Press Release:

ISPA Welcomes New AFRINIC Board

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South Africa’s official internet Industry Representative Body (IRB), ISPA, has extended warm congratulations to the newly-elected Board of AFRINIC (The African Network Information Centre), Africa’s Regional Internet Registry (RIR).

ISPA wrote to the incoming AFRINIC Board after online elections were held last week.

In the letter, chair Sasha Booth-Beharilal offered ISPA’s full support for what is an inclusive and competent Board and thanked the members for their willingness to serve the African internet community.

“We would like to express our confidence in the Board’s ability to tackle the significant challenges that remain ahead on the road to restoring AFRINIC’s governance”, wrote Booth-Beharilal.

AFRINIC has been without a functioning Board for the past three years, beset by poor governance, internal strife and legal issues. As a significant number of ISPA members are also AFRINIC members, ISPA has played an active role in getting the RIR responsible for managing and allocating Africa’s internet number resources firmly back on track.

Amongst other interventions, ISPA recommended voting for a specific set of candidates for the good of the African internet. ISPA is pleased that all of the capable candidates it supported have been elected to the AFRINIC Board.

“The entire African internet community is no doubt breathing a lot easier this week as an elected Board again takes control of AFRINIC in the interests of the continent, the internet community and the African internet user who so greatly depends on a functioning internet,” says Booth-Beharilal.

ISPA suggested that the appointment of a CEO and support staff should be an “obvious priority”, while noting that AFRINIC staff deserve to be commended for their efforts to maintain AFRINIC’s day-to-day operations during this difficult time.

ISPA also wrote in the letter that the status of members who have joined AFRINIC since 19th September 2023 should be confirmed; a clear timeline for the calling of an Annual General Members’ Meeting (AGMM) should be prioritised; the internet community should be provided with an update on all pending litigation; the list of possibly fraudulent presented during the recent annulled election should be made public; and international internet governance initiatives should be supported; and.

Finally, ISPA said it “believes that the appointment of this AFRINIC Board marks a new, more positive chapter in the organisation’s history, and we wish the members of the Board all the best for the future. We remain at your service to provide any assistance we can.”

The incoming AFRINIC Board members are as follows: Abdelaziz Hilali, Emmanuel Adewale Adedokun, Kaleem Usmani, Ntumba Kayemba Laurent, Carla Sanderson, Fiona Asonga, Benjamin Mark Roberts and Ajao Adewole David.

Founded in 1996, ISPA is the only internet Industry Representative Body (IRB) officially recognised by the SA Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT). ISPA advocates for an open, free, and competitive internet landscape.

Visit www.ispa.org.za for more information and follow ISPA on X and Linkedin.

Please see ISPA’s recent letter to the incoming AFRINIC Board: ISPA-Support-Letter-AFRINIC-Board

Further Information

For further information, please contact the ISPA secretariat on the Contact ISPA page.