[NCSG-FC] My comments and edits on the FC operating Procedures

Fri Jul 13 19:00:18 EEST 2018

Thato,

Did you get my response to Remmy? Because I have covered and responded to
most of these points you are making.

I reiterate below.

On Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 8:28 AM Thato Mfikwe <thatomfikwe at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi Remmy, Farzaneh and all,
>
> Thanks for all the hardwork and apologies for the late night sleep as a
> result :)
>
> Please let me know when you propose we share the document because the
> community was expecting to get it today and Farzaneh refuses to finalising
> the FC comments before the community input, which according to me does not
> make sense because we need to present a document that has been collectively
> developed by the FC, also noting minority views on certain clauses we do
> not agree on.
>

How can we finalize now Thato. It is not about me, Remmy also doesn't
agree with some of the suggestions you and I agree with. we just need a
clean first draft that says not a consensus document and has our comments
on the points we disagree on.

@Remmy, based on the work you have already done, I would like to believe
> that now you were granted editing right.
>
> We can leave the disbursement formula for the community to comment on and
> make a decision from there because it seems like all our views are
> different on how this needs to be done, not sure what Farzaneh's intake or
> solution on 'the disbursement formula is. Lets try come up with
> alternatives where we do not agree to smooth things up.
>

I have given my input on the doc.
NCSG EC should receive requests for funding from various constituencies.
The FC only does accounting. It sets the budget and does accounting. if EC
approves over 500 euro request

>
>
> We need to all agree on a date or period when we can have an online
> meeting to harmonise the OP and yes, Farzaneh, please explain why James was
> granted editing rights?
>

I said it previously, will
 explain again: this is an open archive mailing list. The link to doc is
shared on the fc mailing list. Anyone who checks the mailing list can
comment on the doc. No one gave James editing  rights. He checked the FC
open archive saw the shared link and started commenting.
The Google doc setting is on "commenting mode for everyone who has the
link" it is the easiest option usually for  when we want to track changes
of various people. So no I did not give James editing rights! 

>
> *We must to maintain respect for each other as FC members, irrespective of
> our other positions and experience within the NCSG or at constituency
> level, we all have our own experiences relating to governance. leadership
> and financial management which should make things easier. Every members
> contribution should be valid and respected, so we need to promote and
> uphold unity and collaboration within the FC and anything that seems to
> compromise or undermine that need to be dealt with swiftly before it create
> irreversible damage to our efforts.*
>
> There is no need to challenge, retaliate or resist when decisions of the
> FC if they do not favour an individual FC member, so cooperation is
> expected from all members of the FC, because usually in committees the
> views of the majority suffice in case of disagreements and furthermore we
> were appointed to serve on this committee to fulfil the responsibilities of
> the FC as mentioned in the Charter and not to maintain certain positions
> which are not clear how they will help further the financial interests of
> NCSG FC or NCSG financially.
>
> *If there is anyone conflicted by being on the FC committee, let them
> speak out so that we can work around this and if nobody thinks that they
> are conflicted, then I do not see any reason why we should not work
> harmoniously together. Some of these differences might need the FC to
> discuss them face to face because online it might be difficult to establish
> cooperation and common understanding or even break this differences.*
> 
>
>

>
> Please please, let's reason with each other and be more tolerative of
> different views, I will always try my best to accommodate the views of FC
> members and I do not necessarily disagree with a view point because of
> personal reasons but only based on best practice and experience, instead
> fairness needs to be guarded at all time to protect the reputation and
> image of the FC within the wider NCSG community which was already
> compromised before we started due to past experiences with the former FC
> and it seems like there are members who are ready to discredit the FC if we
> do not get our house in order.
>
> Farzaneh, we do value your contributions as Chair of NCSG and as NCSG
> Chair you will get another opportunity to express your dissatisfactions
> when the document is sent to the EC after community input or comments.
> Furthermore, refusing to participate in planned FC meeting indicates that
> you are not willing to cooperate unless you are comfortable with decisions
> made, but on the other side of the coin, the efforts of the FC are a
> collective not individualistic and sometime we need to agree to our
> disagreements in a sensible manner not by second guessing or challenging
> the majority views of the committee.
>

Thato did you read my response to Remmy? I am surprised you are saying I
refuse to attend meetings I said lets have a meeting at some point. But the
meeting by no means should be regarded as a meeting to reach consensus on
the operating procedure. it should be solely discuss some of the
differences we have.

