Andrew This is noted. However, I stand by my assertions that transparency requires a public Organisation like Afrinic to publish said reports - redacted or not. It's imperative that the community understands the goings on in such interactions. Unless of course Afrinic claims 'National Security' status? :-)
Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit." ~ Aristotle Sent from my iPad > On 5 Jun 2017, at 12:54 PM, Andrew Alston <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hi Ali, > > Unfortunately due to constraints on the NDA – I cannot divulge the contents > of the audit-co report – but I would also like these reports published, or at > least, a redacted version of said reports. I could understand why an > internal board report on audit may not be published in its full totality > because sometimes those reports can contain some pretty sensitive > information, but I would like to see the board publishing at the very least a > redacted version of the same. > > I would say similar applies to the other committee reports – where the board > is publishing the reports produced by the committees – and where necessary > really sensitive information can be redacted and be cleared indicated that > there were redactions made. > > Thanks > > Andrew > > > From: Ali Hussein [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: 05 June 2017 12:29 > To: [email protected] > Cc: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Community-Discuss] Questions about transparency > > Mark and all > > Let's raise the bar on transparency and proper reporting is super critical. > > For example a quick perusal of the Afrinic Website tells me that:- > > 1. The last minutes posted were in February this year. I see there was > another Board meeting in April which has no minutes posted yet. Can we try > and ensure that board minutes are available for circulation online within 2 > weeks of the meeting being held? > > 2. It is common best practice for Board members to declare their interests > (if any) before any board meeting and these to be duly recorded in the > minutes. This will go a long way in enhancing the transparency conversation. > > 3. I also note that in the February Board minutes that agenda Item No. 5 on > Committees there are no committee reports for Audit and Remuneration. Also no > other board committee reports have been presented. > Question:- why are there no reports on the Audit and Remuneration reports > committees? Is this an oversight or were they simply not ready? Can the Board > consider making the other committee reports available to the community? > > 4. It is now also standard for organizations to publish a Sustainability > Report. Most public for profit companies in Kenya now publish a > sustainability report. This is even more critical in an Organisation like > Afrinic. To give us a sample of what this may look like please see > Safaricom's 2016 Sustainability Report below:- > > https://www.safaricom.co.ke/images/Downloads/Resources_Downloads/sustainabilityreport_2016.pdf > > Ali Hussein > Principal > Hussein & Associates > +254 0713 601113 > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > Skype: abu-jomo > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim > > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a > habit." ~ Aristotle > > > > Sent from my iPad > > On 5 Jun 2017, at 11:37 AM, Mark Elkins <[email protected]> wrote: > > I agree with you Ali. When Andrew first campaigned to be a Board member, one > of his goals was increased transparency. I believe that he has helped, with > the rest of the Board, achieve this. Transparency though is an ongoing > process and its a pity that Andrew was not re-elected to continue assisting > in that process. > > Regarding Andrews points: > > a) Travel in Africa is not cheap. Rather than just a single line for travel, > I'd like to see it a bit more broken up though, categorised something like; > i) Training sessions 10, people 20, cost $10,000 > ii) Meetings 2, people 40, cost $20,000 > iii) Board Travel 8, trips 32, cost $20,000 > > (or something like that) > > b - d) Again, I'd like to see a bit more break down, especially in the case > of unaudited organisations. On d), the ASO/NRO fees are proportionally paid > by RIRs. AfriNIC does pay the lowest proportion. > > e) I think the moratorium on Business class travel should be maintained, but > have the option to upgrade their flights at their expense. When flying for > AfriNIC, I was given a Priority Pass card. That privilege should stay to give > people access to lounges. I'm happy the CEO flies business (at his > discretion). If it was a long flight (ARIN, USA) and overnight and that Board > member is the only AfriNIC representative and was presenting the "AfriNIC" > slides, let them fly business. I did that once (but travelled economy). > > > On 05/06/2017 08:21, Ali Hussein wrote: > Andrew > > You raise pertinent and important issues. > > The rule of thumb for any public organization is that Transparency trumps (no > pun intended) everything else. > > If I were asked and was a member of the Board, I'd advocate for FULL > disclosure on financial and operational matters. How money was spent, how > much, what was the impact, who received it etc. That in my humble opinion is > the best policy. Let us err on the side of too much information as opposed to > too little information. > > Ali Hussein > Principal > Hussein & Associates > +254 0713 601113 > > Twitter: @AliHKassim > Skype: abu-jomo > LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim > > "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a > habit." ~ Aristotle > > > > Sent from my iPad > > On 5 Jun 2017, at 8:42 AM, Andrew Alston <[email protected]> > wrote: > > Hi All, > > So – I want to open a bit of a discussion about transparency, specifically, > financial transparency. > > In order to get this started – let me ask a few questions of all of you – > > While we talk about transparency and how it is required – can we analyze for > a moment as to the level of transparency we want. So, to kick this > discussion off, let me start by asking some basic questions that we can use > as the starting point for this discussion. > > a.) How much detail should the board and AfriNIC be supplying us as > regards how the money we pay towards IP resources is spent. Is it sufficient > to show an aggregated line item that refers to travel expenses for example, > or do we want to see some kind of a breakdown on what that money is being > spent on (considering that travel makes up 10% of the total revenue) > b.) How much detail should the board and AfriNIC be supplying us as > members as regards other large scale line items – specifically – we spend > hundreds of thousands each year on meeting expenses – should we be asking for > a breakdown on what those meeting expenses are – or are we happy with the > organization spending that kind of money under a single large line item. > c.) When AfriNIC is giving money to other organizations for sponsorship – > what level of transparency and accountability should be required from those > organizations. Is it acceptable that AFRINIC makes a decision to give money > to organizations that have no formal incorporation, no audited financial > statements and no board of their own, or should AFRINIC be scrutinizing those > that they give money to far more closely, and asking for the same level of > transparency from those that they give money to that we require from them. > d.) When AFRINIC is funding organizations such as the ASO/NRO – how much > transparency should be supplied back to the members about how that money is > being spent and what that funding is actually being used for. > e.) When AFRINIC is funding board travel to meetings around the world – > should board members be able to attend these conferences without ever > supplying reports about what was accomplished at said meetings and what the > purpose of the expenditure was, or are we prepared to accept that these > meetings must be useful without further questions. > > Remember, every cent spent by AfriNIC can have an impact on our fees, and > impacts the bottom line of the company. Over the last 3 years, we have come > a long way to stabilizing the company and its financial position, but in > order to maintain that, we probably need to discuss openly as a community > about the level of transparency we want into those finances and then once we > as a community come to consensus, we can request the board supply the > transparency we agree is necessary. But let us have an open and cordial > discussion so that we get to the right point. > > Thanks > > Andrew > > > > _______________________________________________ > Community-Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/community-discuss > > > > _______________________________________________ > Community-Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/community-discuss > > > -- > Mark James ELKINS - Posix Systems - (South) Africa > [email protected] Tel: +27.128070590 Cell: +27.826010496 > For fast, reliable, low cost Internet in ZA: https://ftth.posix.co.za > _______________________________________________ > Community-Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/community-discuss
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