Sherica Smith hugs her son after osing her home, belongings and business during the passage of hurricane Matthew, which ripped through West End, Grand Bahama last Thursday. (Photo: Ahvia J. Campbell)
Following a Ministry of Foreign Affairs' statement on Wednesday advising citizens in the United States about making tax-exempt contributions towards relief efforts in The Bahamas in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew, a ministry employee posted an "inaccurate and unauthorized social media post" falsely claiming the restoration fund was illegitimate.
However, the ministry yesterday affirmed the authenticity of the fund.
It said it has requested that the unauthorized post be removed.
It is unclear what action if any was taken against the employee, whose post was well circulated on Facebook on Wednesday.
"We have been informed that it has been removed," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
"However, shared copies may still appear online.
"In our press statement released on October 12 we advised persons in the United States, who wish to make tax-exempt donations towards the hurricane relief effort to do so via the Bahamas Hurricane Restoration Fund.
"For the avoidance of doubt, we repeat the statement.
"We stand by our previous statement and today we again advise persons, who are U.S. citizens or residents, and who wish to make tax exempt contributions to the hurricane fund, [that they] may make donations via the Bahamas Hurricane Restoration Fund.
"This is a legitimate organization playing an important role within the post Hurricane Matthew relief and restoration effort."
The ministry said questions or concerns regarding donating to the relief fund should be sent to mofabahamas@bahamas.gov.bs.
It remains unknown how many Bahamians were impacted by the Category 4 storm, which impacted New Providence, Grand Bahama and North Andros more severely.
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director Captain Stephen Russell said yesterday that meetings are ongoing with assessment teams that have been on the ground to determine those numbers.
Royston Jones Jr., Guardian Staff Reporter
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