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[rpd] [Board-Discuss] Call for Action: Modernizing the AFRINIC Policy Manual
Jaco Kroon
jaco at uls.co.za
Fri Oct 10 08:06:14 UTC 2025
Hi Jordi,
I fully agree with what you say here.
There are however pending disputes regarding legitimacy of a couple of
members who could use the specific policy to sidestep the issue. The
policy needs to be adjusted to ensure that only members who's not only
in good standing, but who is fully compliant with existing policies and
where there are no ongoing disputes/court cases etc ... are allowed to
transfer out.
Kind regards,
Jaco
On 2025/10/09 17:10, jordi.palet--- via RPD wrote:
> I don’t think membership status has anything to do with PDP.
>
> Ideally PDP is contributed by many members actively participating, but
> I think this is not the case (not only in Afrinic, also in general in
> other RIRs).
>
> Even if I personally disagree with the transfer policy that got
> consensus declared, I think it should be ratified immediately, because
> implementation takes many months (as experienced by other RIRs). In
> that period, we still have the chance to improve it, if the community
> believe that needs to be done. Then small implementation changes can
> often be done very quickly.
>
> This is the same for any policy that reached consensus, even for the
> complete policy manual. It is a “live law”, the community has the
> chance to*always* change or improve things. What it will be useless
> and long time consuming is when something that reached consensus (and
> had a positive impact analisys) is returned to the list to re-start
> again the full process. Again, if something can be improved, let’s do
> it based on the already approved text, not from scracth.
>
> Regards,
> Jordi
>
> @jordipalet
>
>
>> El 9 oct 2025, a las 6:42, Jaco Kroon <jaco at uls.co.za> escribió:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> That policy specifically may be one we may want to hold off until
>> current membership status has been sorted out first. Or at least the
>> policy should be amended to compensate for what we've learned in the
>> last five years.
>>
>> Kind regards,
>> Jaco
>>
>> On 2025/10/09 02:21, Emmanuel Vitus wrote:
>>
>>> Good to see the list active again. Hopefully we can keep the energy
>>> focused this time and not fall back into the long circular debates
>>> we had in the past.
>>> It could help to have a simple matrix showing which proposals can be
>>> ratified quickly with little or no cost and which ones may need more
>>> time or legal review. A timeline would also be useful to follow
>>> progress taking into account the Board comments and the steps before
>>> ratification.
>>> The transfer policy should move forward as soon as possible, my 2cents.
>>> Cheers!
>>>
>>> - Emmanuel
>>>
>>> Le jeu. 9 oct. 2025 à 00:18, jordi.palet--- via RPD
>>> <rpd at afrinic.net> a écrit :
>>>
>>> Hi Caleb,
>>>
>>> The proposals that I refer:
>>> 1) Already reached consensus.
>>> 2) Already were sent to the board with the relevant reports.
>>>
>>> So from that perspective, with “basically administrative” I mean
>>> that there is not “a lot of other” work to be done in the
>>> proposals. Of course, the board should make sure that the
>>> proposals aren’t against the company, but the legal
>>> implications, operational feasibility, alignment with the
>>> bylaws, etc., was already done because all this is part of the
>>> analysis impact that was prepared *before* declaring consensus.
>>> This is just the way the PDP works, so we aren’t changing anything.
>>>
>>> Saludos,
>>> Jordi
>>>
>>> @jordipalet
>>>
>>>
>>>> El 8 oct 2025, a las 18:07, Caleb Ogundele
>>>> <muyiwacaleb at gmail.com> escribió:
>>>>
>>>> Hi Jordi and All,
>>>>
>>>> I'm happy this list is becoming more active, and it is a good
>>>> thing.
>>>> Responding to @Jordi, I must respectfully differ with Jordi on
>>>> point one. While I share the desire to see pending proposals
>>>> move forward, I don't believe board ratification should be
>>>> characterized as "basically an administrative task that should
>>>> not take too much time."
