The African Union Commission Addis Ababa in a recent Communiqué issued to clarify its position on DotAfrica stated that it will float an Expression of Interest process to short-list bidders to be endorsed for DotAfrica, and as of Week 20 of 2011 commenced this rather unwarranted and unnecessary effort. Link to AU Clarification on dotAfrica:
DCA believes that the African Union cannot be neglectful of the serious sentiments it as expressed in the above Communiqué of 12th May 2011, inter alia: "The African Union Commission takes this opportunity to again reassure the people and governments of Africa of its commitment to a transparent and accountable process in the selection of the winning candidate". The keywords are transparency and accountability – for these have a bearing on credibility, and institutional reputation
First, any talk of transparency and accountability now sounds hollow and unbelievable. DCA believes that the EOI process is a red-herring designed to manipulate international opinion and public regarding AU's commitment to transparency and accountability, whereas the clarification itself falls short of telling the truth. The clarification is untruthful to the extent that it does not acknowledge that DCA was given an endorsement by the AU. Therefore, the very EOI process on DotAfrica is now discredited, and considered a surreptitious ruse that would be employed to unfairly endorse AfTLD.
Second, it is quite evident that the present EOI process is a ruse to officially hijack the DotAfrica Initiative using supposititious African Union official machinery and imprimatur, now termed 'AU-led'-process, to favour AfTLD.
Third, on what basis would one participate in a process that is founded on untruth and erected on an altar of injustice? Therefore, DCA will not give any credence to a discredited, iniquitous and inequitable process which evidently does not satisfy the basic canons of probity. .
Accordingly, DCA would like to again stress the following points for the record:
1. The DCA therefore will not give credence to a process that lacks probity, and hereby serves notice that it would not participate in the current process which has no credibility. The DCA already expressed interest by proposing the DotAfrica initiative to the African Union Commission in 2006 and again in 2008, and after a rigorous process of making technical presentations, meetings, clarifications and exchange of correspondence with the Commission, the AU in 2009, issued DCA with an official endorsement of the Initiative proposed. http://www.scribd.com/doc/31565131/African-Union-AU-Endo …
2. Since the AU Task Force members have already expressed interest on DotAfrica, and have also openly supported AfTLD, it is therefore clear to one and all that the AU Task Force on DotAfrica is tainted, http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/110 … because its members who are in a sinister confederacy with AfTLD are manifestly leading the organization astray by floating wrong and unworkable proposals, whilst pushing an opaque and illegal agenda that is aimed at victimizing DCA in order to favour and reward AfTLD.
Read the full announcement here .