News

On March 21, residents in the Caribbean Netherlands may participate in a consultative referendum on the new Law on the Intelligence and Se­curity Services Wiv 2017. This week, Government Service Caribbean Netherlands RCN is starting a six-week infor­mation campaign in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Various means of communication will …

For the next months, Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) will carry out the National Accounts Survey on production revenues and costs in the Caribbean Netherlands in 2016. The survey aims to show the economic development on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. All organisations that are economically active on Saba and …

Saba Electric Com­pany (SEC) NV has in­formed its customers that there is a possibility of island-wide interruptions in the supply of electricity during the two-week period between Monday, February 12, and Friday, February 23, as the company is in the process of finalising its first solar park installation. The final phase …

During its visit on Wednesday, Febnuary 7, Com­mittee for Financial Supervision (CFI) extensively discussed Hurricanes Irma and Maria and the consequences these had for Saba. The way in which Saba dealt with these storms as a community has made an im­pression, CFT stated. Further­more, it was concluded that the execution …

How can you improve the current situation on St. Eustatius? How can you fix this? According to newly-appointed Government Commissioner Marcolino “Mike” Franco, this is the first reaction he received from supporters and opponents of the intervention by the Dutch Government on St. Eustatius.   Franco (58) has officially started …

For the next months, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) will carry out a survey on production revenues and costs in the Caribbean Netherlands: the National Accounts Survey 2016. The survey aims to show the economic development on the three islands. The organisations on the islands will be approached by CBS to complete …

The United People’s Coalition (UPC) sees the takeover of government on St. Eustatius on the basis of the “Three Wise Men” report as “an unfortunate and heavy handed measure. “It must be clear that UPC sees this action as a sad day and a black page in Statia’s history. Some …

Yesterday, Esther Henry of Caribisch Netwerk followed the events on Statia. A group of Statians, who have opposed the Dutch intervention in their local government, organized a silent protest from the airport to the special town hall meeting with State Secretary Raymond Knops on Wednesday. “We want a fair and honest …

Winair is pleased to announces direct service to Curacao, Santo Domingo, and Haiti, commencing February 26, 2018. “We will offer daily service to Curacao, five flights per week to Santo Domingo – Dominican Republic, two flights a week to Port au Prince – Haiti,” the airline announced on Wednesday. “These …

Today, state secretary Knops (Kingdom Relations) has appointed Marcolino (Mike) Franco as central government commissioner of St Eustatius. Knops appointed Mervyn Stegers as deputy commissioner. Last Tuesday, the House of Representatives and the Senate adopted a bill providing for an administrative intervention in St Eustatius (‘Statia’). The government commissioner will …

The Saba Lions Club on February 5 donat­ed six tablets to the Love and Independence For El­ders (LIFE) programme and the Henry Carlyle Ev­ery Home for the Aged. The donation is the result of the combined efforts of corporate citizens, the Saba Lions Clubs and the Client Council of the …

Island Councilman Clyde van Putten has filed a request for assistance to the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPAL) in the matter between the island and the Kingdom Government. The Dutch Parliament passed an emergency legislation on Tuesday that will dissolve St. Eustatius’ Island …

A law providing for administrative intervention in St Eustatius was adopted today by the House of Representatives and the Senate. On Wednesday morning the State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops, will fly to the island to explain the decision to government officials, the island council and …

The report of the Committee of wise persons concerning the situation on Statia is now available in English. The report is split into two parts. The second part contains the Annexes to the report. (840 KB) 15 MB Deliverables to the Second Chamber

To the Chair of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands In view of the concerns surrounding the state of governance of the public body St Eustatius, on 24 May 2017 the then Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations requested a Committee of Wise Persons (‘the Committee’) to conduct an investigation into the …

The situ­ation of lawlessness, the mismanagement, both ad­ministratively and finan­cially, and the level of in­timidation that the current St. Eustatius Government has displayed is totally un­acceptable and required intervention by the Dutch Government, according to State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Rela­tions Raymond Knops. The Dutch Government submitted a …

A vast majority of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament expressed support for the law proposal for a direct intervention in the St. Eustatius Government, sending home the Island and Executive Councils as a result of what has been termed as “gross negligence.”. The Second Chamber’s Permanent Committee for …

Last week Island governor, Jonathan Johnson, visited the European part of The Netherlands. During his visit, he had an introductory meeting with the new Minister of Justice and Safety, Mr. Grapperhaus, to discuss issues such as enforcement, drugs, and domestic violence. The governor also met with State Secretary, Mr. Knops, …

This morning early, I have taken notice of the news that the National Government has taken the decision to sideline the government of St. Eustatius and to appoint a special commissioner who will take over the governing of the island. This decision has been taken following the report, conclusions, and …

Update: The Refunjol-Janssen report (in Dutch) is available for download at the bottom of this post (845 KB). ———————- Today, State Secretary Knops (Kingdom Relations) has submitted a bill to the House of Representatives to be able to intervene administratively on St. Eustatius. The bill stipulates that the island council …

