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Eddy Kayihura sheds some light on the issue surrounding the freezing of AFRINIC Financial Accounts on 23rd July 2021. Watch the video.

 

 

Synopsis

The main purpose of this video is to shed light on the issues surrounding the freezing of AFRINIC Financial Accounts on 23rd July 2021.

 

1) What is the current situation?

Last week, Friday, July 23rd 2021, one of our banks informed us that they received and enforced a court order to freeze 50 Million USD on AFRINIC’s accounts. The paperwork from the Bank states a debt of USD. 50 Million that AFRINIC may have contracted. This only affected the outflow of funds and we expect to hear more about it in the coming days when papers will be duly served to us.

I would like to emphasize that the procedure that the applicant used is a normal procedure that is accepted in multiple jurisdictions aiming to protect creditors and ensure that the debtor would not evade the payment once they hear about a claim against them. However, this is a temporary mechanism that allows the judiciary to operate in a safe environment until a decision by the court is made.

 

2) How have the AFRINIC operations been affected?

As we speak, all AFRINIC Services are continuing as normal and we do not foresee any service disruption or any lowering of the quality of service.

From the mailing list, One member raised a question about staff salaries and I am glad to inform you that the freezing order came after our payday and salaries had already been processed. At the moment, only three members of staff are yet to receive their July salaries and that is being attended to through internal solidarity mechanisms. It is important that I commend the attitude of my colleagues who have exercised patience during this time and shown continued commitment to the AFRINIC values of Excellence, Passion, Integrity and serving our Community. You are my heroes and a true embodiment of “AFRINIC en Avant"

We are fully conscious that such a situation will be hard to sustain in the long run and we are taking all the possible measures to address this.

 

3) What has been done so far on the legal side?

On Monday, July 26th 2021, the legal team that I would like to commend embarked on a series of activities aiming at soothing the situation.

Yesterday, we filed our own application for variation of the freezing Order before the judge in chambers of the commercial division of the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, the commercial division of the Supreme Court issued a communique yesterday informing the public about the confirmation of a COVID 19 case in their premises. Meaning they remain closed only to open on Wednesday this week. We are however continuing to follow the application through the e-judiciary system.

 

4) What are the available options for AFRINIC?

Our first option is obviously that the court approves our variation request which would allow us to sustain all critical expenses that will enable us to continue serving the AFRICA region as well as the global internet ecosystem until the final decision of the court in this case.

We have also engaged our sister Regional Internet Registries to request for the joint RIR stability fund that was established back in 2015, this fund enables other RIRs to intervene to ensure the stability of the global internet. We would only trigger this option if our variation request is not successful.

We have an assurance of strong support from all of our counterparts, to ensure that AFRINIC remains empowered and strong, as part of the global RIR system; to continue to carry out our responsibilities and face any and all challenges ahead. Your continued support and advice remain valuable to us. MERCI.

On a side note, AFRINIC has been in operation for the past 17 years and we have established solid partnerships with our suppliers who could be also contacted for a grace period as we are dealing with the ongoing legal proceedings when the need arises. We will however do it in a reasonable manner without exposing the organization beyond its normal operational budget.

There could be other possibilities that we can explore but I will not delve much into them at this point.

 

5) A final message to AFRINIC Members

We would like to invite our members to continue their business as usual and expect utmost excellence in service from the AFRINIC Team. For those who have not yet paid their bills, we also encourage you to continue paying your dues as the inflow in the bank accounts is open.

We will keep you informed about the ongoing situation as often as possible and required. Should you face any challenges, feel free to escalate the issue through the mechanisms provided.

 

 

Eddy Kayihura

Chief Executive Officer, AFRINIC

ceo@afrinic.net 

 

 

 

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Consistent with the Governance Committee’s Terms of Reference, the Committee had been requested by AFRINIC’s Chief Executive Officer to review the current Code of Conduct.

On 31 March 2021, a Call for Comments was launched for one month.

The Governance Committee has considered the input received from the Community and thus proposes the following draft new Code of Conduct for the Community’s final review which shall be open for 3 weeks.

The deadline for this final review shall end on 5 August 2021.

The Governance Committee looks forward to continuous beneficial engagement with its stakeholders.

