[Community-Discuss] Questions about transparency

Mon Jun 5 09:54:25 UTC 2017

Hi Ali,

Unfortunately due to constraints on the NDA – I cannot divulge the contents of the audit-co report – but I would also like these reports published, or at least, a redacted version of said reports.  I could understand why an internal board report on audit may not be published in its full totality because sometimes those reports can contain some pretty sensitive information, but I would like to see the board publishing at the very least a redacted version of the same.

I would say similar applies to the other committee reports – where the board is publishing the reports produced by the committees – and where necessary really sensitive information can be redacted and be cleared indicated that there were redactions made.

Thanks

Andrew

From: Ali Hussein [mailto:ali at hussein.me.ke]
Sent: 05 June 2017 12:29
To: mje at posix.co.za
Cc: community-discuss at afrinic.net
Subject: Re: [Community-Discuss] Questions about transparency

Mark and all

Let's raise the bar on transparency and proper reporting is super critical.

For example a quick perusal of the Afrinic Website tells me that:-

1. The last minutes posted were in February this year. I see there was another Board meeting in April which has no minutes posted yet. Can we try and ensure that board minutes are available for circulation online within 2 weeks of the meeting being held?

2. It is common best practice for Board members to declare their interests (if any) before any board meeting and these to be duly recorded in the minutes. This will go a long way in enhancing the transparency conversation.

3.  I also note that in the February Board minutes that agenda Item No. 5 on Committees there are no committee reports for Audit and Remuneration. Also no other board committee reports have been presented.
Question:- why are there no reports on the Audit and Remuneration reports committees? Is this an oversight or were they simply not ready? Can the Board consider making the other committee reports available to the community?

4. It is now also standard for organizations to publish a Sustainability Report. Most public for profit companies in Kenya now publish a sustainability report. This is even more critical in an Organisation like Afrinic. To give us a sample of what this may look like please see Safaricom's 2016 Sustainability Report below:-

https://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Resources_Downloads/sustainabilityreport_2016.pdf<https://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Resources_Downloads/sustainabilityreport_2016.pdf>

Ali Hussein
Principal
Hussein & Associates
+254 0713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."  ~ Aristotle

Sent from my iPad

On 5 Jun 2017, at 11:37 AM, Mark Elkins <mje at posix.co.za<mailto:mje at posix.co.za>> wrote:

I agree with you Ali. When Andrew first campaigned to be a Board member, one of his goals was increased transparency. I believe that he has helped, with the rest of the Board, achieve this. Transparency though is an ongoing process and its a pity that Andrew was not re-elected to continue assisting in that process.

Regarding Andrews points:

a) Travel in Africa is not cheap. Rather than just a single line for travel, I'd like to see it a bit more broken up though, categorised something like;
     i) Training sessions 10, people 20, cost $10,000
     ii) Meetings 2, people 40, cost $20,000
     iii) Board Travel 8, trips 32, cost $20,000

(or something like that)

b - d) Again, I'd like to see a bit more break down, especially in the case of unaudited organisations. On d), the ASO/NRO fees are proportionally paid by RIRs. AfriNIC does pay the lowest proportion.

e) I think the moratorium on Business class travel should be maintained, but have the option to upgrade their flights at their expense. When flying for AfriNIC, I was given a Priority Pass card. That privilege should stay to give people access to lounges.  I'm happy the CEO flies business (at his discretion). If it was a long flight (ARIN, USA) and overnight and that Board member is the only AfriNIC representative and was presenting the "AfriNIC" slides, let them fly business. I did that once (but travelled economy).

On 05/06/2017 08:21, Ali Hussein wrote:
Andrew

You raise pertinent and important issues.

The rule of thumb for any public organization is that Transparency trumps (no pun intended) everything else.

If I were asked and was a member of the Board, I'd advocate for FULL disclosure on financial and operational matters. How money was spent, how much, what was the impact, who received it etc. That in my humble opinion is the best policy. Let us err on the side of too much information as opposed to too little information.
Ali Hussein
Principal
Hussein & Associates
+254 0713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."  ~ Aristotle

Sent from my iPad

On 5 Jun 2017, at 8:42 AM, Andrew Alston <Andrew.Alston at liquidtelecom.com<mailto:Andrew.Alston at liquidtelecom.com>> wrote:
Hi All,

So – I want to open a bit of a discussion about transparency, specifically, financial transparency.

In order to get this started – let me ask a few questions of all of you –

While we talk about transparency and how it is required – can we analyze for a moment as to the level of transparency we want.   So, to kick this discussion off, let me start by asking some basic questions that we can use as the starting point for this discussion.

a.)     How much detail should the board and AfriNIC be supplying us as regards how the money we pay towards IP resources is spent.  Is it sufficient to show an aggregated line item that refers to travel expenses for example, or do we want to see some kind of a breakdown on what that money is being spent on (considering that travel makes up 10% of the total revenue)

b.)    How much detail should the board and AfriNIC be supplying us as members as regards other large scale line items – specifically – we spend hundreds of thousands each year on meeting expenses – should we be asking for a breakdown on what those meeting expenses are – or are we happy with the organization spending that kind of money under a single large line item.

c.)     When AfriNIC is giving money to other organizations for sponsorship – what level of transparency and accountability should be required from those organizations.  Is it acceptable that AFRINIC makes a decision to give money to organizations that have no formal incorporation, no audited financial statements and no board of their own, or should AFRINIC be scrutinizing those that they give money to far more closely, and asking for the same level of transparency from those that they give money to that we require from them.

d.)    When AFRINIC is funding organizations such as the ASO/NRO – how much transparency should be supplied back to the members about how that money is being spent and what that funding is actually being used for.

e.)    When AFRINIC is funding board travel to meetings around the world – should board members be able to attend these conferences without ever supplying reports about what was accomplished at said meetings and what the purpose of the expenditure was, or are we prepared to accept that these meetings must be useful without further questions.

Remember, every cent spent by AfriNIC can have an impact on our fees, and impacts the bottom line of the company.  Over the last 3 years, we have come a long way to stabilizing the company and its financial position, but in order to maintain that, we probably need to discuss openly as a community about the level of transparency we want into those finances and then once we as a community come to consensus, we can request the board supply the transparency we agree is necessary.  But let us have an open and cordial discussion so that we get to the right point.

Thanks

Andrew

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