[Community-Discuss] Community-Discuss Digest, Vol 912, Issue 1
Daniel Yakmut
yakmutd at googlemail.com
Sat Apr 30 08:05:32 UTC 2022
Dear All,
AK is referring to the other Daniel not this Simply Daniel. This is for
clarity purposes only.
Simply,
Daniel
On Fri, 29 Apr 2022, 12:00 , <community-discuss-request at afrinic.net> wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. Re: Governance Committee Communique (ABDULKARIM OLOYEDE)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2022 00:39:29 +0100
> From: ABDULKARIM OLOYEDE <oloyede.aa at unilorin.edu.ng>
> To: AFRINIC Communication <comms at afrinic.net>
> Cc: General Discussions of AFRINIC <community-discuss at afrinic.net>
> Subject: Re: [Community-Discuss] Governance Committee Communique
> Message-ID:
> <CAES4e9nRDbPbYAA0pELt-63OT5mn=5dt8u=
> Gtks4WQ4btY+jfA at mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Dear Daniel and all,
>
> I laughed reading through your beautiful write-up from my 'friend'. As a
> University lecturer, I have seen lots of beautiful writeups like this, and
> at the end of the day, I wonder where the logic is?. I guess in this case;
> the logic was left out after having a 2-day AFRINIC all expenses paid in
> the name of a face to face meeting just to interpret simple English.
> The by-law is written in simple English and I know that given my friend's
> (Daniel) experience with batteries and bicycles, he speaks good English and
> this task would have been achieved with a 20 mins zoom call. Please can we
> all read the quote below from the bylaw, especially the words in bold
>
> 13.14) "Notwithstanding the other provisions but subject to the provisions
> of article 13.10 of the bylaws, the Board shall, where it considers that it
> may not be reasonable to wait for the next Annual General Members? Meeting
> to fill a casual vacancy that has arisen pursuant to article 14.1(ii),
> (iii) or (iv) below, have power at any time and from time to time to
> appoint any person to be a* Director to fill a casual vacancy in the Board.
> Any Director so appointed shall hold office only until the next following
> Annual General Members? Meeting *at which Directors are elected and shall
> then be eligible for re-election. [Amended at the 2020 AGMM]"
>
> The bylaw is clear a causal vacancy can ONLY be filled till the next AGMM.
> This is only logical that once there is an opportunity to have elections,
> then we cant have seats filled using a casual vacancy. Please, where is
> the logic for board members to appoint board members beyond an emergency.
> ?. We now have a situation where the Board is appointing the board members
> , appointing the PDWG co-chair, appointing the governance committee, appeal
> committee election committe and all of these in a community that is
> expected to be a multistakeholder community. where are all the other
> stakeholders? A tiny majority on the board has gone power drunk. There is
> clearly no community within AFRINIC, just some few individuals trying to
> grab as much power as possible.
>
> I was not surprised to read this beautiful write up from Daniel for two
> reasons
> 1. He who pays the piper dictates the tune. The board already came out with
> the same absurd decision so it's only time for Daniel and his friends to
> pay back the 2-days jamboree approved by the almighty powerful board chair.
> 2. I have known Daniel for some time now. We are not that close because we
> do not have the same ideology and we have always disagreed without picking
> up a fight. So I must say mutual face-value respect is what we give each
> other. However, I like him cos of his commitment to the Internet community,
> and I decided to have a 1-1 discussion with him in Kobe JAPAN during the
> ICANN 64 meeting a while ago. We had this conversation after we both went
> out for dinner with some other friends. I am sure he would remember this
> conversation (a mutual friend was also present). I told Daniel, "why are
> you always afraid to shake the table when necessary? Why are you always
> afraid to speak the truth when it is against the power that be" I had to
> tell him these because he has a mentor in ICANN who turned herself into a
> 'mini god' and when she is clearly wrong, Daniel would never speak out
> against her because she is quite powerful. I must admit this woman is
> powerful cos I have put her 'powers' to test. His reaction was that of a
> man who would only gain something personally rather than go against the
> power that be. All he wanted to be was to be the only power broker from
> Uganda within the community. Therefore I am not surprised with him trying
> to twist simple English words here just to arrive at the same conclusion as
> that of the power that be.
