News

Kingdom relations specialists Gert Oostindie and Wouter Veenendaal of the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Carib­bean Studies KITLV drew a large audience during a lec­ture at the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Rela­tions BZK in The Hague on Thursday. KITLV Director and pro­fessor at Leiden University Oostindie …

Thuesday’s news of the discontinu­ation of the Qredits Soft Loan programme has led to dis­appointment among entrepreneurs and small businesses in Saba and St. Eustatius. “This programme has been a major alternative to requesting business loans through the com­mercial banks on the islands, where the possibility of receiv­ing loan assistance …

Nine members of the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Par­liament will visit the three Windward Islands from July 11 to 15. Key components during this extraordinary visit will be the reconstruction of St. Maarten after Hurricane Irma and the situation in St. Eustatius after …

Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba attended the annual congress of the Association of Dutch Municipalities VNG in Maastricht earlier this week. On Tuesday, Saba Island Governor Jonathan Johnson gave a presentation about the crisis and disaster management plan of the Saba government, a plan that has received much praise for …

One of the major highlights of this year’s 2nd Annual Saba Hospitality and Tourism conference slated for June 25 – 27, was an “Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism and How To Be the Best“ presentation specifically adapted for the high school students of the Saba Comprehensive school, that was held …

From June 21 until June 23, the Dutch Marines were in Saba for their annual hurricane exercise in the region. Dur­ing this period, the Marines along with a group from the Public Works Department and civil servants of the Public Entity Saba cleaned up debris down at Giles Quarter. The …

Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops sent a letter to the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday about the work-permits procedure and the reduction of bureaucracy in Saba that seemed in direct contradiction to the Saba government’s endeavours to assume responsibility for granting work permits. In the …

On Tuesday June 26, 2018, the police department of Saba conducted a house search in a house situated in The Bottom, Saba. During this search the police confiscated a small amount of drugs. A man with the initials E.A.H of 33 years of age has been detained for further investigation. …

Qredits, a social enterprise supporting entrepre­neurs, says it is forced to discon­tinue its soft loan programme for (starting) entrepreneurs in St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. Qredits received a budget for 90 loans from Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK as part of the Early Recovery projects post-Hurricane …

The deci­sion-making process regard­ing an increase in the child allowances for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba has not been concluded as yet, and should be seen as separate from the one billion cures re­served to augment these al­lowances in the Netherlands per January 1, 2019. Dutch State Secretary of Home …

State Secretary Blokhuis: “Working together on better care for all children, adults and the elderly at Saba” Saba gets this and next year $ 76,000 extra for public health, totaling $ 152,000. This is what Secretary of State Paul Blokhuis (Health, Welfare, Sport, VWS) announced today during his visit to Saba. …

Calypso Sound Splash will take place at Princess Juliana Sports Field in The Bottom on Saturday, June 30. The show, organized by Mor­gan Entertainment Foun­dation, headed by Saba’s reigning Calypso King, Bob “The Man” Morgan. is not a competition but a display of local and regional Calyp­so talents. Calypso Sound Splash …

The project advisor of the Coop­erating Funds for the Dutch Caribbean (Samenwerkende Fondsen Cariben (SFC)) in St. Maarten, which cater to St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius in providing funding op­portunities for social endeavours, hosted a working visit and funding-information sessions on Saba and Statia. SFC was set up more …

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament has again made clear that it wants the financial supervision on the countries Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten and on the public entities Bonaire and St. Eustatius, executed by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT, to be strict. Financial supervision was a main …

Dutch Minis­ter of Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus on Thursday ex­pressed his deep appreciation for the law enforcement personnel in the Windward Islands, but also for the St. Maarten people who have shown such resilience after Hurricane Irma. He shared his positive message during a general debate with the Permanent …

Th fuel needed to produce elec­tricity has become more expensive. That is why the Author­ity for Consumer and Markets (ACM) has increased the maximum rate that distributors Water and Energy Company WEB N.V. in Bonaire, St. Eustatius Utility Company N.V. STUCO and Saba Electric Company (SEC) N.V. may charge per …

In an effort to promote and amplify the ef­forts of the Saba Hospitality and Tourism Conference, Training Professional International Firm’s affiliate company Customer Service Mobile Academy (CSMA) will be spearheading a workshop on Wednesday, June 27, geared towards taxi drivers and their roles as ambassadors for the Saba community. In …

Telecommu­nication in St. Eustatius and Saba will become more reli­able in crisis situations with the placing of a satellite in­stallation for contact with the outside world in case a large natural disaster hits the Wind­ward Islands. Residents of St. Eustatius and Saba can rest assured that a means of communication …

State Secretary Paul Blokhuis (VWS, Health, Welfare and Sport ) will visit a number of care facilities on the Windward Islands Saba and St. Eustatius from Thursday June 21st to Wednesday June 27th, 2018. All health care, elderly care and child welfare in the Caribbean Netherlands are the responsibility of …

The Lions Club Saba held its annual turnover of the Board of Directors on Tuesday in the presence of club members, family and friends. The evening marked the be­ginning of a new Lionistic year for the incoming board. The 2018-2019 Club Directors are President Malusca Baker, Secretary/Treasurer Jessica Gumbs, Vice …

