News

During the Saba Island Council Meeting held on October 24th, 2012, the second quarter budget amendments were approved, including a $50,000.00 subsidy for the necessary repairs of the hyperbaric facility at Fort Bay and an additional US$ 50,000.00 for the upgrade of the mooring system in the Saba Marine Park. Recognizing the importance of healthy …

The Dutch Democratic D66 Party wants to reserve 1 million euros for a drinking water project on Saba and to cover the operational cost of the sewage treatment facility in Bonaire. D66 Members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Wassila Hachchi and Stientje van Veldhoven submitted two amendments …

Managing Director of Travel Planners Zaida Urvina-Vlaun (second from left) has donated two tickets to Saba to the fi rst place winners of Teen Times Interscholastic Talent Showdown 2012. The intention is for the winners to write about their experience in Saba to be published in the next edition of …

Do you have to visit the IND, are your children doing VWO and do your relatives live in a Vinex area? Can you recognise BN’ers and do you know BOB? Have you got a DigiD and are you paying OZB? If this all sounds like double Dutch, then you can …

On Friday, November 30, a holiday music concert will be organized  by the  university’s new student choir “The Synaptic Clefs” with guest performances of Ronnie’s Band (The Occasionals) and the Youth Choir of Weslyean Holiness Church. Dessert and coffee will be served. It will take place at the SUSOM Campus, …

St. Maarten /By Hilbert Haar – Public Health Minister Cornelius de Weever has denied providing information requested by the St. Maarten Medical Center related to the ministry’s inspectorate and to licenses for the establishment of healthcare centers. The Court in First Instance instructed the ministry to take a decision about the …

Judge Rene van Veen presided over three cases Tuesday morning, November 20. The first two cases concerned vehicle driving violations and the third, physical assault. In the absence of the accused summoned by the court, the judge allowed Prosecutor Marleen Overmeer to present the findings in the case of S. …

The five ambassadors of the Kingdom Youth Parliament, which will be held on St. Maarten in May 2014, presented themselves to the media in The Hague on Tuesday. Trumane Trotman, a 21-year-old freshman, studying advertisement, marketing & communication at Providence Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, is St. Maarten’s …

The certificate ceremony of the C-Course for Customs officials of the Caribbean Netherlands recently took place on Bonaire. It followed after an intensive and broad professional training for starting officers that lasted almost a year. In total 12 passed this course, but what is striking is that the majority are …

Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk is positive that consumer confidence in the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will grow next year as a result of the tax-relief measures. The Minister stated this in a letter he sent to the Second Chamber of …

There were 165 murders in the Netherlands last year, an increase of seven on 2010 but still well below the levels in the early 2000s, the national statistics office CBS said on Monday. Twice as many men as women were killed and one third of them were shot, the CBS …

The Public Entity of Saba recently signed a contract with local contractor Saba Roads for the much needed resurfacing of some of the island’s roads. The contract involves the road to The Level and also two side roads in the Bottom. It also calls for the patching of potholes on …

The Saba Business Association (SBA) and Saba Merchants Association (SMA) issued a joint response to State Secretary of Finance Frans Weekers’ package of measures announced on October 10, and to the new customs system. The business community also wrote a letter to Director of the Tax and Customs Department on …

The Voting Council has advised the Dutch Government to hold the elections for the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba one day ahead of the elections in The Netherlands. The Voting Council followed up on the observation of the Lt. Governors of the three …

St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) has objected successfully to the conditions attached to the demands placed on it by the Inspectorate of Public Health. The Court of First Instance ruled Friday that the conditions the Inspectorate had placed on SMMC on October 12 had not been imposed with the proper …

On Wednesday, November 14, the Health Inspectorate issued a press release announcing that they wanted director Scot to resign from the St. Maarten Medical Centre. You can read this article HERE. However, it seems that Inspector General dr. Earl Best lied in this press release  about a “severe conflict of …

The Inspectorate of the Ministry of Public Health demands that the St. Maarten medical center terminates its service agreement with AnG Consulting NV or that hospital Director George Scot resigns from the board of directors before or on November 28. In a lengthy press release the inspectorate says that the …

On November 16th, 2012 the campaign “Alivio pa bo pòtmòni (relief for your wallet) starts on Bonaire. This campaign aims to raise awareness to people about their spending and to point out their own responsibility in dealing with their money. To help them do this 3 subprojects are implemented under …

A joint briefing by Dutch Government Representative Wilbert Stolte and the Executive Council on Tuesday highlighted the fiscal and social measures taken during the Caribbean Netherlands Week, held in October, in The Hague. Stolte emphasized that State Secretary of Finance Frank Weekers had made provision for a number of fiscal …

Tax fraud in the overseas special Public Bodies Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will be firmly dealt with. The Ministry of Finance in The Hague reported that the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Tax Department Caribbean Netherlands and the Fiscal Intelligence Investigation Department FIOD have made agreements to tackle this problem …