>
> The board has consistently decided to arm-twist the community all in the
> name of trying to fight some external forces, but what the current board
> chair and his friends have forgotten is that they can't be in power
> forever. Unfortunately, they would have done the damage when what goes
> around comes around. We have seen it all when the opposition suddenly
> finds themself in government, they do things that are considered much more
> terrible.
>
> I rest my case here. This is just for the future record as some are
> pushing others to pick up arms and soon it would be AFRINIC's funeral.
>
> A Yoruba proverb says; "Ti owo omode o ba ti te eku ida, ko le bere iku to
> pa baba e..." Loosely transliterated as, "...When a man has hardly laid his
> hands on the handle of a sword, it is foolhardy to ask for the kind of
> death which killed his father..."
>
>
> Cheers
>
> AK
>
>
>
> On Thu, Apr 28, 2022 at 8:13 AM AFRINIC Communication <comms at afrinic.net>
> wrote:
>
> > Dear Community,
> >
> > On April 23rd and 24th 2022, the GovCom had a 2-day face-to-face working
> > session for the purposes of the assignment in reference to the Board's
> > resolution 202202.677, whereby, the GovCom met as a result of a board's
> > request where it had been mandated to undertake a Bylaws' amendment
> > exercise and recommend workable solutions by the end of April 2022 in
> order
> > to address the situation caused by casual vacancies at the level of the
> > Board.
> >
> > In the spirit of transparency and good governance mechanisms, GovCom
> feels
> > compelled to share with the AFRINIC Members and Community at large, the
> > observations and recommendations GovCom made to the Board of AFRINIC
> after
> > the legal team was solicited on specific issues only and on as a "when
> and
> > required" basis discussions on the matters at hand.
> >
> > For the sake of clarity and ease of reference, the relevant sections of
> > the 2007, 2016, and 2020 AFRINIC By-Laws are repeated below:
> >
> > By-laws 2007:
> > 11.4 For the avoidance of doubt, the sequential election of Elected
> > Directors prevailing at the date of adoption of this Constitution shall
> be
> > continued so that, on the expiry of the respective terms of office of
> > Elected Directors, the Directors shall be elected in the following
> sequence:
> > (i) Election for Directors representing Northern Africa and Western
> Africa;
> > (ii) Election for Directors representing the Indian Ocean and Central
> > Africa; and
> > (iii) Election for Directors representing Southern Africa and Eastern
> > Africa.
> >
> > 11.5 The Primary Directors and the Alternate Directors shall be elected
> by
> > Members on the date of each Annual General Meeting every three years. For
> > the avoidance of doubt, the election of Directors shall not be considered
> > as being part of the annual General Meeting but the proceedings of such
> > election shall, subject to Article 10.15 above, be the same as for a
> > General Meeting.
> >
> > 11.7 In the case where there is no eligible candidate for a particular
> > region, the Director already in office in the particular seat shall be
> > deemed to have been elected for one further term.
> >
> > 11.12 The Directors shall have power at any time and from time to time to
> > appoint any person to be a Director to fill a casual vacancy in the
> Board.
> > Any Director so appointed shall hold office only until the next following
> > Annual General Meeting at which Directors are elected and shall then be
> > eligible for re-election.
> >
> >
> > By-Laws 2016:
> > 13.5 Each of the following six sub-regions of Africa shall be represented
> > by one Director as indicated below:
> > (i) Northern Africa (seat 1);
> > (ii) Western Africa (seat 2);
> > (iii) Indian Ocean (seat 3);
> > (iv) Central Africa (seat 4);
> > (v) Southern Africa (seat 5); and
> > (vi) Eastern Africa (seat 6).
> >
> > Each Director elected under Articles 13.4(i) and 13.4(ii) of this
> > Constitution shall hold office for a term of three years, which term of
> > office shall expire on the date of the Annual General Members' Meeting
> held
> > on or around the third anniversary of the date of appointment of such
> > Elected Director. Subject to Article 13.6, such Director shall be
> eligible
> > for re-election on the expiry of his term of office.