The Joint Court of Justice, on Wednes­day, sentenced a 51-year-old man to three months sus­pended, 100 hours of com­munity service, and payment of a US $4,500 fine for scam­ming three Peruvian women, who were staying illegally in Saba. Dozlyn Ira Pouchie Pouchie from Honduras was sen­tenced in November 2017 to …

Poverty and establishing a social minimum for Saba are high on the agenda of the Saba Island Council delegation visiting The Hague this week. Creating more awareness of Saba’s social ills among Members of the Dutch Parliament and Dutch government officials is a key component.. To illustrate the issue of …

Representa­tives of Dutch Caribbean Na­ture Alliance (DCNA) visit­ed Saba last week in relation to Shark Week. DCNA Am­bassador Jorgen Raymann and Secretary Ron van der Veer also visited Aruba and Curacao to raise awareness of the vital role that sharks play in the sea’s eco-system. While in Saba, Aruba and …

On July 2nd and July 3rd, Saba will host its second Hospitality and Tourism Conference. During the conference, topics that will be highlighted are the strengthening of regional relationships, an update from the tourism sector of St. Maarten, Saba’s recent agreement with Green Destinations and upcoming plans for becoming a …

The “Pensioenfonds Caribisch Nederland”, PCN, has completed the investigation for the recovery of the individual pension rights of employees in the education sector. It concerns the pension rights which were partly not, or not properly, mentioned in the administration of the former pension fund APNA. After completing an extensive investigation, …

St. Eusta­tius and Saba are doing well in the area of generat­ing energy in a sustainable manner. In St. Eustatius 46 per cent of the electricity is sustainably generated and in Saba this percentage is currently at 20, but will in­crease to 40 by early 2019. The second phase of …

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parlia­ment demanded clarity from the Dutch government on Tuesday as to why the families in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are not benefitting from the additional one billion euros that will become available for the child allowance, the child day-care allowance and the child-related …

Last week, board members and directors of the educational institutes of the Caribbean Netherlands visited The Hague. The purpose of the visit was to talk with various policy advisers about the further improvement of the quality of education on the islands. Minister Arie Slob of OCW also joined. Eveliene Coenen, …

On the weekend of May 25 -27, 2018, Child Focus presented their annual Children’s Theater Production. It was a sold out venue, This year the children portrayed a version of the movie Shrek, which was adapted by the director to include modern-day political humor. A total of 22 children participated …

It is four years ago now that realtor Saba Island Properties installed their first display case at ‘Swinging Doors’ in Windwardside. The company is growing and expanding with Rentals and Sales of Land and Homes.   This required  renovation and they expanded their space with a new boutique. They have installed new, bigger, state-of-the-art …

The Public Entity Saba had some of the employees trained to become enforcers. These employees took the so-called “Buitengewoon Ambtenaar van Politie” (special agent of the police) course. In the upcoming weeks, they are expected to be appointed as a special agents of the police. The Public Entity now has …

The pen­sion rights of some 150 (partly retired) teachers and other employees of schools in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba have been restored thanks to the Dutch Min­istry, of Education, Culture and Science which has made 2.7 million euros available for this group. Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and …

After the successful completion of Phase 1 of Under the hill housing project at the end of December 2013 and Homes rented as early as the beginning of January 2014, Phase 2 will become a reality. On June 6th, 2018 a contract was signed between the Public Entity Saba and …

Showing his support and having the best interest of the people of the Windward Islands at heart, Dutch National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen will be visiting St. Maarten, St. Eustatius and Saba starting this Sunday. Van Zutphen, who vis­its the islands regularly because as National Om­budsman he is responsible for …

Police reports: On Thursday, May 31st around 11 AM, a man with initials G.N.  was arrested on the Park Lane Street on Saba in connection with abuse. KPCN

Lions president Glenn Pileo hosted the third Advisory Zone 2B meeting his past weekend on the ‘Unspoiled Queen.” More than 63 Lions and Leos from Zone 2B, including St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius and Anguilla, came together for informational meetings, fellowship and a strengthen­ing of already tight bonds. Li­ons from …

School principals, vice-principals and management team members in Saba and St. Eustatius have com­pleted a training project for school management and were awarded certifications in management, leadership and coaching for high perfor­mance. The course was facilitated by Natasha Gittens of Training Professionals International (TPI). The Primary Education Council PO-Raad initiated …

Government employers involved and the Stichting Pensioenfonds Caribisch Nederland (PCN) have agreed on measures to strengthen the pension fund Caribbean Netherlands The most important measure is that fund capital is strengthened by a total of $ 31 million. The agreement is the result of talks between PCN and the Ministry …

The Ca­ribbean Netherlands Pe­nal Law will be adapted to make it punishable for rape and sexual abuse suspects to harm their victims while the latter’s consciousness is di­minished by the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Ferd Grap­perhaus announced this in a letter he sent …

One in six inhabitants of the Caribbean Netherlands are smokers, one in eight are heavy drinkers and over six in ten are overweight. Half of the population are getting sufficient exercise. Women smoke and drink much less than men, but are more likely to be obese and exercise less. These …