REFINED BULK FUEL BRIEFING SESSION and CLARIFICATION QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
# QUESTION
1 letter of confirmation required is for the evidence that the mininmum monthly fuel volumes can be supplied. The
In terms of the valid suppy contract, do we need to include our commercial terms in our bids? fuel supply agreement must be the full agreement.
2 Will Transnet be sharing the rates for rail delivery for quoting purposes?
Sub-contracting prequalification criteria – Is there any reason why the 30% subcontracting from Transnet assessed the feasibility of this requirement and concluded that it was not feasible to include a 30%
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the previous tender is not included in this tender?
4 Joint Ventures – Are all partners expected to submit audited financials?
5 Is there a possibility to get volumes per site per month and not 5 years volumes?
This RFP was conducted 2 years and no feedback was provided. No feedback was given. What
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guarantee do we have that this won’t be cancelled the same way?
7 Can a company bid individually and also in a JV?
8 Could there be clarification on the environmental plan.
9 Can a person be a Director in two companies that are responding to the same RFP?
10 Where can the documents be sourced?
The national treasury server has been off for several months. How do we then get the tender
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documents?
ANSWER
Please ensure that you provide the full Supply contract in order to meet the prequalification criteria. The only
The non-binding rail rates have been uploaded already on the adverts placed on the Transnet Website and the
Temporary National Treasury Portal for this RFP. The two documents relating to the rail rates are labelled
'Additional Information'.
subcontracting prequalification criteria.
Yes. Each party to the Joint Venture must submit Audited Financial Statements.
Please refer to the Amended Site List (Annexure C) as this has been updated with volumes (where available).
The previous RFP was non-award. This was udated as such on the National Treasury Portal and an email containing
the non-award letter was sent to all entities that submitted a bid.
No. You can bid either as part of a JV or independently. Not both.
An Environmental Plan is an outline of the identification of Environmental impacts and the mitigation measures
that will be applied to the indentified negative impacts.
Transnet cannot prohibit this, however, Respondents are reminded of the contents of Section 10 of the issued RFP
document.
Transnet reserves the right as per paragraph 2(a) on page 45: Transnet will take all reasonable steps to prevent
abuse of the supply chain management system and to:
a) disregard the bid of any bidder if that bidder, or any of its directors have abused the institution’s supply chain
management system and or committed fraud or any other improper conduct in relation to such system.
Respondents are to note that Transnet will assess each case of a single person holding Directorship in two
competing entities on a case by case basis. As part of the risk assessments that are conducted in Step 6 of this
process, should Transnet raise any concerns with regards to the detected risks, the affected Respondent(s) will be
notified in writing and afforded an opportunity to respond thereto. Transnet reserves the right to disqualify the
Respondent(s), where they have failed to adequately address or mitigate the identified risk(s).
This RFP may be downloaded directly from National Treasury’s Temporary Publication Portal at
http://102.37.123.153/SitePages/Home.aspx free of charge.
To download RFP and Annexures:
• Click on “Request For Proposal”;
• Select “National”;
• In the list of Departments, select Transnet SOC Ltd.
Once the tender has been located in the list, click on the ‘Tender documents” tab and process to download all
uploaded documents.
The RFP may also be downloaded from the Transnet website at www.transnet.net free of charge. To download RFP
and Annexures:
• Scroll towards the bottom right hand side of the page;
On the blue window click on ‘Transnet SOC Ltd’ or Select Operating Division.
There is currently a temporary portal running where State Tenders are advertised. Please refer to instructions in
Question 9 for how to navigate.
12 Clarification of Section 4 – Green Energy etc. Is it different to the Environmental plan?
13 Will any preference be given to Transnet SD companies?
Can a company (Oil Major) issue a letter to another wholesale that is bidding and then bid
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itself/on their own?
15 Following the question raised on a director of different companies bidding – is it fair?
16 Are foreign entities are accepted as JV or supply partners?
When you speak about proximity to your sites, is this with reference to the
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depots we can collect product from or from the location of our physical offices?
Job Creation section in the RFP - What relevance or weighting does the Job creation response
18 have on the tender
evaluation or does this come into play within the contract negotiations
19 Can Letters of intent be issued to support smaler entities who want to tender?
Clarity on transformation – Is there preference to smaller companies – will small QSEs be
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competing with the majors? Is this fair?
21 The last time there was a 7% allocated to PetroSA. Is this still the case?
Is there allocation for majors and allocation for non-majors? If you do have, what are the
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percentages? If you don’t have, how is this far that the non-majors compete with the majors?
How long do you envisage the tender adjudication process taking and when do you
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envisage supply starting?
24 Clarity on the supply agreement – Should the supply agreement be with the non-major? Or with
the major? Is this fair for those companies that don’t have supply agreements with oil majors?
25 What is the Closing date?
Briefing session – Is this briefing compulsory? Will there be any disqualifications for non-
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attendance?
Why as a state owned entity do you introduce this unfair practices of allowing majors to
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compete with smaller wholesalers?
28 Can we please get the recording of this brief via email
29 How do we ensure you have our email addresses?
30 How can we obtain the tender documents, I can't get a hold of them
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Where will the formal responses for todays questions be posted?
32 Can the submissions be couriered for out of town bidders?
Yes. Section 4 requires Policies in this regard to be provided and is separate from the Technical Requirement.
No.
Yes.
Please refer to answer given in Question 9 above.
Yes. As long as the B-BBEE Prequalification Criteria is met.
Proximity refers to various Transnet operational sites.
This is an obligation that is in support of Government's efforts to decreasing unemployment in the country. It will
not have an impact on the outcome but Transnet encourages Bidders to commit to this noble cause.
Bidders who fail to submit the job-creation schedule by the closing date and time of the bid will not be disqualified
for that reason alone, but may be afforded a further opportunity to provide the outstanding schedule. A bidder
who fails to submit the job creation schedule by the extended date for submission may be disqualified. The job
creation schedule will not be used for purposes of point allocation during the evaluation of bids. However, the
contract with the successful bidder must incorporate the bidder’s job-creation schedule as a material term of the
agreement.
The requirement is for a Valid Fuel Supply Contract. No letters of intent will be accepted.
There is no preference for any particular company size. The requirements must be met by all who intend on
submitting a bid and the minimums set are at Transet's sole discretion and operational needs.
No. There are no set asides in this RFP.
No there is no allocation to any particular group. All information pertaining to this process from the criteria, to the
process to be followed and to the outcome are contained in the RFP. If it has not been included or expressely
stated in the RFP, it is not going to be done.
The Draft Master Agreement dates are not cast in stone. This document is issued at this stage for Bidders to
familiarise themselves with the terms and conditions. Supply is intended to begin once the bid evaluations process
has been concluded.
Transnet is not prescriptive about where Bidders must get their fuel from. The requirement is for a valid supply
contract to be in place when bidding.
31 May 2021.
The virtual briefing session was non-compulsory. Non-attendance will not result in disqualification.
Transnet is unable to exclude a particular group of suppliers from bidding in an open RFP process. The criteria is
structured in a way that addresses Transnet's business requirements and mitigates any operational risks that may
exist. There is no preference being given to any particular group. Bidders will be evaluated on the same criteria.
Transnet does not share the recording. We do however provide the presentation, minutes and all questions asked
and their respective answers.
Please send email addresses to Lerato.Tseke@transnet.net to be added to the mailing list. This is email address is
to only be contacted while the RFP is open. Bidders are to note the process to communicate after bid closure.
Please refer to answer given in Question 9 above.
Every 2 to 3 business days.This is to allow for consolidation of questions received as a high volume is expected.
Yes. As long as the documents reach the Waterfall Head Office and are placed in the tender box before the closing
date and time. Transnet will not be held liable for any couriered bids that are not submitted timeously. Bidders
must ensure that all the relevant arrangements with the courier company are made.
33 Are you open to allowing online/email submissions for out of town bidders? No. Transnet not does accept electronic/email bids.
Who will be responsible for the tank and pump maintenance at the sites. Will it be the supplier Where tanks and equipment belong to Transnet, then Transnet shall be responsible for the maintenance. If the
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or is this going to be Transnet’s responsibility? tanks and equipment does not belong to Transnet, then the Supplier shall be responsible.
The tender Ts and Cs has a requirement for Securities in the form of Deed of suretyship. We
The requirement in the General Bid Conditions states 'when called upon to do so'. If this was applicable for this
35 urgently need clarity on the amount required and for Transnet to kindly indicate when this
contract, it would have been stated upfront in the RFP. Therefore, it is not a requirement for this process.
Deed of Suretyship would likely be called upon.
Kindly advise as to where exactly in the documents can we locate the estimated volumes per
36 Please refer to ammended Annexure C: Site list.
homebase.
This is a fuel supply tender, do we include delivery cost? And the distance is it from our point of
37 All prices/ rebates offered are on a delivered basis.
supply?
If the answer is Yes to the above question, some places listed on the Annexure C, we dont know
38 Please refer to ammended Annexure C: Site list.
where they are located and it's quite difficult to check the distance/cost them.

