News

A group of Dutch mosquito researchers of Naturalis Biodiversity Center and Leiden University has arrived on Saba. In the past two weeks, the team of five students and two scientists have also visited St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. The main aim of this project is to determine which mosquito species …

The Dutch quality newspaper Algemeen dagblad published an interview with Island Secretary Tim Muller. Before accepting the post on Saba he has been working in high level positions in The Hague, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. In the article he expresses his love for Saba and respect for the residents. Saba is …

On Sunday, April 22nd, 2018, the students at Sacred Heart School on Saba who are attending teacher Helen’s class again enjoyed the self-defense class at the Peter. L. Granger Sports Auditorium. This special event took place in connection with Autism Awareness Month. The students learned several self-defense techniques and they had a …

A fire occurred Saturday night at a home in The Bottom on Saba. Members of the Fire Department, the Police and representatives of the Public Entity Saba were present at the scene on Fort Bay Road. The Fire Department evacuated surrounding houses and got the fire under control. There were …

During the Inspectorate of Education’s last visit to the Caribbean Netherlands (CN) in March 2018, the number of schools and educational institutions which achieved basic quality increased again. 20 out of 21 schools and educational institutions in the CN now have achieved basic quality. This time on Bonaire basic quality …

Dutch doctors believe that they have found a more successful way to treat people with skin cancer, according to newspaper the Telegraaf on Friday. It reports that doctors from the Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (AVL) cancer institute in Amsterdam, who registered 50 of their melanoma patients for an international study, say …

  The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Wa­ter Management and Rijk­swaterstaat have signed a contract with the combina­tion Saba Roads and Con­struction and Den Ouden Aannemingsbedrijf for the renovation of the runway of Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport on Saba. The con­tractor was selected after a bidding process executed by Rijkswaterstaat. …

Members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Chris van Dam and Joba van den Berg, both of the Christian Democratic Party CDA, find it unacceptable that an out­dated criminal law can lead to acquittal of certain crimes in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The case in question con­cerns …

It often takes less time and a more competitive price to cross the wide Atlantic Ocean from the Caribbean than to get from one corner of the archipelago to another. These two facts are expected to take a hit with the launch of Caribsky, a new code-sharing of three regional …

The Public Entity Saba has been working on a project to address car wrecks on Saba. The Public Entity Saba, together with the Police Force of the Caribbean Netherlands, made an initial scan of the situation. This scan showed that there had been numerous car wrecks that are either discarded …

The Government of Saba will, on the initiative of Commissioner Rolando Wilson, conduct a so-called Cultural Survey. According to Government, Saba’s cultural environment is based on the people who have successively inhabited the island in the past, the present and will be shaped by those in the future. What is …

Every year the various safety partners come together in Saba to perform a large-scale disaster man­agement exercise. In 2015 and 2016, the practice focused on a hurricane scenario. The exercises helped the emergency service in the preparation for and in the aftermath of Hurri­canes Irma and Maria in September 2017. …

New Director for the Cen­tres for Youth and Family in St. Eustatius and Saba Curvin George has made a plea for more foster par­ents to come forward. “We need to find a local solu­tion for children, who are in a difficult or in an unsafe situation on the islands. Organizing …

Bote ter Steege will soon become the new Chief Prosecutor for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Based on the proposal of Minister of Security and Jus­tice Ferdinand Grapperhaus, he was appointed by the King­dom Council, the Prosecutor’s Office announced Friday. Mr Steege (1961) will start his new job on June …

On Monday April 16th the RCN Unit of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) will be launching a social media awareness campaign on Saba and St. Eustatius. SZW will be launching two infomercials starring local actors/actresses to increase awareness to the social relief (onderstand) and Special Assistance. These two services provided …

Among the three islands comprising the Caribbean Netherlands, Saba has relatively many highly educated inhabitants: a share of 33 percent among 25 to 74-year-olds. On Bonaire and St Eustatius, the respective shares of highly educated inhabitants are 18 and 20 percent. Popular study programmes in local higher education include law, …

The outdated penal code on the BES islands can, in some cases, lead to the acquittal of suspects of sexual offenses. This becomes clear from information provided by the Public Prosecutor’s office BES. A specific incident that led to the acquittal of a suspect is the case against the accused …

Saba’s Juan­cho Yrausquin Airport and St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Air­port made the top 10 of the 2018 global travel poll of the world’s most scenic air­port landings. Saba made number five in the poll, and St. Maarten number nine. Saba won Most Scenic Airport Landing in last year’s poll, …

 The Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW) is offering not for profit organizations on Saba and St. Eustatius extra support with applications for subsidy through Opportunities for all Children. Nina Den Heyer will assist social not for profit organizations with their application, which can be submitted from May 1st …

It’s Autism Awareness Month. The students showed their support with the puzzle pieces. We want to share with all the readers of Saba News, how important it is to raise the Autism Awareness. Sacred Heart Primary School

On Saturday, April 7th , a hit and run took place on the Fort Street on Saba, in the vicinity of the ATM in Windwardside. A car parked there was hit by another car and had damaged the bumper, the right front tire and right headlamp of the parked car. …

