[rpd] [Board-Discuss] Call for Action: Modernizing the AFRINIC Policy Manual

[Seun Ojedeji]

Hello Ben, RPD

It's good that this discussion is starting up. I don't think anything
revolutionary with the rpd needs to happen from the board level at this
time. The rpd itself should evolve through policies and while the board
indeed has the ability to write a policy when required and in
certain circumstances i do think that it isn't necessary at this time. I
would suggest the following:

1. Current Co-Chairs continue in their role towards the next Public Policy
Meeting (PPM) and they should coordinate on the things Sami mentioned with
regards to authors representing their proposal and new proposals as
applicable.

2. We usually hold 2 PPMs every year 1 during the AIS and another at the
second AFRINIC pubic meeting in the year, it will be good for the Board to
provide the rpd with some information on how soon that can happen.

3. With the recent board election, staff does have significant experience
on conducting credible and verifiable election. The Board should leverage
on that to organise election of Co-Chairs at the next ppm inline with the
CPM. The 2 seats should be filled in a staggered manner

Regards

----
Sent from my mobile
kindly excuse typos

On Wed, 8 Oct 2025, 6:00 pm Ben Roberts - AfriNIC via RPD, <rpd at afrinic.net>
wrote:

> Sami,
> Thanks for your mail and we appreciate your contributions to PWDG to date
> and are happy to see you are keen to start it up again. I am replying as a
> community member, though I am also a board member of AfriNIC.
>
> I feel that as we restart the PWDG process, what is absolutely key is that
> we get *much more* diversity in that process. My question back to you is
> to ask, how do we invigorate the process to involve many more key experts
> in the digital economy of Africa?
>
> Kind regards
> Ben
>
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On 6 Oct 2025, at 08:08, Sami Salih via Board <board at afrinic.net> wrote:
>
> 
> *Dear PDWG Community,*
>
> I hope this message finds you well.
>
> I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate you all on the
> successful election of the AFRINIC Board and the resumption of its proper
> functioning. This milestone marks an important step toward restoring
> stability, trust, and continuity in AFRINIC’s role as the Regional Internet
> Registry for Africa. With governance now back on track, it is the right
> moment to resume the Policy Development Process (PDP) and address the
> policy gaps that have accumulated during the past three years of
> interruption.
>
> As you are aware, over the past three years AFRINIC has gone through a
> period of limited functionality, and the Policy Development Process (PDP)
> has been effectively paused. During this time, the global Internet number
> community has continued to evolve, with significant policy updates taking
> place across the other RIRs. This has created a widening gap between
> AFRINIC’s Consolidated Policy Manual (CPM) and those of our sister RIRs.
>
> In order to restore the momentum of policy development in our region and
> to ensure that AFRINIC’s policy environment remains relevant, consistent,
> and globally aligned, I would like to highlight the following areas where
> action is needed:
>
> *Previous PDWG Co-Chairs*
> While their terms have now ended, we request that the most recent PDWG
> Co-Chairs prepare a short report summarizing the last set of policy
> proposals that were under discussion before the process stalled. We further
> encourage the original authors of those drafts to resubmit them for renewed
> community review, or alternatively, invite any community member to take
> initiative to re-submit and champion them.
>
> *AFRINIC Board*
> We call on the Board to formally publish a community call for modernizing
> the AFRINIC Policy Manual. This would include identifying and prioritizing
> areas where policy alignment with other RIRs is needed (e.g., IPv4 transfer
> frameworks, IPv6 allocation criteria, RPKI adoption, Whois/privacy reforms,
> and membership/resource governance models). Such a call would help set a
> clear direction and provide legitimacy to the process of catching up with
> global best practices.
>
> *PDWG Community*
> Most importantly, we urge all community members to actively re-engage in
> the PDP by discussing any submitted proposals, providing constructive
> feedback, and enriching the drafts with insights drawn from operational
> experience. The strength of AFRINIC’s PDP has always been rooted in the
> diversity and expertise of its community, and your participation will be
> crucial in shaping the future of Internet number resource management in our
> region.
>
> This is a collective responsibility, and now is the right moment to
> re-energize our PDP and demonstrate the resilience of the AFRINIC community.
>
> With Regards.
>
> *Sami Salih*, PhD (ICT), PMP®
> Assistant Professor, Sudan University of Science and Technology
> Tel: (249) 122045707
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