We have our own fleet, do you require that we scan all registration papers for truck tractors and
In this instance a sample of registration documents (max 5) can be submitted with a signed confirmation that
39 trailers? This would be 100 pages more or less. We do have the information in a presentation
provides the full details of the fleet.
with the capacity of each tanker indicator and tanker type. Can this suffice?
Can you also provide clarity on this requirement: We are RTMS and SQAS Africa approved Please provide evidence that your entitiy meets the requirement. In the case of the stated approvals, provide the
40 (covers, fleet drivers and management) and all drivers undergo training as the relevant SANS relevant documentation that will indicate compliance. A bid is evaluated on the contents of the documents
requirement. provided.
Can we please get confirmation that the diesel required for Marine is the standard 50ppm
41 Yes, the required fuel if 50ppm. Not Marine Diesel.
diesel and not Marine Diesel.
42 What is the payment terms eg 7,15 or 30 days? 30 days from date of statement.
The Homebase Site List contains some sites with no volumes consumption figures. Are
43 Please refer to ammended Annexure C: Site list.
estimated figures available?
The fuel is decanted directly into the train. The train visits various rural areas across the country and such
How does the Phelophepha Healthcare Train get fuelled? Is a fill up 20 000 litres at a time? And
44 schedules would be provided to the successful Respondent. The required volume will vary based on operational
will the locations be made available?
requirements. It will not be 20 000 at a time.
The 53 page document [Transnet RFP No GSM/20/05/1869] has a section below on each page
to sign and stamp.
Must we only return the documents in Section 5 [pages 31 and 32] or print the whole RFP and
45 All sections that require signature at the bottom must be returned.
sign at bottom of each page?
Looks like it was a header that printed automatically on each page reading “Returnable
document”….and footer reading “Respondent`s Signature/Date and Company Stamp”
Being supplied by another wholesaler.
46 Yes. However, please take note of paragraph 6.7 on page 19 of 53.
Can I as a bidder be supplied by another wholesaler? If yes, What proof do you need from me?