 

 

 

 

AFRINIC Code of Conduct

 

Purpose and Scope

AFRINIC community is a collaborative environment in which stakeholders from many different backgrounds and cultures work together for the good of the African and global Internet. Consistent with its role as RIR, AFRINIC, therefore, coordinates various community activities, including conferences, community meetings as defined in its bylaws, training, workshops, social events and digital platforms (including the AFRINIC blog, mailing lists and social media channels). These activities, howsoever held, are intended for information dissemination, discussion and knowledge-share.

Notwithstanding the above, this Code of Conduct also applies to anyone interacting, directly or indirectly, with AFRINIC including registered administrative contacts appearing for and on behalf of AFRINIC Resource Members.

This Code of Conduct explains the expectations for anyone interacting with AFRINIC; as well as those participating in the events and platforms including delegates, guests, speakers, contributors, commenters, AFRINIC Board members as well as staff, and all others involved to behave professionally and respectfully at all times.

 

Expected behaviour

Anyone involved in AFRINIC participation spaces is expected to:

  1. Treat others with politeness and show equal respect to others.
  2. Avoid behaviour or remarks that give offence or discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, race or ethnic origin, language, or other perceived social, cultural, or personal differences. 
  3. Avoid personal attacks or otherwise defamatory or discriminatory comments.
  4. Avoid any form of harassment or other conduct that might create an intimidating or offensive environment.
  5. State your opinion calmly and politely when participating in debates.
  6. Listen respectfully to the views of other participants.
  7. Respect meetings’ agenda.
  8. Respect all directives given by the meetings’ timekeeper: Please keep your remarks reasonably short, and if the session leader closes the microphones before you have had the chance to speak, then please return to your seat and request for an additional floor if willing to.
  9. Work to build consensus with other participants and to find solutions to problems, particularly in the case of debates and policy development and decision-making processes.
  10. Respect language differences, translators, and remote participants: Please speak slowly and clearly, and use the microphones, where appropriate.
  11. Avoid any form of antisocial behaviour, such as offending or exerting physical violence against third parties, interrupting activities during an event, misuse of public spaces or private property (e.g. damage to the facilities), theft or other illegal behaviours.
  12. Act fairly and in good faith in your interactions with others.
  13. Act in the best interests of the AFRINIC community at all times. 

If you are subject to or witness unacceptable behaviour, or have any other concerns, please notify us as soon as possible by emailing comms@afrinic.net

Additionally, AFRINIC event staff are available to help community members experiencing unacceptable behaviour. In the context of in-person events, organizers will also provide escorts if needed by anyone experiencing distress.

 

Consequences

Unacceptable behaviour by any community member, including those with decision-making authority, will not be tolerated. Anyone asked to stop unacceptable behaviour is expected to comply immediately. Likewise, inappropriate behaviour may lead to you being asked to leave the meeting (and without refund in the case of a paid event) or to be unsubscribed from the relevant mailing lists.

If you have any questions about expected behaviours at meetings or the code of conduct, please contact comms@afrinic.net

 

Enforcement of Code of Conduct

In regard to the rpd mailing list, the responsibility to enforce the code of conduct lies with the PDWG co-chairs. If you observe a violation of the code of conduct, please send an email to the co-chairs via 'pdwg [at] afrinic dot net'.

As regard, the members and community mailing lists, the responsibility to enforce the code of conduct lies with the CEO or staff designated by the CEO.

In the case of community mailing lists, the CEO or staff will not take action without a complaint. If you observe a violation of the code of conduct, please send an email to 'ceo [at] afrinic dot net'.

 

Understanding AFRINIC Warning Process on AFRINIC Mailing lists 

The AFRINIC mailing lists warning system is intended to safeguard the community in general, including AFRINIC staff, from being subject to behaviours that deviate from the current AFRINIC Code of Conduct and Terms of use and is intended to assist the enforcement authority in its decision to enforce a warning

Following a first breach of the Code of Conduct and/or Terms of Use, the subscriber will receive the first warning from AFRINIC

Following a second breach, the subscriber’s email will be subject to moderation. This implies a moderator from AFRINIC will moderate the subscriber’s email before pushing it to the list. This moderation will take place for a period not exceeding three months.

Following a third breach, the subscriber will be removed from the mailing list for a period of three months.

For the purposes of the above, the warning issued for each breach shall be valid for a period not exceeding 12 months following the notification of the warning on the mailing list.

Following a fourth breach, the subscriber may be removed from the list with no possibility of return.

 

 Please use the comment feature at the bottom of this page to submit your comments.

 

 

 

 

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