> >
> > 13.6 For the avoidance of doubt, the sequential election of Directors
> > elected under Article 13.4 (i) of this Constitution, prevailing at the
> date
> > of adoption of this Constitution shall be continued so that, on the
> expiry
> > of the respective terms of office of Directors, they shall be elected in
> > the following sequence:
> > (i) Election for Directors representing Northern Africa and Western
> Africa;
> > (ii) Election for Directors representing the Indian Ocean and Central
> > Africa; and
> > (iii) Election for Directors representing Southern Africa and Eastern
> > Africa.
> >
> > 13.14 The Directors shall have power at any time and from time to time to
> > appoint any person to be a Director to fill a casual vacancy in the
> Board.
> > Any Director so appointed shall hold office only until the next following
> > Annual General Members' Meeting at which Directors are elected and shall
> > then be eligible for re-election.
> >
> > By-Laws 2020:
> > 13.6) For the avoidance of doubt, the sequential election of Directors
> > elected under Article 13.4(i) of this Constitution, prevailing at the
> date
> > of adoption of this Constitution shall be continued so that, on the
> expiry
> > of the respective terms of office of Directors, they shall be elected in
> > the following sequence:
> > The election for Directors representing Northern Africa and Western
> > Africa;
> > The election for Directors representing the Indian Ocean and Central
> > Africa; and
> > The election for Directors representing Southern Africa and Eastern
> > Africa.
> >
> > 13.7) Election mechanism
> > Except for the Chief Executive Officer, and subject to Articles 13.10 and
> > 13.11, all other Directors shall be elected by Resource and Registered
> > Members on the date of each Annual General Members? Meeting.
> > Six directors representing each of the regions listed in Article 13.5
> > shall be elected according to Article 13.6.
> > Two Region-Independent Directors representing seats 7 (seven) and 8
> > (eight) shall be elected during the same elections as for Northern and
> > Western (seats 2 and 1) and the Indian Ocean and Central (seats 3 and 4)
> > and shall hold office according to the terms of Article 13.10 of the
> > Constitution.
> > The NomCom shall, in terms of the existing election process, take all the
> > relevant actions for the participation of these nominees in the election
> of
> > directors.
> >
> > 13.14) Notwithstanding the other provisions but subject to the provisions
> > of article 13.10 of the bylaws, the Board shall, where it considers that
> it
> > may not be reasonable to wait for the next Annual General Members?
> Meeting
> > to fill a casual vacancy that has arisen pursuant to article 14.1(ii),
> > (iii) or (iv) below, have power at any time and from time to time to
> > appoint any person to be a Director to fill a casual vacancy in the
> Board.
> > Any Director so appointed shall hold office only until the next following
> > Annual General Members? Meeting at which Directors are elected and shall
> > then be eligible for re-election. [Amended at the 2020 AGMM]
> >
> > The Situation at Hand
> > There is a potential situation in which more than 3 Seats would have come
> > up for election in the coming Annual General Members Meeting of 2022
> (AGMM
> > 2022) and perpetually breaking the election sequence in Seats for the
> > regions as specified in the Articles 13.6 and 13.7.
> >
> > Whereas the Board acted in its respective capacity, to ensure that the
> > Seat for Director to East Africa Region (Seat 6) was filled in September
> > 2020. However, instead of filling the seat via a casual vacancy, it
> > conducted elections for that seat prematurely, causing a situation in
> which
> > the Director would have completed the full tenure prior to the election
> > sequence as per Articles 13.6 and 13.7 of the Bylaws.
> >
> > The GovCom deemed it fit that a By-Law amendment exercise may not be a
> > solution to the current challenges based on the observations below
> >
> > 1. GovCom requested and reviewed all the past 3 By-laws and especially
> > regarding the sections on the Filling of Casual Vacancy and the ensuing
> > conduct of elections to the Board of AFRINIC as a result of it. GovCom is
> > of the view that the explicit provision in the By-Laws regarding the
> > filling of a Casual Vacancy cannot be used in the conducting of
> elections,
> > nor can the explicit provisions in the By-Laws regarding the conducting
> of
> > elections be used in filling a Casual Vacancy on the Board. And that
> when
> > interpreting the By-Laws it must be in full taking into account all the
> > relevant provisions and not simply a part of it.