Since the JV partners’ B-BBEE sworn affidavits are different ( one is an EME and the other is a
47 No. Only consolidated certificates will be accepted for Joint Ventures.
QSE) can we submit different B-BBEE sworn affidavits instead of a consolidated one
When submitting the intent to submit a bid as a JV, do we have to state the names of the
48 Yes. Any JV agreement or Intention to enter into a JV must be signed by all parties to the JV.
companies that will be part of the JV
 In the clarification questions and answers you have provided, you state on point 1 that you
want a valid supply contract, but we don’t have to include commercial terms. However the
nature of our supply contracts are that they outline the commercial terms between 2 parties.
There is no contract we have with our suppliers that does not contain commercial terms. It's the
same with the successful bidder to this Transnet tender, they will enter a supply contract that Please ensure that you provide the full Supply contract. The only letter of confirmation required is for the evidence
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will have commercial terms. Are you saying then that we must remove pages in the supply that the mininmum monthly fuel volumes can be supplied. The fuel supply agreement must be the full agreement.
contract which show commercial terms because in that case we will only provide you with the
cover page and the page where parties sign the agreement becayse the rest of the supply
contract is literally commercial terms. Are you willing to accept a letter of confirmation with our
oil major that we have an supply account/agreement with them?
Transnet requires 50ppm diesel, not Marine diesel. Marine is the discipline in Transnet which caters for Transnet
50 Can you please provide us with the specifications sheet for the Marine diesel required
National Ports Authority requirements.
51 Must a JV be registered on the CSD? Each party to the JV must be registered on the CSD.
The requirement is for a valid supply contract to be in place. This can be in the name of either the JV or one of the
52 Must fuel supply contract be in the name of the JV or just one of the JV partners? partners, but there needs to be an agreement in place which shows that the bidding entitiy (whether JV or not) has
the relevant agreements in place.
The requirement is for delivery logistics to be in place. This can be in the name of either the JV or one of the
53 Must logistics contract be in the name of the JV or just one of the JV partners?
partners, but there needs to be an agreement in place and/or own fleet for delivery.
The NIPP obligation is benchmarked on the imported content of the contract. Any contract having an imported
We are sourcing our products locally and nothing is being imported. With this being the case,
content equal to or exceeding US$5 million or other currency equivalent to US$5 million will have a NIP obligation.
54 are we still required to complete the NIPP section of the RFP or is this only applicable to
Therefore, if there is no imported content, this will not apply. Please just ensure that the section is returned with
imports?
your bid response.
Section 11-Job Creation Schedule refers. If the answer is Yes, does a bidding company still need If the answer is Yes (The NIPP obligation applies), then as per the RFP, a Respondent does not need to complete
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to complete the rest of the section? Section 11: Job Creation schedule. However, this sectons still needs to be returned with the bid response.
Can we offer price on ex gate basis? Since we do not know which sites we could be allocated,
56 which will result in certain sites being overcharged for transport or underprovided with As per the notes to pricing, prices must be on a delivered basis.
transport, when working with averages?
How do we provide pricing for petrol? Do we include it in the same table as Diesel on an
57 Pricing for petrol is not required as the published price is the price that Transnet will pay.
average basis or do we add a separate annexure for petrol pricing.
58 Which of the listed sites use petrol? This would be some of the Homebase sites. Petrol consumption is estimated at 2% on this contract.
The amended site list provided on Tuesday 18 May 2021 indicates the volumes per site (where available) and the
What are average consumption volumes per product per site?
59 corresponding mode of delivery for each site and therefore the estimated volumes provided will be specific to that
What volumes are with rail on each site and what volumes are allocated to lorry per site?
mode of delivery.
60 Location of delivery points. Please refer to the Amended Site List (Annexure C)
This varies from site to site where there are tanks installed on site. The Successful Respondent will need to conduct
61 Types of tanks we are dispensing into e.g. above ground, below ground, site inspections prior to delivery to havea full understanding of the circumstances of each site that has been
awarded.
62 Frequency of delivery Please refer to the Amended Site List (Annexure C)
63 Expected volumes for delivery on a monthly basis. Please refer to the Amended Site List (Annexure C) as this has been updated with volumes (where available).