The Finance Ministry in The Hague is look­ing into the possibility of improving the oversight on com­mercial banks in the Caribbean Netherlands. The banks in the three overseas special bodies Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (also known as BES islands) are all branches of banks established in Curacao, so in …

On the insis­tence of the Second Cham­ber of the Dutch Parliament, State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Rela­tions Raymond Knops will look into the possibilities of transferring the authority of issuing work permits to the Public Entity Saba. This commitment was made during a debate of the Sec­ond Chamber’s …

The Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations has de­cided to transfer the King­dom Relations file to a separate Directorate-General. Henk Brons has been appointed as quartermaster for the new department, which will focus entirely on matters relating to the coop­eration of the Netherlands with the other countries of …

Minister Cora van Nieuwenhuizen of Infrastructure and Water Management has lifted the flight ban imposed on civil servants in February 2017. The minister follows the advice of the Dutch Inspectorate of Environment and Transportation (ILT). At the request of Curaçao Civil Aviation Authority (CCAA), the ILT has provided support during …

The Health Care Insurance Office Caribbean Netherlands (ZVK) is pleased to announce that as of April 6th, two dentists – Thomas Kleijn and Mona Maru – will settle on Saba for a period of 4 months. They will be operational from the 10th of April on, children and young persons …

Three important regional carriers, Air Antilles, Liat and Winair are working on an initative to make interregional traffic more efficient with the potential help of European funding. Under the name ‘Caribsky’ the three carriers want to provide better connections to travellers accross the English, Dutch and French speaking Caribbean. The …

Chairperson of the Neth­erlands Institute for Human Rights Adriana van Dooijew­eert will visit Saba and St. Eu­statius April 9-13, to discuss human rights during town hall meetings with people on the islands. During these meetings, Van Dooijeweert will explain why human rights are important in the relationship between citizens and …

According to the newssite Bonaire.Nu, MP Antje Diertens of D66 has submitted a motion last Wednesday in the Second Chamber, calling for the conversion of libraries on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba into more multi-faceted development centers. “Libraries also need to be the place on Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba where …

The Nation­al Ombudsman received 142 requests and/or complaints from residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba in 2017. National Ombudsman Rei­nier van Zutphen and Chil­dren’s Ombudsman Mar­grite Kalverboer presented the 2017 annual report to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Wednesday. The combined 63-page report of the Om­budsman …

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament is encour­aging the Dutch Govern­ment to arrange the transfer of tasks to the Public Entity Saba. The Second Chamber’s Per­manent Committee for King­dom Relations on Thursday requested State Secretary of Home Affairs and King­dom Relations Raymond Knops to have a consulta­tion with the …

In 2017, there were nearly 21 thousand aircraft movements to and from the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands, a 5 percent increase on the previous year. On Bonaire and St Eustatius, the number of movements rose by over 10 and over 7 percent respectively. Saba with the smallest airport of …

In January of 2018 the school board of the Sacred Heart Primary School in Saba determined that raising the bar in teaching standards and investing in their teacher’s professional development was an ongoing priority.  Unanimously the board voted to implement the Teachers of Promise (T.O.P.) Program. The program was written …

Jill Soemosemito has been appointed director of the Guardianship Council CN. She started her new position on March 19, 2018. Jill Soemosemito succeeds Curvin George, who has been Director of Youth Care and Family Supervision  of the Caribbean Netherlands since January 1st. She has been working at the Guardianship Council …

On February 23, 2014 the Saba Islander wrote an article about boat building on Saba. In that article Mr. Will Johnson quotes Willem Agnew Paton, who wrote that the people of Saba are celebrated throughout the Caribbean Islands for the fishing boats they built in the oddest places. The Saba …

On Tuesday, March 27th, 2018, most civil servants of the Public Entity Saba took their Oath of Office in front of The Executive Council during a ceremony held in the auditorium of the Saba University School of Medicine. Those who were unable to take the oath on this day, due …

The mari­time border between St. Maarten and Saba will be defined more precisely with an amendment to the 2010 Kingdom Law, giving con­tent to the treaty that was signed between the Dutch Kingdom and the French Republic in Philipsburg on April 6, 2016.   The Second Chamber of the Dutch …

  The National Ombudsman’s team had suc­cessful consultations in St. Eustatius and Saba last week. The Ombudsman assured that people can always turn to his office when they have a complaint about their government. The team was in St. Eustatius on Monday, March 19, and in Saba on Thursday and …

In the weekend of March 16 – 18, 2018 Child Focus Foundation organized a teen inter-island basketball competition, with the support of the Public Entity of Saba. The Child Focus team played against a collaborative team of Sint- Maarten National Basketball Association and Island Hoops. A total of three games were played. The first game …

Due to circumstances of it tech­nical nature, Dr. Horacio Oduber Hospital of Aruba has cancelled all surgical procedures for the coming days. In connection with this, Health Care Insurance Office for the Caribbean Netherlands ZVK has decided to tem­porarily postpone medical referrals of ZVK-insured par­ties to this hospital. ZVK said …