Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
RFQ - 19ZA6027Q0001 - Garden Maintenance Services
Department of State
AI summaryThe U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia (Department of State) wants quotes for garden maintenance at six U.S. Government properties in Lusaka, as one base year plus four option years. The response due date is November 12, 2026 (an amendment moved it to Oct 30, 2026, 11:00 PM EDT) on SAM.gov but November 13, 2026 in the solicitation text. The work is outside the United States, so check the Zambian office, license and tax terms before bidding. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Summary of the version posted Oct 16, 2026. The notice was amended Oct 16, 2026. The due date moved from Nov 11, 2026 to Oct 30, 2026. Check what else changed on SAM.gov.
The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia (Department of State) wants quotes for garden maintenance at six U.S. Government properties in Lusaka, as one base year plus four option years. The response due date is November 12, 2026 on SAM.gov but November 13, 2026 in the solicitation text. The work is outside the United States, so check the Zambian office, license and tax terms before bidding.
Who can bid (4)
- Registered in SAM at the time the quote is submitted; offerors not registered may be treated as non-responsible and get no further consideration
- An established business with a permanent address and telephone listing in Zambia, or a plan to set up an office there within 30 days of contract award
- Authorization to do business in Zambia, and the licenses and permits needed to perform; the quote must give a plan to obtain them or copies of those already held
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- A trained horticulturist, experienced in local climate and soil, kept on retainer to guide the workforce
How to submit: Email to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov. Send MS-Word, MS-Excel or PDF files; each email must be under 30MB, so split larger quotes across emails., due November 12, 2026, 5:00 AM UTC+2 on SAM.gov; the solicitation text says November 13, 2026, 5:00 PM CAT (Central Africa Time). What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (7)
- Serious: Office in Zambia required. You need an established business with a permanent address and phone listing in Zambia, or a plan to open an office within 30 days of award, which is hard for a U.S. small business without a local base.
- Serious: Zambian licenses, permits and labor law. You warrant you may do business in Zambia and hold the needed licenses and permits, and you must follow all local labor laws, so a foreign bidder needs local counsel or a local partner.
- Worth checking: Taxes and currency. Value Added Tax (VAT) stays out of prices because the Embassy has an exemption certificate. Offers in other currencies are converted at the Embassy exchange rate, and a foreign person bidder faces a 2 percent withholding unless an IRS Form W-14 exemption is claimed.
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- Worth checking: The site visit was Oct 22, 2026. Check the notice and its amendments for whether attendance was required, and whether another visit is offered.
- Worth checking: Defense Base Act insurance in the price. Bidders should include Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance premium costs for employees, on top of the required general liability insurance.
- Minor: Extra work quantities can swing widely. Temporary Additional Services are estimated at 80,000 Sqm-Week a year, but orders can reach 500,000 Sqm-Week a year, with a minimum of 2582 Sqm-Week, so unit prices must hold across that range.
- Minor: One complaint a month is the limit. The quality standard allows no more than one customer complaint a month, and repeat complaints for the same problem are not permitted.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. Show which files.
- RFQ - 19ZA6027Q0001 - Garden Maintenance Services.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Mow, edge and trim lawns at six properties (grass kept 4 to 6 centimeters high), and weed continuously
- Prune trees, shrubs, hedges and vines on a schedule the Government approves in writing
- Remove leaves and debris weekly and daily, and water lawns, flowers, shrubs and trees to a depth of 7 centimeters
- Run a pest and plant disease control program; no pesticide is bought, stored or applied without the contracting officer's representative (COR) approving it in writing
- Supply all labor, tools, equipment, fuel and materials, plus a trained horticulturist for technical guidance
- Send an annual Grounds Maintenance Plan, a list of personnel and proof of insurance 10 days after award
- Do Temporary Additional Services (extra gardening work) when ordered: estimated 80,000 Sqm-Week a year, minimum 2582 Sqm-Week, maximum 500,000 Sqm-Week a year
- Work Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00, with unannounced quality inspections
- Contract type
- Combined synopsis/solicitation (request for quotations) for commercial services. The standard work is paid a fixed price per month. Temporary Additional Services are indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (orders placed as needed, between a set minimum and maximum).
- Period of performance
- Base year January 4, 2027 to January 3, 2028, plus four one-year options through January 3, 2032. Orders may be issued from January 4, 2027 through January 3, 2032. The Government may also extend services up to 6 months.