64 When dispensing into locomotives at which delivery point they would be as they move around.
If a company doesn’t have a company stamp, what should be done on the bottom left of the
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document which needs or seeks a company stamp?
The Purchase Order will include a point of delivery and if this should change, the Service Provider will be notified of
any such changes.
If a Respondent, does not have a company stamp then it can be ommitted. Please ensure that the relevant pages
are adequately signed and dated by the authorised representative.
 Deliveries (Confirmation of Logistics for Fuel Delivery) We currently have 4 trucks we have
There is no minimum that has been set. Also, refer to the answer provided in question 39 for the sample that can
66 contracted to supply/move fuel on our behalf, question is what is the minimum trucks that
be submitted as proof of own fleet.
should be submitted for this tender? What number of truck documents should be submitted?

In the RFP document on Page 8, you state that the RFP proposal must also be on CD and you
state the files must be in MS Word/Excel and not PDF. However most of our documents will be
PDF e.g. the RFP itself with the signatures and company stamp will have to be scanned which
67 Documents can be uploaded onto CD/USB in PDF format.
will make them PDF. The signed Environmental Plan will have to be scanned which will be PDF,
the BBBEE certificates/affidavits will be in PDF, The Tax Clearance pin will be PDF. So all these
critical documents that can only be presented in PDF we must leave them out of the CD?
With the removal of the requirement to have the plan signed by an Environmental Specialist, Transnet still requires
Can the Environmental Management Plan only be required from Companies that are successful
68 any bidding entitiy to provide an Environmental Management Plan that is signed by the relevant authority from the
/ shortlisted for the Tender/RFQ
bidding entity.
69 Will the Marine volumes be made available? No. These unfortunately are not available at this stage for the ports.
In terms of optimising delivery vehicles, can a minimum order quantity be requested from sites
70 No. The site will order the required quantity and the Supplier allocated the site will then have to make delivery.
with smaller tank quantities?
If an Oil Major has an extisting relationship with a Non Major, and separate independent bids Each bidding entity needs to provide an Environmental Management Plan as this is no longer required to be signed
71 are submitted by these two parties, whose Environmental Plan needs to be included in the Non- by an Environmental Specialist. It needs to be submitted and must be signed by the relerant authority within the
Oil Major bid? bidding entity.

