South African domain deletions suspended for lockdown

The ZA Central Registry (ZACR) has suspended deletions of .za domains it administers due to the Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa.

“The damage caused by deletions in times of crisis can be dire,” the ZACR said in a statement on Monday.

The registry is custodian of different .za second-level domains, including co.za, net.za, org.za and web.za, making it the curator of well over a million domain names.

“While financial institutions and other creditors offer various relief measures, including debt repayment holidays, there are many other essential services that cannot be interrupted. Internet connectivity is one of them,” it said.

“How can ZACR play a constructive role to help during the lockdown? The brief answer is by keeping every website live. For the duration of the Covid-19 lockdown, the ZACR has decided to forthwith suspend deletions of domain names that are not in good standing with the registry. This means that all co.za domains will not be deleted from the ZACR’s central domain name registry for non-payment of annual renewal fees until the next round of scheduled deletions planned for 24 April 2020.

‘Respite’

“We are offering .za legacy domain name owners who are in arrears a respite by suspending our monthly deletions schedule,” said ZACR CEO Lucky Masilela.

“This should go a long way in ensuring stability of the Internet, making it easier for individuals, companies and many organisations to continue to observe the lockdown, stay at home and be safe without worrying about being disconnected.”  — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media