Two new board members for Chamber of Commerce

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of St. Eustatius and Saba has welcomed two new board members as of January 11. In that meet­ing Hemmie van Xanten was appointed as chamber president and Leonieke Zuidam as vice-president. Glen Pileo, Jamilla Bennett-Lijfrock and Vaughn Sams are board members.

Following the rules of the Chamber of Commerce, if the president is from Saba, which is currently the case, the vice-president has to be from Statia, and vice versa. The Chamber is looking for the best way to reduce the new fees that were introduced by law and not on the chamber’s initiative.

“As we explained at the end of last year, we were no­tified about the changes by the Ministry [of Economic Affairs and Climate — Ed.], but we did not agree with the high increase of the fees for small businesses and we will do our outmost to get a reduction where possible.” The board of the Chamber of Commerce has commit­ted itself to work hard to give the best service to the Sta­tia and Saba communities.

“In the last two years, not much has been done due to the COVID-19 situation, but now that we are convinced that we have to learn to continue with or without CO­VID, new strategies will be implemented to service the business sector as best as possible. There is a lot of work to be done, a lot to communicate and the chamber is here to support the community,” the chamber’s board stated.

The Daily Herald.