- Place of performance
- Lusaka, Zambia (six Government properties: Mosi Compound, 10 Ingwee, 25B Serval, 32G Mutende, 4 Nsumbu, 29B Leopards Hill)
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- How they'll choose
- Lowest priced, technically acceptable (LPTA): the award goes to the lowest-priced responsible bidder whose quote is technically acceptable. Price is the offered prices times the estimated quantities, added up over the base year and all options.
- Offers due
- November 12, 2026, 5:00 AM UTC+2 on SAM.gov; the solicitation text says November 13, 2026, 5:00 PM CAT (Central Africa Time) (from the version posted Oct 16, 2026; amended since)
- How to submit
- Email to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov. Send MS-Word, MS-Excel or PDF files; each email must be under 30MB, so split larger quotes across emails.
What they'll judge offers on
- Compliance review of the quote against the solicitation
- Technical acceptability: past performance and experience, plus any technical information sent with the quote
- Price: offered prices times estimated quantities, grand total including all options
- Responsibility determination (Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 9.1): financial resources, ability to meet the schedule, integrity, experience, equipment
What to include when you submit
- Quote in English; incomplete quotes will not be accepted
- Send a completed Standard Form 1449 (SF 1449): the form you sign and return as your offer
- Fill in Section 1 pricing for the base year and each option year, including the six monthly-price lines and Temporary Additional Services
- Include Defense Base Act (DBA) insurance premium costs for employees in the price
- Send Section 5 Representations and Certifications
- Send proof of System for Award Management (SAM) registration, including the SAM unique entity ID (UEI)
- Name a project manager or liaison to the Embassy who understands written and spoken English
- Show an established business with a permanent address and telephone listing in Zambia, or a plan to set up an office within 30 days of contract award
- List clients over the past 5 years with contract dates, places of performance, values, and contact names, phone numbers and emails; if you have no comparable work in Zambia, give international experience
- Show you can provide the personnel, equipment and financial resources needed
- Give your plan to obtain all licenses and permits required by local law, or a copy of those you already hold
- Send a strategic plan with a work plan covering the work, the types and quantities of equipment, supplies and materials (and whether you already own them), and a quality plan for oversight
- Send a copy of the Certificate of Insurance, or a statement that you will get the required insurance, naming the insurance provider
- A bidder that is a foreign person must send IRS Form W-14 with the quote, or the Government withholds a full 2 percent of each payment
After award, you must have
- General liability insurance naming the United States of America, acting through the Department of State, as additional insured: bodily injury $500,000 per occurrence and $1,000,000 cumulative; property damage $100,000 per occurrence and $200,000 cumulative. Proof is due 10 days after award. From RFQ - 19ZA6027Q0001 - Garden Maintenance Services.pdf:
…within ten (10) days after contract award.
Not in the notice text
- Pricing currency for the quote is not stated; the foreign-currency clause allows offers in more than one currency
- Who currently does this work is not stated
- The site visit starts at 16B Cheetah, which is not one of the six priced locations; the listed properties are Mosi Compound, 10 Ingwee, 25B Serval, 32G Mutende, 4 Nsumbu and 29B Leopards Hill
- How many references to send is not stated, only a list of clients over the past 5 years
- The Government's estimate or budget for this contract is not stated
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov. Send MS-Word, MS-Excel or PDF files; each email must be under 30MB, so split larger quotes across emails. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 16, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- U.S. Embassy Lusaka
- Product/service code
- S208 · Housekeeping – Landscaping/Groundskeeping
- Business type
- Facilities, janitorial & grounds (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 561730)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 16, 2026 · PresolicitationDate Oct 31, 2026 (changed)
- Oct 16, 2026 · Combined Synopsis/Solicitation (this version)Due Nov 12, 2026
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial services, The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, is requesting quotations for Garden Maintenance Services at six U.S. Government properties in Lusaka. The contractor will provide all labor, materials, equipment, and supervision for lawn care, pruning, weeding, leaf and debris removal, watering, and pest control. The U.S. Embassy in Lusaka, Zambia, is requesting quotations for Garden Maintenance Services at six U.S. Government properties in Lusaka. The contractor will provide all labor, materials, equipment, and supervision for lawn care, pruning, weeding, leaf and debris removal, watering, and pest control. The award will go to the responsible offeror whose quotation is the lowest priced and technically acceptable. Quotations due: 13 November 2026 at 5:00 p.m. CAT. Send them by email to Lusaka-procurement@state.gov. See the attached RFQ for full requirements and submission instructions.