The members of the board of the National Disaster Relief Fund met on Friday 1st February to discuss the functions of the fund and the guidelines for giving assistance. The members also met on Monday 4th February with the Chairman of the Taskforce, Minister Vincent Meriton, to receive the latest briefing on the assistance required in the districts that were affected by the flooding of last week.

President James Michel has made the first donation to the Fund of a sum of 136,800 SR, which is President’s annual gratuity for the year 2012. Other donations have also started to arrive in the fund, and names and donations of donors will be published on a weekly basis, with the aim of providing utmost transparency and accountability.

The functions of the Fund are:

a.       To assist persons in emergency situations as part of disaster relief efforts
b.       To assist businesses affected by disasters
c.       To assist charitable organisations which are effecting disaster relief operations

The National Disaster Relief Fund also wishes to make public its account number at Nouvobanq, Seychelles for donations;
 
Account number: 01-0-02-043457-00-4.
Swift code: NOVHSCSC

The Fund was set up with the Statutory Instrument (SI) 7 of 2013 under the Public Finances Management Act of 2012. Under this SI, the Fund replaces the National Emergency Foundation of 2005, and absorbs its assets, including the 1.5 million Seychelles Rupees in its account. The NEF was replaced by the NDRF in order to comply with the Public Finances Management Act 2012, and most of the public and private sector members from the NEF are also members of the new Fund.

Fund members are:

Chair : Mrs Lekha Nair
Members: Mr. Patrick Payet
Mr. Alain De Commarmond
Ms Colette Servina
Mr. Bernard Pool
Mr Nirmal Jivan Shah