>
> I believe everyone has a right to express themselves and listened to
> without fear, favour or compromise, but I also believe in democratic
> processes. We cannot have a person dictating terms on what the FC can or
> cannot do, if the majority of members think or see otherwise. The truth is
> the decisions made by the majority will not always favour everyone and the
> FC must acknowledges that its decisions are subject to community input and
> EC approval, so we need to give all these processes their own time as they
> will minimise the level of disagreements we have, I mean we started to work
> in like 2 weeks ago and it is too early to start having so much differences
> and issues. Our overarching goal should be to firmly establish the presence
> of the FC and promote good governance within NCSG, if there is anything
> else I am missing please share.
>
> I hope this email finds you all in good health, thanks but I need to know
> the following:
> - Do we share the document as is or we postpone as Remmy proposed, if we
> postpone, please indicate when it can be shared
> - How long will the community be granted time to comment on the OP?
>

As I said in my previous email,
you can  share with the caveat that It's a draft and not a consensus
document. Also all of our unresolved objections to additions etc should be
visible to members.

4 weeks for public comment. It's summer and people are on holiday or not
around so should be given time.

> The views and comment of observers (Joan and Renata) will greatly be
> appreciated in order to move forward with some of these issues as outlined
> above, I will also share a proposed timeline of FC activities for your
> input in a few hours, thanks once again and apologies for the lengthy
> message.
>