Compliance with Environmental Regulations:

Provide an Environmental Management plan ,signed by an Environmental specialist indicating
aspects and impacts and mitigating measures. Yes. Any bidding entitiy has to have an Environmental Management Plan. This is to ensure that in the case of any
environmental damage, the applicable liabilities can be dealt with as per the relevant clauses that are contained in
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Our Company gets supply of fuel from a Company that has a storage facility and delivers it. the contract. Transnet is going to contract with the bidding entitiy but they are ultimately responsible for their
The same company delivers fuel to sites. They supply us with their Environmental policy. contractors/subcontractors and this is why the bidding entity has to have their own signed plan.
Does our company as a bidder require our own Environmental policy?
We have a health and safety policy and an Environmental policy that is not signed by a specialist

Section 11

73 Do we need to populate the details or will the NIPP declaration be sufficient as per section 12. As per the RFP, if the NIPP obligation applies, then there is no need to complete the Job Creation Section.
The quote price is exceeding 10million.

74 Does each entity that is part of the JV need to fill in the Section 1: SBD1 (separately) No. One (1) can be completed for the JV.
For an unincorporated JV, please submit for each entity that is a partner to the JV as all entities have to be tax
75 The Tax Pin, should we submit individual Tax Pins or we can submit 1
compliant if the JV is successful. If the JV is incorporated, a TAX Pin for the JV can be submitted.

Please confirm that Transnet will be invoiced at delivered price-zone on Rail or will Transnet be
76 invoiced as COC at loading point? (Tender document indicates that risk and ownership passes at In terms of rail delivery, Transnet is invoiced at delivered price zone.
loading and yet pricing is supposed to be delivered model) – This is confusing, please clarify
Minimum RTC Required – tender document indicates 40 cars, What if the order is for 20KL, how A Supplier need not order 40 cars at a time. The service design is such that a smaller consignment can be
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will this work? Surely we can’t dispatch only one RTC? accommodated. Therefore, a Supplier will place an order, TFR will then plan and allocate capacity.
Transnet is procuring the refined product, therefore the NIPP obligation can only apply to the instances where the
78 Please clarity imported content in the NIPP section – is crude classified as imported content?
refined fuel is imported. Not crude.
 Once the RTC has been loaded with the product and sealed, Transnet takes ownership and becomes liable. The
79 RTC Demurrage – who takes liability in case of delays on offloading the RTC? supplier is then in a position to invoice Transnet . Transnet would then be liable for any delays - in the event that
they occur.
In the case of fuel being transported by rail and if using Transnet rail services, do we need to
quote for the transport via rail or will Transnet handle this from specific drop points.
80 Please refer to answer provided to Question 2.
If we need to quote on the rail services, how do we get pricing.
The pricing schedule for the average rebate, is this a straight average or weighted across the
81 It is a straight average. The rebate offered is applicable to the total volume supplied.
volumes that should be provided.
Yes, billing will be done at individual site level. The rebates provided will apply to all Transnet sites that are
82 If we provide the average rebate, would the billing still be done on individual site level?
awarded to a specific Bidder.
83 Can you share the operating hours and days for the sites? No. These will be shared with the successful bidders only.
84 Can you identify the petrol sites on the volume schedules? Please refer to answer provided to Question 58.
Transporter contracts are referred to, can a letter of intent or a confirmation of support be used
85 The requirement for an agreement to be in place or for proof of own fleet.
which will translate to contract if business is secured?
Transport contracts may have penalties such as demurrage, standing time, deadfreight where This can be catered for in the contracting stage with the successful Bidders. At this stage, there is no provision
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optimised orders cannot be done. Where do we show this on RFP forms. made for this.
Will Transnet provide a payment undertaking in support of the 30 day credit term from Please refer to the Draft Master Agreement provided with the RFP for the relevant clauses regarding payment
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statement. terms.
88 Transnporter work is currently adhoc, would a letter of intent suffice. Refer to answer to Question 85.
The requirements for this tender are clear. Respondents need to provide proof of contracts in place and ability to
Supply account in place and supplier will not provide contract until tender is secured. Supplier
89 supply the required volumes. Failure to provide such proof will result not passing the prequalification and for
will not provide volume until tender is secured.
volumes, a zero score will be allocated.
We kindly request a one week extension of time for the closing date. The closing date to be
extended from the 31 May 2021 to 7 June 2021. The technical evaluation criteria requires
90 Unfortunately, Transnet is not in a position to extend this RFP closing date.
documents / letters from third parties, who have confirmed that we will receive early next
week.