> >
> > 2. GovCom is of the view that in all 3 By-Laws, provisions were made to
> > ensure the Board at any time and from time to time fills in a causal
> > vacancy should the need arise, and yet none of the 3 By-Laws provided
> > alternative election mechanisms for the ensuing conduct of elections
> after
> > a casual vacancy has been filled. And as such GovCom is of the view that
> > the only elections mechanisms that be used to conduct elections either
> post
> > causal vacancy and/or at any other time are those specified in Article
> 13.6
> > and Article 13.7 of the 2020 By-Laws.
> >
> > 3. GovCom found it totally unnecessary and irrelevant to go through a
> > By-Law amendment exercise of Article 13.14 just to arrive at using the
> same
> > election mechanisms in Articles 13.6 and 13.7 for the conduct of
> elections
> > when no other alternative election mechanisms were ever in place.
> >
> > 4. The By-laws do not empower the Nomination Committee, Election
> > Committee, and also the AFRINIC Board to vary the mandated 3-Year tenure
> of
> > an elected Director or vary the sequence in which Directors of the 6
> > Regions and 2 Non-Regions are elected.
> >
> > Challenges and Risks
> > The GovCom articulated that the following challenges are currently being
> > experienced in the organization with reference to the election process
> and
> > the filling of casual vacancies. These challenges may at a later stage
> > impact the governance of the organization. These are:-
> > 1. Misinterpretation of Article 13.14 in relation to when the next
> > AGMM of the respective seats are to be filled
> >
> > 2. Organization Instability when the Board can?t raise quorum due to
> > when many seats are open for elections
> >
> > 3. Giving an elected Director a tenure less than the 3-years mandated
> > by the By-Laws
> >
> > 4. Breaking of sequence in Articles 13.6 and 13.7
> >
> > Recommendations to the AFRINIC Board
> > Whereas the GovCom is conversant of all the above challenges that
> > reference Article 13.14.
> >
> > GovCom made the following recommendations to the AFRINIC Board that:
> > 1. A maximum of only three (3) seats should be opened for election at
> > any respective AGMM as per the following:
> >
> > 1. Presently, elections for Board Seats #1, #2 and #7 will be held in
> > the year 2022;
> >
> > 2. For the purposes of elections of Board Seats #3, #4 and #8, same
> to
> > be held in the year 2023;
> >
> > 3. For the purposes of elections of Board Seats #5 and #6, the same
> is
> > to be held in the year 2024;
> >
> > 2. In an event that a casual vacancy must be filled, the Board should
> > fill the said vacancy till the end of the previous candidate?s mandate,
> > i.e. when the next AGMM of the respective seat comes up for election per
> > Article 13.6 and Article 13.7 of the 2020 By-Laws.
> >
> > 3. Board Seat #4 is vacant and should be filled with casual vacancy
> up
> > to AGMM 2023
> >
> > 4. Board Seat #5 be extended to AGMM 2024 to ensure the stability of
> > the sequence as per Articles 13.6 and 13.7 of the 2020 By-Laws.
> >
> > 5. Furthermore in regard to Seat #6 - the Board should find an
> > appropriate mechanism to ensure that the Seat does not become vacant
> after
> > the AGMM in 2023.
> >
> > 6. Amendment of the process of filling the casual vacancy by
> including
> > the community involvement in form of comments then the Board will make an
> > informed decision from the comments.
> >
> > General recommendations from Committees
> > GovCom notes that most of the recommendations are to be effected in the
> > coming year or two years. Since the GovCom receives requests from the
> > Board, the CEO, and the community, it is difficult to track the status of
> > the implementation of these recommendations and the Board?s resolutions;
> > ? Therefore, the GovCom recommends that a Board resolution tracking
> system
> > be implemented
> >
> > GovCom's report should not be confused with a minutes of the GovCom
> > meeting which is required to be published as required.
> >
> > GovCom considers the recommendations made to the AFRINIC Board as final
> > and yet would welcome comments from the AFRINIC Members and Community at
> > large.
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Daniel K. Nanghaka
> > Chair ? GovCom
> > _______________________________________________
> > Community-Discuss mailing list
> > Community-Discuss at afrinic.net
> > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/community-discuss
> >
>
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