Former DRA Managing Director Katherine Forbes-Smith.
By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
FORMER Disaster Reconstruction Authority Managing Director Katherine Forbes-Smith said a claim on social media that she sold a generator intended for Hurricane Dorian victims for personal profit is a “bold-faced, malicious lie.”
Mrs Forbes-Smith recently filed a lawsuit against the government for alleged breach of contract. In a statement released yesterday, she said she has been attacked by “social media trolls” and is the victim of a “witch-hunt” which she thinks is designed to compel her to drop the legal action.
The generator claim was made on a social media site that is supportive of the Progressive Liberal Party.
Mrs Forbes-Smith said in a statement: “For more than a week, an army of political operatives and social media trolls have continued to publicly and relentlessly drag my name through the mud in connection with a matter that is currently before the courts. I believe this to be a conscious and coordinated witch-hunt, designed to intimidate me into abandoning the proceedings.
“This underhanded campaign has now culminated in a bold-faced, malicious lie.”
“It is claimed that while serving as the Managing Director of the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA), I ‘stole’, and then sold for personal profit, a generator that had been donated to the government of The Bahamas as part of the Hurricane Dorian relief efforts.
“Out of respect for the judicial process I have been reluctant to break my silence in the face of these attacks. But enough is enough. I cannot and will not allow my name to be maligned with such a brazen and contemptible falsehood.”
Mrs Forbes-Smith said she acquired the generator for use at her private home in September 2019 and that the unit was personal property and not donated to the government’s disaster relief effort.
She said the acquisition of the generator was in the works before she became involved with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) as a volunteer and months before she was appointed head of the DRA.
“I acquired the unit before any generators donated to the government, through NEMA or otherwise, had arrived in Grand Bahama,” she said.
“At no time was the generator in question in the possession of NEMA or any other government agency, nor was it ever stored at a NEMA warehouse, as has been claimed. “Unfortunately, it turned out that the unit was not purpose-fit for residential use, so on the advice of my electrician, I contacted the Freeport power company to inquire if they were in need of such a generator. The response was affirmative and the company agreed to purchase the unit.
“I vehemently and categorically deny the allegation that I stole a generator from the government, or from anyone else. I likewise deny that I acquired a generator intended for the government’s disaster relief efforts by any other means.
“This false, unfounded, cowardly attack has caused direct harm to myself and my family. I have wrongfully been branded a criminal and my family’s private information, including banking details, has been illegally acquired and made public. No one should be subjected to this kind of abuse for seeking to have a matter decided by the judiciary, which is the protector of everyone’s rights under the law.
“I will not be intimidated. The matter in question will be decided in court based on the merits; it will not be derailed by fake news campaigns or cheap political stunts. In the meantime, I reserve all of my legal rights with regard to those who continue to damage my reputation by spreading false and destructive claims.”
