News

Dutch caretaker State Secretary of Home Affairs and King­dom Relations Raymond Knops has given the pub­lic entity Saba permission to cover the 2022 budget deficit from the general re­serve. Knops stated this in a let­ter that he sent to the Saba Island Council on Thurs­day. Saba’s 2022 budget shows a …

Update by BES-reporter, January 9th Opinion: The Chamber of Commerce should not be a self feeding monster   https://bes-reporter.com/opinion-chamber-of-commerce-should-not-be-a-self-feeding-monster/ Original post The businesses on the BES Islands have started a petion against the raise of the Chamber of Commerce fees. Check out their concerns HERE. In short, per January 1, …

Alexandra van Huffelen (53) of the Democratic Party D66 will be the new State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitalising in the Rutte IV cabinet. She succeeds Raymond Knops, who will not return in the new Dutch government. Van Huffelen currently holds the position of caretaker State Secretary of Finance. …

Covid-19 update from Island Governor Jonathan Johnson, January 3, 2022 Let me start by wishing everyone a Happy and prosperous 2022. As you all know, we have entered into the new year with our covid-19 positive cases steadily rising and many people in quarantine. Today, many people tested positive during …

The Public Prosecutor BES, the Police Force BES, and the Public Entity Saba came together today to discuss a joint strategy on enforcing quarantine and isolation measures on Saba. We have seen a steep incline of the amount of Covid 19 cases on Saba in the past few days. The …

Fire in Hell’s Gate In the early evening hours on Friday, 31st of December, the police station received a report about a fire in Hell’s Gate on Saba. It turned out that a large piece of grassy plain was on fire. The cause of the fire is believed to be …

On Sunday, January 2nd, 2022 we have 6 new active cases. One case is an import and 5 close contacts. All contact tracing has been completed. We had 2 people recover and are no longer in isolation. We would like to remind the public that if you have traveled recently …

Update from Governor Jonathan Johnson, December 30, 2021:   GIS.

December 29: The number of active infections has increased to 20. All persons are quarantined.  Listen to Island Governor Jonathan Johnson’s earlier message:   COVID-19 Update: On Saturday, December 25th we had two people test positive for COVID -19 during routine pre-travel testing. All contact tracing has been completed on …

Statia’s Ubuntu Connected Front (UCF) has sent a letter to the House of Representatives Committee on Kingdom Relations to protest and ask questions about the increase in the contribution for the Chamber of Commerce of St. Eustatius and Saba as of January 1, 2022. UCF Caribbean states that the high …

The min­isters and state secre­tary of public health of the four countries in the kingdom during a ministerial consulta­tion last week Friday, expressed unanimous support for the agree­ments that were made at the healthcare sum­mit in St. Maarten early December with regard to the establishing of the Dutch Caribbean Hospi­tal …

Island Governor Jonathan Johnson communicates the upscaled measures on Saba because of 6 active Covid-19 cases. Listen to his message here: On Island Measures Increase: Due to an increased number of covid cases on island, Saba will be moving to alert level 2. This will be implemented December 23rd, 2021, …

Click HERE for the form to schedule an appointment for the booster vaccination.

The Public Entity Saba and the Kindernet childcare organization from the Netherlands last week sealed their collaboration by signing a twinning contract. As part of the BES(t)4Kids program, the Day Care and After School Care organizations on Saba are working in a twinning program together with Kindernet in the European …

The Colombian Ministry of Health has announced the conditions that will allow access for patients from abroad who need medical care in Colombia. The following conditions apply to Covid and non-Covid patients who are medical emergencies. These patients must be transported on air ambulances or medical charter flights, which can …

Due to the fast spreading of the COVID-19 Omicron variant, Saba is taking stricter measures, starting Saturday, December 25 until the end of January 2022. As of Saturday, all persons coming to Saba will be required to take a PCR-test before being allowed to enter the island. “So no matter …

Due to the amendment to legislation for the Chamber of Commerce and the Commercial Registry, registration fees, as well as an annual contribution, have changed. By Law, both fees are determined by the legal form and not by the invested capital anymore. Registration Fees and Annual contribution as of January …

The two-year Public Service Obligation (PSO) between the Makana ferry operator and the Public Entities Saba and St. Eustatius ensures that connectivity and service level between St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba are maintained. The ferry operator Blues & Blues from Anguilla has signed a public service contract with the …

The maximum rates for the production and distribution of electric­ity and drinking water in Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eu­statius will increase effec­tive January 1, 2022. This increase is mainly due to the fact that the price of oil needed to produce electric­ity and drinking water has risen sharply. The Netherlands …

BES-Reporter writes that the Public Entity St. Eustatius will introduce its long-term COVID-19 strategy on January 3rd, 2022 by further opening up its borders and having a less strict entry policy in place. This is needed to recover the economy and the tourism sector to avoid an economic crisis in …

