News

Commander General of the Fire Brigade Caribbean Netherlands BKCN Jair Tromp (cen­tre) and local Commander Julio Every (right) met with Saba’s Island Governor Jonathan Johnson (left) to discuss the hurricanes and future plans. The monodisciplinary evalua­tion report of BKCN was also handed over during this meeting. The Daily Herald.

Following the storms, and after the damage assessments were in, the Public Entity Saba funded temporary housing for all residents with severely damaged homes and an agreement was made to repair homes for the residents. The next step was to order the material and for the reconstruction to begin. The …

Commissioner of Education, Bruce Zagers has signed yet another Saba Government-College agreement, this time with the Lipscomb University, located Tennessee (USA). This agreement will grant Saban students who have been accepted into Lipscomb University, a scholarship of $18,410 per academic year, which matches the Duo grant. These students will, therefore, …

The business community of Saba will receive two payments from the 2 million euro relief fund, that will be available to the island after hurricane Irma. Companies who are not within the hospitality industry will not receive funds until further notice, due to the priority of the high season. Applications for …

Currently, the upkeep of land registers on Saba is being done manually. This way of recording real property matters comes with several challenges, for example; difficulty searching for recorded documents and of course always the risk of deterioration of paper by time, fire or hurricane. Now, with the development of …

For the first time, the Caribbean Netherlands Healthcare Insurance Office (ZVK) has signed a framework agreement with the hospitals of Saba and St. Eustatius for a period of 5 years. Through this signing, both parties confirm the importance of long-term care based on mutual trust. Part of the agreement is …

Alwin Hylkema and Sarah van der Horn – Plante won male and female first place, respectively, during Saba’s annual Saba Day Run for the 42nd annual Saba Day celebrations. The race, named “Sea to Scenery” and touted as the single most robust climb in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, had …

It’s been 7 years since Saba’s constitutional change to becoming the smallest special municipality of the Netherlands. With a population of 2000, some persons still continue to fight this island’s high prices, low salaries along with high taxes. Single parents are forced to work two or more jobs to survive …

Clients of the Caribbean Netherlands Health Insurance Office ZVK in St. Eustatius and Saba are less inclined to file a formal, written complaint about ZVK services and decisions. Instead, they often opt to complain verbally at the counter, which adds to the pressure on the staff. This is one of …

The 32-year-old man from Bosnia and Herzegovina suspected of involvement in the death of Saba University School of Medicine’s student Kavya Guda on April 15, 2015, was acquitted of homicide by the Court of First Instance in Bonaire on Friday. S.C., who was residing in Missouri, United States, was convicted …

During his visit to St. Eustatius and Saba last week, Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations was directly confronted with the large differences in approach between the governments of these two public entities. In Saba, the State Secre­tary found a committed government and a commu­nity that has …

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy (EZK) has approved a request to reduce the fixed tariff cost of electricity on Saba. Shortly after hurricanes Irma and Maria, The Saba Electric Company applied to EZK for interim relief for a large part of the non-subsidized kVA connections on Saba. …

On Sunday, De­cember 3, a man with initials R.R.J.J. was ar­rested at Fort Bay in Saba for disrupting pub­lic order and for physical abuse. The Caribbean Neth­erlands Police Force KPCN on Saba said the man had been taken into custody because he had hit a woman.

The Malofi Foun­dation and Lorsim Produc­tions presented the 2017 People’s Choice Awards Thursday evening at Sun­ny Valley Youth Centre in The Bottom. Awards were handed out in a host of categories with Roy Smith being elected Person of the Year. Former employee of utility company GEBE Smith was presented with …

Nicholas Johnson and crew of Briana Jamie, from Saba, won the Saba Day Wahoo Tournament with a 61.3 pound catch. A total of 21 boats feature 100 crew of which 90 were male, three female and seven were juniors com­peted in the tournament. The fleet included 10 boats from Saba as …

On Friday 24th the finals of the14th annual Saba Idol Competition was held at Scout’s Place Hotel on Saba. Special sponsor and co-host this year was Dr. Soc from Radio 92 on St. Maarten. The three finalists consisted of the assistant professor of the Saba University school of medicine Emma Figures from the UK, …

The Dutch King and Queen have indulged in a spot of scuba diving during their three-day trip to the Caribbean. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima were clad in scuba gear when the smiled for the camera on a boat at Saba Bank, off Saba Island. The royal couple then took …

Sabans turned out in droves Friday to see King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima, who graced the island with their presence during the 2017 Saba Day celebrations. Traditionally, the Saba Day celebrations are opened with an ecumenical church service, and this year’s 42nd edition was no exception. After attending the service, …

The Executive Council of Saba will receive a one-time spe­cial assistance grant of two million euros to cope with the damage caused by Hurri­canes Irma and Maria, Dutch State Secretary of Home Af­fairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops announced during his visit to Saba this week. The one-time special grant …

On Tuesday November 28th the State Secretary of the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK), Raymond Knops, began a first familiarization visit to Saba. Upon arrival he spoke with Island Governor Jonathan Johnson, the commissioners and members of the Island Council. The talks were constructive.  As a result …

