Seychelles' finance ministry is ready to launch the first online auction platform for government assets, which have been approved for disposal, facilitating public access to this service.

A variety of 15 government-owned vehicles, ranging from hatchbacks to pickup trucks, will be part of the first batch of assets to be auctioned online. The website is set to go live on Tuesday, October 25, when interested bidders can start placing their bids.

The deputy comptroller general at the ministry, Jude Commettant, said in a press conference on Friday that moving this service online is part of the government's decision to move its services online, in doing so increasing public access to government-offered services.

"With the advancement of technology, we know that people can now place their bids anywhere at any time. Every item that needs to be disposed of through public auction sales will now be done through the website," said Commettant. 

Upon accessing the platform, an interested bidder can browse the list of vehicles featured for the first auction sale on the website. Once the person has identified an item that they want to bid on they will have to click on the 'Bid Now' button. The person will be directed to another page where they can view the details - make, model, registration number, and year of manufacture among others - of the vehicle. 

Each vehicle has a starting bid. This is established through an evaluation from a company that does so, and based on the figure provided, the ministry together with the auctioneer places the starting bid price.

Once bidding starts, the person will have to register by adding their personal details and the system will then allow them to proceed with the bidding. 

"We want the public to take note, that before they bid on a vehicle, they should view and inspect the vehicle. Viewings will take place during the course of three days, with the first auction's viewing running from Tuesday, October 25 to Thursday, October 27 from 9 am to 3 pm. The bidding period is also open during this time until the end of the day on Thursday," said Commettant.

On the same page, the person will be able to see the auction history of the vehicle, and who the highest bidder is. A person can bid on as many vehicles as they want and as many times as they want.  Bidders are highly encouraged to log out of the system once they have completed their bidding to ensure that no other person does so on their behalf.

"When we close the bid on Thursday, the successful bidder will be notified via the provided email. The person will have to come to the Ministry of Finance the next day to start the payment procedures. At the moment we do not have the option to pay online, but this is something that we are working on. Legal actions will be taken against a person who cannot pay the bid," said Commettant.

The Ministry of Finance started disposing of its assets through auction sales in 2011, and to date, it has always been a manual process.