[Community-Discuss] FUNDRAISING & DONATIONS - TO KEEP AFRINIC RUNNING

[Andrew Alston]

Not being a lawyer – I would actually like to know the legal position on this – because here is the way I see this.

AfriNIC has a contingent liability on their books of $50m dollars right now – and a net worth far below that.
Incurring any further debt – with no guarantee of success in the court case – may be classified as reckless trading.

Furthermore – I would like to know if the directors of AfriNIC have complied with their statutory requirements under section 162 of the act – which mandates that they call a board meeting to discuss appointing a liquidator or administrator.  This part of the law – I don’t need a lawyer to interpret – because its pretty crystal clear:

162. Duty of directors on insolvency
(1) A director of a company who believes that the company is unable to pay its debts as they fall due shall forthwith call a meeting of the Board to consider whether the Board should appoint a liquidator or an administrator.
(2) Where a meeting is called under this section, the Board shall consider whether to appoint a liquidator or an administrator, or to carry on the business of the company.
(3) Where –
(a) a director fails to comply with subsection (1);
(b) at the time of that failure the company was unable to pay its debts as they fell due; and
(c) the company is subsequently placed in liquidation, 118 the Court may, on the application of the liquidator or of a creditor of the company, make an order that the director shall be liable for the whole or any part of any loss suffered by creditors of the company as a result of the company continuing to trade.


Since AfriNIC – has on calls with its members – openly admitted that they may be unable to service debt and that certain creditors have agreed to payment deferrals etc – and since  there is absolutely no guarantee that sponsorship is going to cover debt – this is very clear – and it will be very interesting to see the minutes or the board meeting where this happens.

I am also very curious to see the resolutions regarding budget, since if the company is spending outside of budget – that requires a board resolution – which has to be published under the transparency rules.  There is no way on planet earth that the budget would cover the kinds of legal fees they have been racking up – so – how much was the budget expanded – and what risks are being taken if spending is being incurred and they lose and still have to pay up with the lawyers etc?  And how much money is going to be left by the time they finish paying the lawyers even if they win this – would a settlement not be cheaper at the end of the day?

Andrew

From: Anthony Ubah <ubah.tonyiyke at gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2021 12:14 AM
To: Dewole Ajao <dewole at tinitop.com>
Cc: General Discussions of AFRINIC <community-discuss at afrinic.net>
Subject: Re: [Community-Discuss] FUNDRAISING & DONATIONS - TO KEEP AFRINIC RUNNING

Great idea 👍🏿

On Tue, Aug 17, 2021, 2:05 PM Dewole Ajao <dewole at tinitop.com<mailto:dewole at tinitop.com>> wrote:
This is a very good initiative. Can the organizers look at making this more like a crowdsourced loan? Is this something that's allowable? That way, AFRINIC is given interest free loans and then we can figure out how to repay the loans in the future.

For example, I could opt to pay my 2022 and 2023 membership fees in advance via this fund (if it can be made official).

Meanwhile, someone here is asking if an initiative can be launched to blackhole traffic from all prefixes globally owned by the people trying to force the registry to its knees by starving it of funds?

Regards,
Dewole.

On Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 6:47 PM Noah <noah at neo.co.tz<mailto:noah at neo.co.tz>> wrote:
Dear Internet Community,

You are probably aware that AFRINIC, the Regional Internet Registry for Africa, is involved in ongoing litigation, where the plaintiff has sought to have AFRINIC’s bank accounts frozen. In today’s connected world, it is easy to abstract the Internet into simply moving bits and bytes, and forget that there are real people that work hard at building, maintaining and providing support for the systems that you, and the Internet, need to continue working and engaging.

The litigation has made it difficult for AFRINIC to meet its financial obligations. Part of these expenses are salaries for the AFRINIC team, who are resolutely working through this difficult period.  Whilst we recognise that the legal system has to complete its important process, “our colleagues still need to survive” during one of the worst pandemics in memory.  As an operational entity, that is core to a functioning Internet, AFRINIC still has financial obligations that it must meet to its suppliers.

AF-IX, in collaboration with our partners, are therefore embarking on a fund-raising exercise to help keep AFRINIC’s core functions and services running for the next three months. As a broader community, we are dependent on this registry, whose service of allocating and registering Internet Number Resources (IPv4, IPv6 and ASN) has enabled communication for the development and growth of the Internet In the African region.

We invite you to be part of the community of supporters to ensure that AFRINIC can continue to play the vital role it has, for the sustainable digital growth in Africa.

You can choose to donate any amount via the URL below where you will find all different options.  The funds collected will be used to support the team by ensuring the core functions of AFRINIC continue without risk.

DONATE TO KEEP AFRINIC UP BY CLICKING THIS LINK;   https://www.tespok.co.ke/?page_id=14001<https://www.tespok.co.ke/?page_id=14001>

The AF-IX is ably supported in this initiative by the below partners;

Technology Service Providers of Kenya – TESPOK
Tanzania ISP Association – TISPA
Angola ISP Association – AAPSI
Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria – IXPN

For additional information, please feel free to contact us, or any of our partners through the following email addresses below:

            info at af-ix.net<mailto:info at af-ix.net>  | tespok at tespok.co.ke<mailto:tespok at tespok.co.ke> | secretariat at tispa.or.tz<mailto:secretariat at tispa.or.tz> | secretariado at aapsi.og.ao<mailto:secretariado at aapsi.og.ao> | info at ixp.net.ng<mailto:info at ixp.net.ng>


For Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Please visit the Sites Below For Details;



TESPOK = https://www.tespok.co.ke/?page_id=14001<https://www.tespok.co.ke/?page_id=14001>

AF-IX = https://www.af-ix.net/news/2021/08/afrinic-fundraising-campaign<https://www.af-ix.net/news/2021/08/afrinic-fundraising-campaign>

TISPA = https://tispa.or.tz/fundraising/afrinic<https://tispa.or.tz/fundraising/afrinic>

ISPA-Angola = https://www.aapsi.og.ao/noticia/fundraising-for-afrinic<https://www.aapsi.og.ao/noticia/fundraising-for-afrinic>

IXPN = https://ixp.net.ng/news/afrinic-fundraising<https://ixp.net.ng/news/afrinic-fundraising>





We look forward to your kind support.


Cheers,
Noah
TISPA

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