[rpd] New proposal - "Out-Of-Region Use of AFRINIC Internet Number Resources" (AFPUB-2014-GEN-002-DRAFT-01)

[Jackson Muthili]

On Sat, Jul 5, 2014 at 6:09 PM, Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com> wrote:
> 1) Summary of the Problem Being Addressed by this Policy Proposal
>
> Currently, AFRINIC policies do not explicitly allow or disallow
> Out-Of-Region use of Internet number resources. This silence on an important
> facet of number resource management jeopardizes administration by leaving
> staff to arbitrarily decide how to handle Out-Of-Region requests. The
> imminent exhaustion of IPv4 aggravates the situation because it is
> anticipated that organizations from other regions will have more incentive
> to exploit this and any other loophole in AFRINIC polices to acquire
> resources for sale or use outside the region - a practice that is not in
> AFRINIC's best interests.
>
> Firstly, I have stated before, and I will state again, having the amount of
> space AfriNIC has available and the low allocation rates is equally not in
> our interests.  The financial situation in AfriNIC as highlighted in the
> last two meetings is also not in our interests.  So, while I agree that
> having the resources used outside of our region may not be in the best
> interests of the african continent, this is what I would consider a
> dialectic.  Will this policy actually prevent resources flowing out of the
> region or will it simply encourage fraudulent applications and falsified
> whois entries and records?  I would argue the latter rather than the former.
>
> You offer this as a dichotomy where none exists.
>
> Instead, there is a very wide range of possibilities between the two. Likely
> there will be some falsified/fraudulent applications, but this policy
> provides for AfriNIC to revoke the resources in such cases once they are
> discovered.
>
> OTOH, I do believe it will also prevent resource exodus to some extent. In
> part, where things fall in the range between no prevention and all
> fraudulent requests vs. all prevention and no fraudulent requests will
> depend on the diligence and effectiveness of the AfriNIC staff.
>
> While I realize you posted this in your personal capacity, I would expect a
> board member to show a greater level of confidence in the AfriNIC staff, or,
> I would expect him to take actions to restore confidence.

I agree with Owen I am very disturbed by board member to show such
little confidence in his staff on public forum.