>>>>
>>>> Board ratification is a critical governance checkpoint where
>>>> proposals are reviewed for legal implications, operational
>>>> feasibility, and alignment with AFRINIC's mission and bylaws.
>>>> Given that we're emerging from three years of limited
>>>> functionality as a community, I believe the Community and the
>>>> Board deserve adequate time to properly review and ratify
>>>> proposals, especially those that may have significant
>>>> operational or financial implications for AFRINIC and its
>>>> members. Times have changed in the last three years and
>>>> community members have different views on certain policies.
>>>> Rushing this process could lead to oversights that create
>>>> problems down the line. Quality should take precedence over speed.
>>>>
>>>> *Caleb Ogundele*
>>>> /Speaking for myself as a community member
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> /
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Oct 8, 2025 at 6:34 PM jordi.palet--- via RPD
>>>> <rpd at afrinic.net> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> HI Seun, all,
>>>>
>>>> Fully agree with your view. I will add 2 more points:
>>>>
>>>> 1) There are several policy proposals that reached
>>>> consensus and are “paused” just waiting for the board
>>>> ratification. I understand the board will be very busy, but
>>>> the ratification is basically an administrative task that
>>>> should not take too much time. So please, consider doing so
>>>> ASAP, so the implementation can also be initiated, as I
>>>> think in some cases it may take long time.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> 2) Some of use may need to plan ahead, and buy our flights
>>>> as early as possible (too close to the meeting become
>>>> extremely expensive when traveling from abroad) for the
>>>> next PPM, so it will be good to announce firm dates and
>>>> location as soon as possible.
>>>>
>>>> Those that have policy proposals still under discussion
>>>> really need to have a status summary and specially
>>>> understand if the actual co-chairs will continue as
>>>> suggested, so we can restart our work and encourage
>>>> discussions in the community.
>>>>
>>>> Finally, I don’t think we need a “complete modernization of
>>>> the policy manual”, but instead concentrate in review the
>>>> existing discussion and decide if we need to focus on any
>>>> new topic at the time being.
>>>>
>>>> Tks!
>>>>
>>>> Saludos,
>>>> Jordi
>>>>
>>>> @jordipalet
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> El 8 oct 2025, a las 17:02, Seun Ojedeji
>>>>> <seun.ojedeji at gmail.com> escribió:
>>>>>
>>>>> 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
>>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>>> Board mailing list -- board at afrinic.net
>>>>>> To unsubscribe send an email to board-leave at afrinic.net
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> **********************************************
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>>>> The IPv6 Company
>>>>
>>>> This electronic message contains information which may be
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> *Caleb Ogundele*
>>>> Email: muyiwacaleb at gmail.com
>>>
>>>
>>> **********************************************
>>> IPv4 is over
>>> Are you ready for the new Internet ?
>>> http://www.theipv6company.com
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>>>
>>> This electronic message contains information which may be
>>> privileged or confidential. The information is intended to be
>>> for the exclusive use of the individual(s) named above and
>>> further non-explicilty authorized disclosure, copying,
>>> distribution or use of the contents of this information, even if
>>> partially, including attached files, is strictly prohibited and
>>> will be considered a criminal offense. If you are not the
>>> intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying,
>>> distribution or use of the contents of this information, even if
>>> partially, including attached files, is strictly prohibited,
>>> will be considered a criminal offense, so you must reply to the
>>> original sender to inform about this communication and delete it.
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>
>
> **********************************************
> IPv4 is over
> Are you ready for the new Internet ?
> http://www.theipv6company.com
> The IPv6 Company
>
> This electronic message contains information which may be privileged
> or confidential. The information is intended to be for the exclusive
> use of the individual(s) named above and further non-explicilty
> authorized disclosure, copying, distribution or use of the contents of
> this information, even if partially, including attached files, is
> strictly prohibited and will be considered a criminal offense. If you
> are not the intended recipient be aware that any disclosure, copying,
> distribution or use of the contents of this information, even if
> partially, including attached files, is strictly prohibited, will be
> considered a criminal offense, so you must reply to the original
> sender to inform about this communication and delete it.
>
>
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