A Ministerial Order relating to the electronic execution of enforcement orders, allowing property auctions to go digital is now officially online. An enforcement order is an order by a court to force a person or organisation to comply with a regulation of law. The Order, which was approved by the Cabinet on Friday, March 6, is aimed at reducing the human element in the auction process thereby tackling corruption and undervaluation of auctioned properties. This means that bidders will offer prices that will be recorded online and remain there, and the highest price will be considered as the winning bid. The winner will only be unveiled after the deadline. Article 5 of the Ministerial Order states that bidders offer prices through the electronic system and the offered prices are kept confidential in the electronic system of execution of enforcement orders. The prices are disclosed through the electronic system of execution of enforcement orders six hours before the hour declared in the notice of auction and also submitted by email to both the bailiff and each bidder. Article 6 regarding digs into the bid security process that a bidder who lives in Rwanda or abroad who may want to bid on a property priced over Rwf5m. “A person residing in Rwanda or abroad, who intends to bid for the property with reference price equal to or more than five million Rwandan francs (FRW 5,000,000) pays a refundable bid security of five percent (5%) of the reference price of the property, communicated in notice of auction,” it states. The Executive Secretary of the Professional Bailiffs Association; Anastase Balinda, recently told The New Times that digitizing the whole auctioning process, in addition to reviewing the rules that concerning valuers would go a long way in cutting out fraudulent brokers in the country. “We think if the process to digitize the process is expedited, the issue would be solved because it means we shall be able to detect who comes at these auctions. If one name appears in more public auctions, we shall be able to investigate what kind of business that person runs,” he says. He pointed out that brokers are at the centre of the rise of deceitful practices because they disguise as bidders, undervalue the properties on auction in the interests of one of the businessmen and women, and the properties end up being sold at the lowest prices. In August 2018, Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB) paraded individuals accused of being members of a network of dishonest auctioneers and business people involved in fraudulent auctioning practices. The two suspects were accused of having received payments so they can pretend to be bidders at a public auction in Kigali City’s Kicukiro area where a petrol station valued at Rwf850 million was bought at Rwf330 million.
