[rpd] Board Composition

[Badru Ntege]

Hello Owen

I fully agree with your concern, however a deeper worry i have is that board members have already started campaigning even before the slate is released by Normcom.  Earlier today i got to see an email from a Board member which really opens up new concerns about the forthcoming elections.  

This also wakes up the call for governance.  I actually think that email was in breach of board rules.   

my 2 cents


________________________________________
From: Owen DeLong [owen at delong.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 03, 2016 6:36 PM
To: rpd
Subject: [rpd] Board Composition

It has come to my attention that Mike Silber is running for the independent seat that is opening on the AfriNIC board in the next election.

While I consider Mike to be an excellent candidate and believe he would be a true asset to the AfriNIC board, I have a concern that I must express. This concern has nothing to do with Mike himself, but rather is a concern about organizational structure.

There are only 8 elected members of the AfriNIC board. If Mike Silber is elected, then 25% of the elected board seats would be held by employees of Liquid Telecom. Personally, I do not feel that the board can properly represent the diversity of the AfriNIC community if we allow multiple board seats to be held by representatives from the same organization. While I do not believe that Liquid has any sort of goal of organizational capture or any nefarious intent whatsoever, the reality is that if this is allowed, then it does create the possibility for some other organization to achieve a form of organizational capture.

The board has tremendous authority and responsibility within the AfriNIC organization. As such, I think it is important to consider these generic structural issues seriously, no matter how much we may like and admire the candidates in question.

Again, this is not personal. If it were, I’d be endorsing Mike rather than calling his candidacy into question. However, from a structural perspective, I think it is important that the community at least consider the issue.

Owen


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