Teranov, the French geothermal developer based in Guadeloupe, has been recently granted a geothermal exploratory license by the Executive Council of Saba (Caribbean Netherlands). This exclusive permit authorises its holder to explore geothermal resource over the next three years on the island in order to qualify geothermal resource for further …

The PO-Raad, the Dutch sector organization for primary education, who represents the joint interests of school boards in both the European and Caribbean part of The Netherlands, has partnered with Training Professionals International Firm (TPI). The aim of this partnership is to provide coaching for school principals and vice principals …

Police notifications of  Monday, January 29th until Thursday, February 1st 2018 On Monday, January 29th , a man with initials K.G. was detained at a home at Under the Hill on Saba, regarding  abuse and insult. KPCN

Since September, the Public Entity has called attention from the national government for the economic impact of the hurricanes and asked for different measures to alleviate the impact.  As a result, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has set up an economic relief fund for the tourism sector. The fund is …

Update January 31st State secretary Raymond Knops announced that there will be no financial support from the Dutch Government for the independent press on St. Maarten. The press should remain independent, so he does want to end up in a situation where the sponsors newspapers. He indicated that funds from …

As a result of the devastating hurricane Irma tourism on the Dutch islands of Saba and St. Eustatius has been hit hard since September last year. In order to support this sector in this part of the country, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate (EZK) in coordination with the …

A new fund for payment of damages to victims of violent crimes in Bonaire, St. Eusta­tius and Saba will be intro­duced in May, Chief Pros­ecutor Henry Hambeukers said. The Violent Offences Com­pensation Fund, or Schade­fonds Geweldsmisdrijven in Dutch, is a “pot” of money made available by the Dutch Government from …

New Prosecutor for the Caribbean Netherlands, Martine Boheur, was recently introduced to the Island Governors of Saba and Statia, as well as to the Police and others on the islands, said Chief Prosecutor Henry Ham­beukers. He said he was glad that Boheur had joined their office, as she brings experience …

Tent Reef has been nominated as one of the 10 Best dive sites in the Caribbean by USA Today. Just west of Saba’s Fort Bay harbor lies Tent Reef, a rock ledge 13 feet below the surface that gets progressively deeper until it turns into a sheer wall. By day …

For Com­mander Andre van der Kamp and his men and women on the ocean-going patrol ves­sel HNLMS Zeeland of the Royal Netherlands Navy, the 36-day operation providing emergency assistance in the three Windward Islands and Dominica after Hurricanes Irma and Maria was both a unique and impressive expe­rience. Van der …

From now on, most crimi­nal court sessions on Saba and St. Eustatius will be handled by a Prosecutor from St. Maarten instead of by a colleague from the Prosecutor’s office for Bo­naire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Chief Prosecutor Henry Hambeukers gave details on the changes in which the Prosecutor’s Office …

Last week a team from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Rijkswaterstaat and Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO) visited Saba to make preparations for the renovation of the airport runway. In a well-attended town hall meeting on Thursday, January 18th, the public was informed about the plans. The overall response …

Saba Electric Com­pany N.V. (SEC) decides to postpone the implementa­tion of the 2018 maximum tariffs as calculated by the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM). This decision comes after ACM’s calculation of the new rates and the subse­quent publication thereof. SEC will maintain the 2017 fixed distribution tariff and the …

In Q4 2017, consumer prices on Saba were 2.5 percent up over one year previously. In the previous quarter, Saban consumers still paid 1.3 percent less for goods and services year-on-year. The annual price increase was 1.8 percent on St Eustatius and 1.2 percent on Bonaire, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports. …

The Caribbean Tourism Marketing Agency has featured Saba in the 2018 first quarter edition of its digital magazine Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine. The magazine is distributed globally and published in January, April, July, and October. The Caribbean Tourism Marketing Agency promotes the Caribbean as the perfect vacation destination by …

A number of chal­lenges remain for Saba notwithstanding the sub­stantial additional financial resources that the Nether­lands has made available and the large number of mostly infrastructural proj­ects that will be carried out this year. Saba Commissioner Bruce Zagers wants to use the op­portunity of his visit to The Hague in …

Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) emerged win­ner of the first ever Skills Competition for students from Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The “Unspoiled Queen” hosted the premier of this battle of carpentry skills between students. Students from Bonaire were not able to attend, but the battle between SCS students and those …

Saba Triathlon 2018 was on January 20th. 50 participants from countries such as Saba, St Eustatius, St Maarten, St Martin, USA, Canada and The Netherlands. Divisions were: youth, teams, individuals, female, male, best overall. Visit their Facebook page to enjoy all the pictures made by Z.ePhotography The day started with a …

State Secretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops, responded to a letter from the chamber of Commerce Saba & Statia for further financial assistance in the wake of recent hurricanes. The business communities on on the islands continue to face financial burdens and the influx of tourists to the islands …

On Friday, Janu­ary 19, a house on Clement Sorton Street in The Bot­tom was burglarized, Ca­ribbean Netherlands Police Force KPCN reported on Monday. Unknown persons took money from the house, the Police added in a press statement. The Daily Herald.