> Thato Mfikwe.
> NCSG Finance Committee Chair.
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 13, 2018 at 12:32 AM, Remmy Nweke <remmyn at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi Thato et al
>> Thanks too for this mail. I sent us a separate mail. Not sure you got or
>> saw it before this. However, my response will be in line of your mail.
>>
>> 1. Thanks for all the efforts going into making an input on the OP. Today
>> we need to develop a clean document to be shared publicly with the
>> community tomorrow. For purposes of presenting a unified FC OP document I
>> would like to recommend the following edits to clean up the document.
>>
>> *Sections requiring edits based on current comment (subject to your
>> comment):*
>> Section 1: Obligations of FC members
>> iii. Lets leave the way Farzaneh has amended it
>> iv. The FC does not manage constituency funds
>> I really do not know what you mean here. Are you referencing the
>> oversight as contained in the OP. This is why there is need for
>> harmonisation meeting/session, so as to have everyone on the same page and
>> table.
>>
>> Section 2: Opening an account
>> ii. The edits made are not material to the extend that they require
>> consensus, edits already made are ok
>> Mr. Chairman, I think, every decision of FC deserves to have a relative
>> consensus, so that no one will tomorrow claim sidelined. I pray we are not
>> heading towards that. The OP including the Charter have means of taking
>> decision sir.
>>
>> Section 3: Use of constituency bank account
>> Edits done by Farzaneh seem to be accomodative with me
>> Sorry sir, I do not think so. Personalising and customising Operating
>> Procedure the way she proposed to PIR is not ideal. Like I asked what
>> happens if tomorrow there is funding support from a funder more sympathic
>> to NPOC, do we have to change the OP again and what happens if we have PIR
>> and another still with NPOC co-funding. We have to be a neutral as possible
>> so as to accommodate any funder at all.
>>
>>
>> Section 4: Vacancies and removal of FC members
>> i & ii. It is cumbersome to have this clauses and as they are difficult
>> to monitor
>> iii.
>> a. Few edits were made but please feel free to provide your comments
>> c & d. Removal
>> e. Needs to be rephrased or deleted
>> Rephrasing has already been done by me and pasted there but because I do
>> not have editing powers, it was not adjusted and we need to look at it
>> together.
>>
>> Section 5: Disbursement of funds
>> v. A formula or approach on how finances should be disbursed needs to be
>> developed and approved by the NCSG EC, seems like there is no consensus on
>> the FC regarding this
>> I think that the Operating Procedure will help us develop the disbursing
>> formula, so that when we are sending or sharing this with our community, it
>> will be a little comprehensive. Like i said earlier, we FC needs to meet to
>> harmonise some of these thoughts before sharing, otherwise it will amount
>> to sharing our dirty clothing in the public. And the haste to share this
>> without resolving these thoughts connotes a different agenda that we must
>> watch.
>>
>> vi. Not sure why Farzaneh deleted this because constituencies need to
>> plan their expenses for financial planning purposes, failure to do so will
>> result in fruitless and irrational spending and uninformed decisions to
>> fund constituencies, *please provide your comments*.
>>
>> 2. I will go through the remaining sections and send an update so that we
>> have the document ready by 17pm UTC tomorrow. We now need one penholder
>> that will fairly express the view of the FC while acknowledging minority
>> views and comments in completiontion of this draft OP. Remmy initially was
>> the penholder, @Remmy, are you still up for it?
>>
>> Mr. Chairman, I am still in as the penholder, that is if Farzaneh has
>> reinstated that, but then, this document will not be ready from my end by
>> 17pm UTC tomorrow as proposed, because I already have a scheduled field
>> visit on Friday and may not come back or even with steady access until
>> Saturday morning. And I am not sure why the haste to share this without
>> resolving the various thoughts already made by FC members.
>>
>> 3. Anyway, there is something I am not understanding, why is James Gannon
>> editing and deleting content on the document? If someone can be kind to do
>> an introduction because the document is still under development by the FC.
>> If we can agree on 1 penholder we can close the editing rights and discuss
>> other issues via email, thanks.
>>
>> This point, I raised it earlier and it should be Farzaneh that should
>> provide an answer because she shared the link in the name of 'Hold us
>> accountable" topic. Although I was expecting her to correct herself and
>> follow the guideline you as chair earlier shared with us on how to move
>> forward. I also think the sanctity of FC needed to be respected and we must
>> see ourselves as one to make progress.
>>
>> For us to have a harmonised discuss, there should be a formal meeting
>> beginning with a doodle to enable people adjust their time schedules since
>> we are not all in the same time zone.
>>
>> I honestly do not know why you want us to hurriedly close the editing and
>> continue discussion online. Once the draft is shared, its FC that shared it
>> and is responsible for its content and I would not like us to start
>> sounding like broken bottle at the community space, except if there are
>> questions that needed clarifications, so as to avoid us dominating discuss
>> on the community space.
>>
>> My two cents
>> Good night.
>> ____
>> REMMY NWEKE, mNGE,
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>>
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 12, 2018 at 4:47 PM Thato Mfikwe <thatomfikwe at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Hi all.
>>>
>>> 1. Thanks for all the efforts going into making an input on the OP.
>>> Today we need to develop a clean document to be shared publicly with the
>>> community tomorrow. For purposes of presenting a unified FC OP document I
>>> would like to recommend the following edits to clean up the document.
>>>
>>> *Sections requiring edits based on current comment (subject to your
>>> comment):*
>>> Section 1: Obligations of FC members
>>> iii. Lets leave the way Farzaneh has amended it
>>> iv. The FC does not manage constituency funds
>>>
>>> Section 2: Opening an account
>>> ii. The edits made are not material to the extend that they require
>>> consensus, edits already made are ok
>>>
>>> Section 3: Use of constituency bank account
>>> Edits done by Farzaneh seem to be accomodative with me
>>>
>>> Section 4: Vacancies and removal of FC members
>>> i & ii. It is cumbersome to have this clauses and as they are difficult
>>> to monitor
>>> iii.
>>> a. Few edits were made but please feel free to provide your comments
>>> c & d. Removal
>>> e. Needs to be rephrased or deleted
>>>
>>> Section 5: Disbursement of funds
>>> v. A formula or approach on how finances should be disbursed needs to be
>>> developed and approved by the NCSG EC, seems like there is no consensus on
>>> the FC regarding this
>>> vi. Not sure why Farzaneh deleted this because constituencies need to
>>> plan their expenses for financial planning purposes, failure to do so will
>>> result in fruitless and irrational spending and uninformed decisions to
>>> fund constituencies, please provide your comments
>>>
>>> 2. I will go through the remaining sections and send an update so that
>>> we have the document ready by 17pm UTC tomorrow. We now need one penholder
>>> that will fairly express the view of the FC while acknowledging minority
>>> views and comments in completiontion of this draft OP. Remmy initially was
>>> the penholder, @Remmy, are you still up for it?
>>>
>>> 3. Anyway, there is something I am not understanding, why is James
>>> Gannon editing and deleting content on the document? If someone can be kind
>>> to do an introduction because the document is still under development by
>>> the FC. If we can agree on 1 penholder we can close the editing rights and
>>> discuss other issues via email, thanks.
>>>
>>> Thato Mfikwe.
>>>
>>> .
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 11, 2018 at 6:55 PM, Remmy Nweke <remmyn at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thanks as we look forward to reading you more.
>>>> Keep well
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, 11 Jul 2018 12:57 am farzaneh badii, <farzaneh.badii at gmail.com>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Please find below my comments/modification/ deletion and addition to
>>>>> NCSG FC operating procedures.
>>>>>
>>>>> Will do some additional edits no later than Friday.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xUEOsE5Ju4ZnmJKK3M43cHWltrElt1W5YPy2LOaT9r4/edit#
>>>>>
>>>>> Best
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Farzaneh
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> NCSG-FC mailing list
>>>>> NCSG-FC at lists.ncsg.is
>>>>> https://lists.ncsg.is/mailman/listinfo/ncsg-fc
>>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>
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>>
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