[AfriNIC-rpd] Summary of Current Policy Proposals in the AfriNIC Region

[Vincent Ngundi]

Dear Colleagues,



Below please find a summary of the discussions on the above policy proposal:



1.     There was a question on what the policy proposal was trying to
achieve and how it differs from the current policy development process (PDP)
policy: The author said the objective was to improve the current policy by
clearly defining the parameters of the process. He also pointed out the
following weaknesses in the current policy.

·         No explicit requirements as to when minutes of public policy
meetings should be published.

·         There is no process to track the changes that happen to a policy
as it is modified and progresses through the PDP - for example previous
versions of a proposal are not available on the afrinic website.

·         There is no room for the community to relieve the PDP-MG of duty
if they are not performing to expectations.

·         The existing policy talks about a Board of Trustees but AfriNIC
doesn't have one, it instead has a Board of Directors.

·         There is no room for conflict resolution for example in a
situation when a member of the community challenges the decisions of the
PDP-MG.



2.     Some discussants raised issues with the authors claim to be
'creating' a policy development process in the region as one does exist. If
indeed this proposal aims to address the lapses in a current policy, it
should be framed as such rather than how it is currently put - an attempt to
reinvent the wheel. The proposed change in the names of the policy mailing
list and working group were seen as superficial.



3.     Key differences between the proposal and the existing policy as
explained by the author are as follows:

·         Any member of the community can be a part of the Policy
Development Working Group while currently the PDP-MG is limited to three
people.

·         This proposal allows for the PDML to be fired, a provision which
is lacking in the existing policy.

·         A provision is made whereby if urgency is justified, a proposal
could be fast-tracked instead of waiting for at least six months for one of
the public policy meetings.



Regards,



Vincent Ngundi

Chair, AfriNIC PDP-MG
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