New State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops will be paying a two-day in­troductory visit to St. Eusta­tius today, Wednesday and Thursday. His visit partly co­incides with King Willem-Al­exander and Queen Maxima who will also be in Statia on Thursday afternoon. “togeth­er with the King and Queen, Knops …

As of  December 1st  2017, Mr Angel Bermudez will assume the function as  the new Head of the BES Healthcare Insurance Office (ZVK). Mr. Bermudez is no stranger to the BES islands. Between 2011 and 2014 he was director of the Tax office for the Caribbean Netherlands. In recent years, …

As of January 2018, Curvin George has been appointed as the new director of Youth care and Family Supervision Carbibbean Netherlands after a thorough selection procedure. He is currently director of the Guardianship Council CN. He has fulfilled this position since July 2013, before that he worked as senior council …

Two researchers of the Na­tional Ombudsman’s office in the Netherlands are cur­rently paying a working visit to the Caribbean Nether­lands. Daniel Anon Parreia and Yvonne Kraan are hold­ing open office hours on Bo­naire, Saba and St. Eustatius to handle complaints about government. Since 2011, residents of the three islands who …

Every two years the Board of the Prince Bernhard Culture Fund Caribbean Region PBCCG awards a prize on each of the six Dutch Caribbean islands in recognition of outstanding efforts in the fields of art, culture and nature. This year, William “Will” Stanley Johnson was bestowed with the 2017 PBCCG …

No parking alongside Church street and S.A. Charles street in the Bottom from November 30, 4 p.m., until December 2, 12 p.m. due to Saba Day activities (streets from Public Works Building to Governor’s House) . Roads in The Bottom will be closed for traffic for short periods of time on December 1, between 8 a.m. …

On Friday, November 24th , in the evening hours, a preventive check was held on the Park Lane Street on Saba, where several people were checked for compliance with the Opium Act and (fire) Weapons Act BES. Among other things, a small amount of drugs and a pocket knife were …

The Prosecutor’s Of­fice has demanded a prison sentence of three years for the man suspected of in­volvement in the death of a 24-year-old student on Saba and of possession of child pornography. S.C. from Bosnia (32) is a suspect in the so-called Hec­tor investigation in the death of Saba University …

On Thursday November 23rd , in the late afternoon, a group of 6 police officers from Bonaire who are giving support to their colleagues on Saba, carried out a traffic check on the Lambert Hassell Road. During this check, 72 cars, 1 scooter and 2 motorcycles were checked. A total …

On Thursday, November 28, the Ministry of Finance together with the Financial In­telligence Unit in the Netherlands FIU-NL will be hold­ing a seminar on Bonaire on the prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorism in the Carib­bean Netherlands’ islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The seminar, intended for …

  Philips­burg Jubilee Library has received a US $900 dona­tion from Saba’s Queen Wil­helmina Library. Saba’s library organized a fundraising drive on Mon­day, October 23, to assist St. Maarten’s Library after the passing of Hurricanes Irma and Maria and damage to the Library’s structure. The much-needed funds will be used …

Residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba with Dutch nationality will be able to vote indirectly for the Dutch Senate in May 2019 via the Electoral College on their island which will be elected on March 20, 2019, on the same day the Island Council election will take place. The …

The representatives of the Nation­al Ombudsman will return to St. Eustatius and Saba once again. They will be on Statia on Monday, November 27, and on Tuesday, November 28, and on Saba on Wednesday af­ternoon, November 29, and Thursday, November 30. The National Ombudsman is an independent institute that handles …

A Netherlands Maritime Research Institute NIOZ research ship and a team with almost 100 scientists will visit the Windward Islands during part of February and March 2018 to conduct research in the sea surrounding the islands. The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research NWO recently announced the seven-month voyage of NIOZ’s …

From November  20-24th, 2017 a group of international shark experts is gathering at Captain Don’s Habitat on Bonaire to discuss measures for the international protection of sharks. Countries ranging from the Philippines to Saudi Arabia, from the United States to Australia and from Costa Rica to Chile have sent experts …

By Suzanne Koelega “Poverty must stay.” It is the painful conclusion and the title of the chapter on Kingdom relations in the new book by former Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA, who was deeply committed to fight poverty …

During the course of last week and this week two flat racks of building material and one container of durable goods have arrived on Saba. The building material is for the repair of homes that were severely damaged by hurricanes Irma and Maria. The cargo consists of besides wood, zinc …

The Public Entity Saba signed a contract, last week with AquaSab N.V. for the supply of Reverse Osmosis (RO) water from AquaSab’s RO facility at Fort Bay harbor to the government owned water transport system leading from Fort Bay to The Bottom. The Public Entity has recently finalized the installation …

This week a start was made with the repairs of the shoreline at For Bay Harbor. Part of the coastline on the east side of the big harbor dam was heavily damaged during the passing of hurricane Maria. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management has offered to assist with …

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Máxima will visit the islands of Saba, St Eustatius and St Maarten in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom from Thursday 30 November to Saturday 2 December. The royal couple will be accompanied on this trip by the State Secretary for the …