Saba aims for equal pension rights and less bureaucracy.

The site Caribisch Netwerk reports that “The fundamental question we want answered in during the evaluation of the political innovations Netherlands is, ‘is Saba really a part of the Netherlands?’ ” said Commissioner Chris Johnson.

Last Monday evening, during the ‘Meet & Greet’, he passed the message to the Evaluation Committee, that Saba considers the Dutch Government to be hypocritical in the way it treats the BES Islands. “The amount of the pension and the welfare assistance is below the poverty line on the islands. This would never be accepted in the Netherlands. The question is, why it is acceptable in other parts of the Kingdom. ”

The ‘Meet & Greet’ on Saba was peaceful, unlike the meeting on Bonaire. There the meeting faced a manifestation of Bonaire proponents for a referendum.

Johnson also said that the Island Council was frustrated that the European directives are not practical for Saba. “One example is the issue of work permits. Why is it, that the local medical school must advertise for six weeks for a teacher Microbiology, which is not up for grabs on Saba. It is not logical that an island with two thousand residents must adhere to so much bureaucracy. ”

On Monday a small group of citizens gathered in the town hall to listen and to ask questions to the committee. One of those present said the turnout was low because people are tired of all the committees that constantly come to the island to investigate the situation.