News

The young, determined members of the Saba Girls Run march on with their plans for a fundraising carwash and barbeque event, to support their goal of taking a group daytrip to a neighbouring island. The fundraising event will be held at the campus parking lot of Saba University School of …

The consumer price index increased by 2.6 percent in February when compared to that of December 2011. The price index recorded in February is 120.5. When comparing average consumer prices over a twelve month period (Feb. 2011 to Feb. 2012), an increase of 5.2 percent was recorded compared to the …

On Tuesday March 27th and Wednesday March 28th Commissioners of Education, school boards of the Dutch Caribbean, representatives of the Saban education personnel and the teachers unions of Bonaire and St. Eustatius have placed their signature under an agreement “Harmonization and improvement salary structure and implementation standard working year education …

The Representative of the Dutch Central Government on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (De Rijksvertegenwoordiger), Mr. Wilbert Stolte, will be visiting Saba for regular political and administrative consultations with the representatives of the Island and Executive Councils March 31st – April 3rd, 2012.  During his visit to Saba Stolte will …

Cooperation between libraries and knowledge centres on Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, , Bonaire, St.Eustatius, Saba and in Suriname took a big step forward with the establishment of the Dutch Caribbean Library Association. The library association was formally established during the fourth Dutch Caribbean Library seminar, which took place March 14-16 …

The head of Public Health department Dr. Gijs Koot assured that the case of head lice last week at Sacred Heart Primary School was isolated and is under control. The department investigated the case last week. One family with three children contracted head lice and had already treated the children …

The Dutch Government has created a group of “working poor” among the civil servants in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Dutch Government Representative (Rijksvertegenwoordiger) for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba Wilbert Stolte issued this warning in his second progress report, which was sent to the Dutch Parliament’s Second Chamber last …

RBC Royal Bank reported on Monday that it does not have any incidents of tampering or skimming at any RBC/RBTT ATMs located in the Dutch Caribbean islands it serves (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba and St. Maarten). The statement from the bank did not indicate what had prompted the declaration. As …

The quality of education in the schools of St. Eustatius is insufficient. The curriculum, class time and the care and guidance in schools must be improved. It has been decided that all schools are now under surveillance to ensure that the problems are properly tackled. This is contained in a …

The Registar, Mrs. Els Boers announce that the majority of the committee has decided the the public meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 27 at 7:00 PM is cancelled. No reason for the cancellation has been given. No future date for this meeting has been given either. The original agenda and …

AIDS Support Group Saba Foundation in collaboration with Saba University School of Medicine (SUSOM) implemented two days of workshops for the youth of Saba Comprehensive School on March 21 and 22. Since its establishment in 1990, ASGS Foundation has been the agency charged with the development of Saba’s Strategic Plan …

The 10th Lispcomb University’s missionary trip on Saba ended Saturday after 10 days of youth programmes and community service activities. The relationship began with Michael Thomas and Aletha Thomas arriving on Saba as newly-weds. He was a Saba University School of Medicine student and she worked as food preparation teacher at …

Elementary schools could face difficulties as a result of the government’s plans to change the way they are financed, the Association of Dutch Municipalities warns in a letter addressed to parliament. The government wants to make the schools themselves to pay for maintenance of the school’s exterior, the municipalities say. …

The schools in the Dutch Caribbean will receive extra money the coming four years to recruit teachers. It regards a total amount of almost six million dollar (4,5 million euro) up to and including 2015. This was decided by Minister van Bijsterveldt and State Secretary Zijlstra of Education, Culture and …

On Friday afternoon Registrar Els Boers presented her latest book  “Spelregels uit de Gemeentewet” to Lt. Governor Jonathan Johnson. The “Rules of the game from the Municipality law” is written in Dutch. It explains  the Dutch municipality law. However as the Wolbes law has a lot in common with this …

The local Saban girls have been working on a great new mural at the Cove Bay. Photo James Wischusen

For the first time liaisons from St. Kitts and Anguilla joined the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard during patrols in regional waters. The liaisons joined the Coast Guard boarding team and members of the St Maarten Customs Department. This form of international cooperation facilitates a more efficient approach towards international shipping …

Dutch State Secretary of Finance Frans Weekers has promised Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba that he will check if it is possible to adapt the fiscal system for 2013, if there is room in the budget to do so. Weekers stated this in a letter that he sent to the …

Governor of Aruba, Fredis Jose Refunjol, escorted by the director of his cabinet and his personal security, ended an official visit to Saba Friday morning following similar stops on St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. His trip to the Windward Islands is meant to foster closer ties, but also to nurture …

Three low-income houses are being built in The Range, an area overlooking The Bottom. The new houses will add six dwellings, consisting of three-bedroom apartments upstairs and one-bedroom apartments downstairs, with separate cisterns. The land owned by Own Your Own Home Foundation (OYOHF) for some time, already has two other …

The Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) has requested that commercial banks not increase their personal loan portfolios for a period of six months. The deficit in the monetary union’s balance of payments grew to NAf. 490.2 million in the third quarter of 2011. “A disturbing development,” said …

In what was deemed a historic event, health care foundations of St. Eustatius and Saba signed the first-ever joint labour agreement with Windward Islands Health Care Union and Associates (WIHCUA) at the Golden Era hotel conference room Wednesday afternoon. The agreement was signed by Saba Health Care Foundation (SHCF) director …

On  Tuesday, March 27, there will be a public meeting of the Central Committee. The starting time is 07.00 PM. The Central Committee members want to try having meeting in the evening, so the citizens of Saba will be able to visit the meeting. Location is the Government building in …

Member of the Second Chamber Cynthia Ortega-Martijn of the Christian Union (CU) wants a prompt increase of the free allowance (vrije uitkering) for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. She posed questions to Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies on Wednesday. The Dutch ‘public entities’ need more funds …

The Dutch Ministry of Finance laments the walk-out action of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba and says it didn’t deliberately hold back the 2011 tax figures in a meeting with the island delegations in The Hague last Thursday. A spokesperson of the Ministry stated in answers posed by the media …

National Government Representative (Rijksvertegenwoordiger) for the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba Wilbert Stolte supports an increase in the free allowance (vrije uitkering) for the islands. The free allowance is not only essential to cover the tasks that have been assigned to the local government, but is also …

Who is entitled to social housing had been an issue during the discussion of the Housing Vision in the Island Council. Own Your Own Home Foundation (OYOHF) president Rolando Wilson explained that “Of course locals have priority, as we have to house our own people, if they don’t have a …

The Hague – The government in the European Netherlands may soon have an easier way to release redundant staff. The Second Chamber wants officials to lose their special position. Soon it will be easier to fire civil servants in the European Netherlands. A majority in the Second Chamber will support …

A large group of persons were present at the official opening of the Godfred Bontenbal Technical Center in Saba on Monday. Technical vocational education and training (TVET) of Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) will now be taught at the former leather factory at Cove Bay. Festivities included the kick-off of the …

Saba needs much more social housing than it currently has to offer said president of the Own Your Own Home Foundation (OYOHF) Rolando Wilson during an interview on the recently passed Housing Vision and developments in social housing in Saba. Showing the growing folder of social housing applications, which now …

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), formerly RBTT St. Maarten, introduced its retail banking brand on St. Maarten and Saba on Monday, signalling the start of formal operations under the RBC banner. RBC acquired RBTT in 2008. “Today marks a significant milestone for our company, as we bring the history and …

This week the Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, Liesbeth Spies, submitted the second progress report of the Rijksvertegenwoordiger for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, Wilbert Stolte, to the Second Chamber. This is a report of the most important work activities of the Central Government in the Dutch Caribbean. …

Saba Party Productions (SPP) has officially launched its “Saba We Love” costume troupe for Carnival 2012. Kevin Hassell, who is the Chairman of SPP, has joined with Ms. Beverly Every to organize this troupe. “We felt that the lack of costume troupes during the last years signifies a piece of …

Dutch “public entities” Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will jointly protest against a permanent differentiation clause for the islands, in an amended Dutch Constitution. According to Statia’s Commissioner Koos Sneek, the three islands will be coming with a counterproposal to the law proposal preparing the change to the Constitution. The …

For the first time, many of Saba’s non-governmental organizations engaged Friday and Saturday in a series of volunteering activities as part of the Orange Fund’s “NL Doet” nationwide efforts to promote community participation in social welfare. The Orange Fund support social cohesion and integration projects and small-scale community initiatives, represented …

The weeklong series of youth education events promoted jointly by several non-governmental organizations, culminated in an inspiring, informative and entertaining show on the topic of parental involvement at the Eugenius Johnson Centre on Thursday evening. An impressive number of participants filled the hall to capacity, with many standing outside. Under …

Whenever we land on Saba, it feels like coming home a bit. During the three years when we lived and worked there, the island’s friendly people and its beauty stole a bit of our hearts. And of course their warm welcome embraces and sincere inquiries after our health strengthen this …

The delegations of St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire also met with the Ministry of Finance during their visit to The Hague for consultations with the Ministry of Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations. However, when it became clear that the Ministry refused to provide information on the 2011 tax revenues, the …

Saba and St. Eustatius Commissioners of Energy Chris Johnson and Koos Sneek, respectively, also met with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation EL&I to discuss the progress of the division of NV GEBE during their visit to The Hague for consultations with the Minister of Interior Affairs and …

The Lt. Governors of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba drew a full house in Scheveningen, The Netherlands on Wednesday evening. A crowd of some 150 people attended the informative session organised by the Antillean and Aruban organisation OCaN. All seats were taken, leaving standing room only for persons who came …