[rpd] Congratulations Abibu, Lucky - nda

Tue Jun 16 19:24:38 UTC 2015

I have kept very quiet on this transparency, accountability and openness themes that have been the hallmark of the Tunis meeting.  However, one community member advised me that being silent can be misinterpreted as being "guilty as charged". A lie repeated many times tends to pass as truth.
So, as an outgoing Board member, I wish to state categorically that some of us started the quest for transparency, accountability and openness as soon as we joined the board six years ago.  We have tried to  walk the talk of transparency, accountability and openness  consistently; one step at a time and without trying to look "holier than thou" - by painting the whole board as being compromised.
Unfortunately, the insinuation that the board is and was compromised seems to have continued into the online discussions and I find it necessary to weigh in - given that silence may be misconstrued as being guilty as charged. I do not believe that the board as a whole is involved in any action that warrants secrecy or opaqueness.
However, events surrounding the replacement of the former AfriNIC Chair during the November 2015 Mauritius meeting seems to have caused immense speculation and integrity issues on the whole Board that refuses to die - despite the board having shared the minutes in question. Ex-board members questioning the minutes only fuels community speculations and makes it look like all board members are like the crumbling FIFA leadership. 
Perhaps in the spirit of transparency and accountability, ex-board members should be encouraged to point out specific areas in the published minutes, that they feel  misrepresents what transpired during the November meeting.   Ofcourse  the minutes had to be edited- without losing the substance of what transpired. 
That said, I wish to state that the Tunis meeting and agitation, like the Arab spring, may in the long run turn out to be the beginning of the AfriNIC spring. Community should strive to push for transparency, accountability and openness. But more importantly, community must be ready and willing to accept the outcome of this new momentum - rather than second guess the majority of their elected board members.
And yes, Congrats Eng. Abibu & Lucky. Welcome on board and I hope you continue with the AfriNIC spring.
Walu,Outgoing Board Member.

      From: Owen DeLong <owen at delong.com>
 To: paulos at sdnp.org.mw 
Cc: RPD <rpd at afrinic.net> 
 Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 8:59 PM
 Subject: Re: [rpd] Congratulations Abibu, Lucky - nda

> On Jun 16, 2015, at 12:19 AM, Dr Paulos Nyirenda <paulos at sdnp.org.mw> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> Indeed, congratulations are in order for Abibu and Lucky for election to the AfriNIC Board.
> 
> It is my hope that, as you take up your seats on the Board, you will continue the drive
> for more transparency and more accountability, issues that have been elevated in recent
> weeks both at the Board level as well as at the community level, as witnessed in Tunis.
> 
> While the Board has a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), what I would like to observe is that
> 
> i.    The NDA should not be used to deny (some) Board members access to information that
> they need to make decisions on the Board

I can’t see how this would even be possible as the board NDA prevents board members from disclosing
information outside of the board, but shouldn’t impact board members communicating with each other or
receiving information from other sources.

If you feel this has been an issue, perhaps you can discuss the specifics with the CEO and chair
to try and come to some resolution and/or make arrangements to let the community know what the
issues are so that they can be addressed.

> ii.    The NDA should not be the major barrier it is now for the Board to hold much needed
> consultations with other committees or bodies that are not consisted only of Board
> members, as observed for CoE or NomCom

Indeed, I think that the scope of the board NDA should be reviewed and should be constrained
to cover only that information which needs to remain confidential to the board. It would seem that
the current NDA is quite over-broad.

> iii.    The NDA should not be used as a basis for creating untruths within the Board such
> as in deciding what should or should not appear in the minutes 

This confuses me. The board approves the minutes of the previous meeting by majority vote. Until Tunis, the minutes weren’t made public, so the NDA would have little or no effect on their content. Now, it seems to me that if the majority of the board is voting to approve minutes which contain falsehoods, there is a much bigger problem than the NDA at issue.

I would be interested to know what you believe to be untrue in the minutes once they are released to the community.

> iv.    The NDA should not be used by the Board to lie to the community as has been
> demonstrated in the chairmanship transition case

I’ve tried to follow this, but it is difficult. If you want to make an accusation, then state it clearly and indicate what you believe was the lie to the community.

> With the recent development that the Board will henceforth publish its (genuine)
> minutes, a new look at or review of the NDA and its use may be needed.

Indeed, I think that is warranted.

Owen

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