Highlights Wednesday 30 November
AFRINIC-25 came to an end on Wednesday. With around 240 participants from all over Africa and beyond, AFRINIC-25 was an interesting, informative and successful event.Highlights from the week included training courses and workshops, an afternoon of IPv6-related presentations and a productive and lively policy development day.
AFRINIC Special General Members' Meeting (SGMM)
The AFRINIC SGMM took place on Wednesday 30 November during the AFRINIC-25 Meeting in Mauritius. Sunday Folayan, Chair of the AFRINIC Board of Directors, opened the meeting and welcomed the attendees.
- Special Resolutions
The CEO of AFRINIC Alan Barrett gave an overview of proposed changes to the AFRINIC Bylaws Changes (SR1 to SR20). The CEO's presentation was followed by Sunday Folayan inviting the community to comment on the proposal on the Special Resolution.
Governance Committee Elections
The AFRINIC Governance Committee's main role is to advise the AFRINIC Board, AFRINIC Membership, and the community, on matters of governance. The committee was called for by the membership and was constituted for the first time during AFRINIC-25. The committee consists of two people with voting rights appointed by the Board, three people with voting rights elected by the AFRINIC Membership, one non-voting Board member appointed by the Board as a liaison, the AFRINIC legal adviser (non voting), and one or more Secretariat staff (non voting).
Each of the six candidates gave a short presentation. The results were as follows:
- John Walubengo (Kenya, Eastern Africa) - 41 counts
- Abdalla Omari (Kenya, Eastern Africa) - 43 counts
- Caroline Muthoni Mwangi (Kenya, Eastern Africa) - 9 counts
- Wafa Dahmani (Tunisia, Northern Africa) - 53 counts
- Isatou Jah (The Gambia, Western Africa) - 57 counts
- Zeimm Bibi Auladin-Suhootoorah (Mauritius, Indian Ocean) - 39 counts
- None of the above - 3 counts
The candidates elected to the AFRINIC Governance Committee seats are:
- Isatou Jah (The Gambia, Western Africa) to serve a three-year term (Jan 2017 to Dec 2019)
- Wafa Dahmani (Tunisia, Northern Africa): to serve a two-year term (Jan 2017 to Dec 2018)
- Abdalla Omari (Kenya, Eastern Africa): to serve one-year term (Jan 2017 to Dec 2017):
The results for the voting of the Special Resolutiona 1 -20 for bylaws changes were as follows:
SR 1: Clarify that Associate Members may not vote.
55 YES, 23 NO, 0 Abstain, 1 invalid
FAILED with 71% YES votes
SR 2: Clarify that the terms “Bylaws” or “Constitution” may be used interchangeably.
57 YES, 18 NO, 4 Abstain
PASSED with 76% YES votes
SR 3: Clarify that all Registered Members in terms of Bylaws Article 6.3, and only such Registered Members, must be registered in terms of the Companies Act as members of the company.
54 YES, 22 NO, 3 Abstain
FAILED with 71% YES votes
SR 4: State that Directors must act in the interests of AFRINIC as a whole, regardless of their regional affiliation.
37 YES, 41 NO, 1 Abstain
FAILED with 47% YES votes
SR 5: Split the two paragraphs of Article 13.5 into two separate articles for clarity.
55 YES, 21 NO, 3 Abstain
FAILED with 72% YES votes
SR 6: Introduce term limits for Directors.
35 YES, 41 NO, 1 Abstain, 2 invalid
FAILED with 46% YES votes
SR 7: Limit the number of Directors who may work for the same organisation or reside in the same region.
37 YES, 40 NO, 2 Abstain
FAILED with 48% YES votes
SR 8: Add a requirement for Directors to disclose any conflict of interest, and to recuse themselves from voting on any matter where they have a conflict of interest.
62 YES, 16 NO, 1 Abstain
PASSED with 79% YES votes
SR 9: Add a requirement that no more than one key position may be occupied by the same person.
62 YES, 16 NO, 1 Abstain
PASSED with 79% YES votes
SR 10: Harmonise the methods of replacing Directors for different reasons.
60 YES, 17 NO, 2 Abstain
PASSED with 78% YES votes
SR 11: Remove the ability for the Board to disapprove nominations for Board elections.
30 YES, 46 NO, 3 Abstain
FAILED with 39% YES votes
SR 12: Prevent modification to the Bylaws or Constitution by the Registered Members acting without support of the Resource Members.
60 YES, 19 NO, 0 Abstain
PASSED with 76% YES votes
SR 13: Clarify the process of endorsement for policies introduced by the Board in terms of the Bylaws section 11.4.
58 YES, 19 NO, 1 Abstain, 1 invalid
PASSED with 75% YES votes
SR 14: Require consultation before the Board changes the fees.
59 YES, 18 NO, 2 Abstain
PASSED with 77% YES votes
SR 15: Harmonise 13.4(i) and 13.4(ii): One of these mentions “upon the recommendation of the NomCom” and one does not.
59 YES, 17 NO, 3 Abstain
PASSED with 78% YES votes
SR 16: Give the Members the power to recall a Director.
58 YES, 21 NO, 0 Abstain
FAILED with 73% YES votes
SR 17: Resolve a difficulty in approving the financial statements, so that the Board may sign the financial statements and the auditors may sign the audit report before the AGMM.
60 YES, 18 NO, 1 Abstain
PASSED with 77% YES votes
SR 18: Remove the limit of five proxies per person.
45 YES, 31 NO, 3 Abstain
FAILED with 59% YES votes
SR 19: Remove the restriction that a candidate cannot carry any proxies.
44 YES, 29 NO, 6 Abstain
FAILED with 60% YES votes
SR 20: Clarify when the limit of five proxies per person applies.
33 YES, 44 NO, 2 Abstain
FAILED with 43% YES votes
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