to submit the insurance for each category?
Answer 32:
It is only applicable to High Court and High value matters.
Question 33:
Do we have to submit audited financial statement or does the trust account qualifies
Answer 33:
You will need to have financial statements it shows accountability, it is important to demonstrate the period of time mentioned in the bid (3 years). It shows how accountable you are as a business entity.
In case of a newly formed company you can submit management account with a covering letter from a registered accountant, either IRBA or SAICA.
Question 34:
If our TCC expired a week after the tender has closed will we be disqualified?
Answer 34:
No, the bid will not be disqualified if at the time the tender closes the TCC is original and Valid.
Question 35:
Do firms have to have five years of experience in RAF work?
Answer 35:
No, the five years experience required does not have to relate to only RAF Claims but Personal Injury law in General
Question 36:
Should we submit the Insurance together with the Bid, because that can be costly?
Answer 36:
No, you are afforded 60 days after the award to submit the Insurance certificate.
Question 37:
If you are appointed do you have to stop plaintiff work?
Answer 37:
Yes, immediately upon award no new instruction may be taken to act against the RAF. Existing mandates should be terminated within 30 days of the award. Where fees are due to you may collect such fees, provided that you do not issue summons or writs against the RAF.
Question 38:
How is expertise going to be measured? Is it going to be measured on the matrix?
Answer 38:
Yes
Question 39:
Should a matrix be completed for each attorney who will be dealing with the RAF work?
Answer 39:
No, if more than 1 attorney will be dealing with RAF work, the matrix should be completed as an average between the various attorneys.
Question 40:
If you are a small firm how is infrastructure going to impact on scoring, will you be disadvantaged?
Answer 40:
You may be disadvantage, if you do not have the required infrastructure.
Question 41:
How many attorneys will be appointed?
Answer 41:
Please refer to pages 83, 94,105; the RAF however reserves the right to deviate from the figures given.
Question 42:
How will the RAF verify the correctness of the information provided by the Bidders?
Answer 42:
The RAF relies on the honesty of the bidders, it is for this reason that bidders needs to declare that all information provided is true and correct.
Question 43:
Do we have to submit CV of all the attorneys that will be handling the RAF work?
Answer 43:
Yes.
Question 44:
Is the RAF planning to open a branch office in Limpopo?
Answer 44:
The RAF is in the process of opening offices all over the country, depending on activities.
Question 45:
Do you have to submit a BEE verification certificate if your turnover is less than R5 million?
Answer 45:
Bidders who qualify as Exempted Micro Enterprises (EMEs) must submit a certificate issued by an Accounting Officer contemplated in the CCA or a Verification Agency accredited by SANAS or a Registered Auditor.
Question 46:
Can the field "Date RSA Citizenship Obtained" be left blank for born South Africans?
Answer 46:
Please complete all the forms in full. You may furnish the date of birth.
Question 47:
I would appreciate it if you can explain how the following amounts should be determined:
Pt (comparative price of bid under consideration)
P min (comparative price of lowest acceptable bid)
Answer 47:
This section is not required to be completed by the bidder. This simply indicates the method which is used for scoring if there is a differentiation in price, in this instance the price is fixed.
Question 48:
On Page 81 you are referring to CV. Do you mean the company profile?
· Negotiations and drafting skills
Settlement of negotiations
Draft settlement agreements
Please furnish us with CV and brief narrative where you indicate that there is compliance. Also provide client references where possible
Answer 48:
Please provide both a company profile as well as cv’s of the lead attorney/attorneys of the firm who will be dealing with the RAF work in order to demonstrate your proficiency in the required field.
Question 49:
What tariff applies to current RAF mandates held by firms under the “work in progress” status, i.e.: will the new tariff under this SLA be retrospective;
Answer 49
All instructions received under the current SLA should be billed as per the fee structure in the current SLA. The new tariff will not be applied retrospectively.
Question 50:
At what point will the new tariff become effective, i.e: will the new tariff only apply going forward once the tender is awarded (eg: once the SLA is signed or once the tender is awarded, etc)
Answer 50:
The new tariff will only apply to instructions received after the date of commencement of the new SLA.
Question 51:
Page 21, paragraph 2.13.3
Are you asking for details of legal servicesrendered toour clients and bills submitted therefore?
Answer 51:
The RAF requires bidders to provide a list of previous work done/contracts completed during the last 3 to 5 years including value, duration, location and contact person.
Question 52:
Page 21, paragraph 2.13.4
Explain what you require here, we are at a loss to interpret this.
Answer 52:
The RAF requires bidders to provide a list of previous work done/contracts completed during the last 3 to 5 years including value, duration, location and contact person.
Question 53
Page 22 & page 69