PCN is considering the possibility to support the construction of middle-class homes on Saba. Your Voice is important to us. Please complete the survey (scan QR code) and tell us what you need. Here are the details: Survey Saba: https://form.jotform.com/213353424865861 Open: 16 December 2021 | Close: 31 January 2022

Collision on the Peak Road At about 6:15 PM on Sunday, 19th of December, a two-car collision occurred on the Peak Road on Saba. Car 1 was headed towards Windwardside, car 2 was headed towards The Bottom. When car 2 drove past car 1, it was too much on the …

Thelma Esther Polak, the Saba-born Jewish nurse who was murdered at concentration camp Sobibor in 1943, was honored posthumously on Sunday, December 19 with the unveiling of a plaque in her commemoration at the World War II memorial site in The Bottom. Organized by Judith Meijer, in daily life Director …

On Sunday, December 19, 2021 the MV Makana encountered a mechanical issue that caused the cancellation of all Saba and Statia routes. According to Captain Dwayne Hodge, the output flange failed. The part is being sourced and mechanical technicians are on standby to make the repair. Meanwhile in Anguilla, the …

With great pride and satisfaction, the Dutch Caribbean Police Force (Korps Politie Caribisch Nederland, KPCN) is launching the renewed Police CN website today. In addition to a new look & feel, the renewed website offers even more options for getting in touch with the police and the possibility to highlight …

In response to a press release that the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard issued on Tuesday, December 14 about the sea rescue close to Saba, Island Governor Jonathan Johnson added that Saba played a major role in bringing the yacht, with onboard 27 persons, to safety. On Tuesday morning before 5:00 …

The delayed start of the ferry service between St Eustatius, Saba and St Maarten was not caused by the ministries concerned, nor was it the result of a lack of cooperation between these departments. State Secretary Knops (BZK) states this also on behalf of fellow ministers of Infrastructure and Water …

Saba has a vaccination rate of 93% and has been spared so far from a covid-19 outbreak and local transmission of covid-19. The facts remain that we live on an island that Is vulnerable and limited in our medical capacity. It’s up to us all to keep each other safe! …

This morning the Coast Guard received a distress call that a vessel was having engine problems near Saba, on board of the vessel were presumably 2 passengers. The captain of the vessel informed that he was drifting at sea between Saba and Sint Maarten. The Rescue and Coordination Center of …

Koninkrijk.nu reports that The Netherlands is in favor of a public service obligation for the air transport between the Windward Islands of Saba and Sint Eustatius with Sint Maarten. This obligation imposes conditions on the frequency of flights and the ticket price. This is the outcome of an evaluation of the …

Dossier Koninkrijksrelaties reports that the Pensioenfonds Caribisch Nederland (PCN) indexes pensions by 4% as of 1 January 2022, which is fully in line with the average price inflation on Saba, Bonaire and St. Eustatius. The board took this decision at the November board meeting. The Supervisory Board has agreed to …

As of Monday, December 20, 2021, the general public, businesses, and organizations can begin purchasing their Saba Splash drinking water. Payment for the bottle must be made before, not on the same day, at the Receiver’s Office, located at the Government Administration Building. The cost per 5-gallon bottle will be …

De Nederlandsche Bank (the Dutch Central Bank, hereinafter DNB) will conduct a small rehearsal on 17 December to test the Deposit Guarantee Scheme for the Caribbean Netherlands in a simulation. De Nederlandsche Bank is responsible for the implementation of the Deposit Guarantee Scheme which ensures that customers of affiliated banks …

Please follow the Facebook page of the Public Entity to learn about the answers that Dr. Willemijn gives to your questions concerning the COVID 19 vaccinations. Here’s Dr. Willemijn answering some of your questions on the covid-19 vaccine. Scroll down the page to follow the messages. Part 1 – Is …

In 2020, there were 2.8 thousand people aged 15 to 74 years on Bonaire who belonged to the so-called unused labour potential. On St Eustatius, the unused labour potential comprised 290 people and on Saba 330. This is evident from the Labour Force Survey Caribbean Netherlands (LFS-CN) 2020, conducted by …

The Central Committee of the Public Entity Saba hereby invites the general public to VIEW the live stream of the Public Central Committee meeting on the Saba Government Facebook page on Monday December 20th, 2021 at 10:00 am The agenda is as follows: Opening Approval of the agenda Approval of the Minutes …

As of 1 January 2022, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (Sociale Zaken en Werkgelegenheid, SZW) will increase the minimum wage on Bonaire, Saba, and St. Eustatius by 10 percent. Inflation is included in this. The amounts of the social benefits such as the old-age pension (AOV) and the …

On 8 December 2021, the cooperation agreement 13+ was signed by the Public Entities in the Caribbean Netherlands and 5 departments of the Central Government. With this, the various governmental parties agree to further cooperate when it comes to young people between the ages of 13 and 23 in the …