In a joint press conference of the Executive Council and the National Representative held today, Commissioner of Economic Affairs, Chris Johnson, expressed the Executive Council’s opposition to the implementation of a new software system called  ASYCUDA which is to be introduced by customs to facilitate the processing of goods imported …

The Police Force Caribbean Netherlands launched the multilingual Website www.politiecn.com on Thursday. The Website has sections in English, Dutch and Papiamentu and provides not only information to residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, but also the possibility to ask questions and download information leaflets. Chief of Police Jan Rooijakker …

Saba’s section of the Fire Department Caribbean Netherlands hosted the ninth annual Fireman’s Day celebrations, November 7-9. This year, the brigade expanded its activities to ensure greater participation of the Saba community. This did not go unnoticed, as schools and the community at large participated in activities of an educational …

Staff members of Queen Wilhelmina Library on Saba and Gertrude Johnson Library in St. Eustatius participated in a workshop about library automation at Philipsburg Jubilee Library on St. Maarten. The libraries from Saba and Statia received funds from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to upgrade their facilities. …

GEBE St Maarten confirmed on Monday that there had been an oil leak at the power plant on Friday, November 9, at 12:11pm. GEBE said a “small amount” of waste oil, which would normally go to the waste oil treatment had run over the drainage pit and leaked into Cay …

The Public Entity of Saba recently signed financing agreements with development aid agency AMFO in the amount of US $200,000 for the funding of two projects which are considered priority areas by the Executive Council. One of the projects that will be funded is the setting up of a sports …

During a press conference on Friday November 9th 2012 the Kingdom Representative Wilbert Stolte has presented the results of the follow –up assessment of the perception study Caribbean Netherlands. The results show that satisfaction among residents of the Caribbean Netherlands about education, health care, security and the Police Force has …

At the end of October 2012 the Bonaire National Marine Park’, the ‘National Park The Quill/Boven op St. Eustatius’ and the ‘National Park  Sababank’ were recognized as areas of special interest for the Caribbean region. This happened during a meeting in the Dominican Republic for the sixteen countries which are …

The new Dutch State Secretary of Infrastructure and Environment Wilma Mansveld provided an update on Thursday, to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on the recent oil spill on St. Eustatius. In a letter to the Second Chamber, in response to written questions submitted by Member of Parliament (MP) …

The Dutch postal code lottery, the Nationale Postcode Loterij, will financially support the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) with half a million euros in the coming five years. The Dutch Bird Association (Vogelbescherming Nederland) announced on Thursday that it was happy with the decision of the Nationale Postcode Loterij to …

Members of the Executive Council of the Public Entity of Saba and their advisors are in Bonaire to discuss legislation that would enable them m to carry out price controls on regulated goods and also on goods that are designated ABB free. A delegation from St. Eustatius will also be …

The Public Entity of Saba recently signed financing agreements with development aid agency AMFO in the amount of $200,000 for the funding of two projects which are considered priority areas by the Executive Council. One of the projects that will be funded is setting up of a sports program that …

St Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot- Williams recently met with delegates from Saba and St. Eustatius to discuss common concerns and interests, including health care, emergency medical evacuation and the high airfare levied by Windward Islands Airways International Winair. Saba and Statia representatives raised the issue of the current medical …

A husband and wife were involved in a domestic altercation in The Bottom on Saturday evening, November 3. Chief of Police Herman Oosterveen said that police arrived at the scene after the altercation ended. Oosterveen explained that the father of the wife had intervened in the incident resulting in the …

The community will have access to a new victim support service operating under the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force Saba. Coordinating Head Sheloutska Martinus-Francees explained the role of the new Bureau for Victim Support for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. She was joined by local volunteer Johanna “Hanny” Laurentina Schouten. The …

Plans for this year’s Saba Day Celebrations are well underway, Commissioner of Culture Bruce Zagers said in a statement to GIS. This year will be the 37th celebration of the island’s National Day, which will be held on December 7th, 2012. The official celebrations this year will include the opening …

New Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk officially took over the tasks of departing Minister Liesbeth Spies on Monday following the swearing-in of the new Rutte-Asscher cabinet by Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands at Palace Huis ten Bosch. The changing of the guard took place at …

The 6th Annual Saba People’s Choice Awards and Talent Show 2012 took place at Sunny Valley Youth Centre in The Bottom on Saturday, November 3. Island Governor Jonathan Johnson was elected Person of the Year in the annual event, organized by Malofi Foundation and Lorsim Productions N.V. to celebrate outstanding …

Within the framework of the upcoming election to fill one spot on the board, the Chamber of Commerce of St. Eustatius and Saba announced that candidates can register between November 5 and November 16. The vacancy is for the period from January 1, 2013, up to and including December 31, …

Source: Dutch News 2012-11-05