News

On May  23rd, Esmeralda Johnson, a Saban students studying abroad conducted an information session about the college she attends, Lindenwood University in the state of Missouri. At the session was Commissioner of Education, Bruce Zagers; Island Secretary,  Tim Muller; students of Form 4 of Saba Comprehensive School, their parents, and …

Yesterday, during Dutch Caribbean Shark Week on Saba, a kick-off meeting was held for a special project in collaboration with Saban fishermen aimed at reducing the bycatch of sharks in the local lobster fisheries. The new project is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and is part of …

The Saba Lions Club marks its 40th anniversary of its Charter as club today, June 6. This is a milestone celebrated by all Lions, who have embraced the goals and core principles of Lionism as a means of humanitarian service for four decades. The Club, like no other locally, has …

The Dutch Election Council (“Kiesraad”) in principle agrees with the law proposal to establish separate Electoral Colleges (“Kiescolleges”) for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (so-called BES islands) so their residents can vote for the Senate. The Election Council on Thursday published its ad­vice on the establishing of the Electoral Colleges …

In its continued effort to go green, Saba Electric Company N.V. (SEC) took one step closer to establishing a more renewable form of energy production in Saba by purchasing additional land for the development of a second solar park. This comes as a result of the decision to reduce the …

Saying that he shared the concerns about the socio-economic situation in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, Dutch caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk has asked the islands’ pensioners to be patient in the process of reaching a solution for the pension cuts. “The Dutch Government is …

Dutch Taalunie organized a “Dutch as a Foreign Language Nederlands als Vreemde Taal NVT” workshop on St. Eustatius and Saba last week. The participants were all teach­ers of primary and second­ary education, who teach Dutch. The objective of the workshop was to iden­tify questions and needs regarding NVT education. The …

The Public Entity Saba is going steady financially. Government expects a surplus of US $440.000 by the end of 2017 to pay off interest-free loans, and the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT has approved the first budget amendment. The Execution Report of the first quarter of 2017. sent to CFT …

Child Focus Foundation project leader Stacey Simmons and co-founder/chairperson Henriette van Heijnsbergen attended the Appeltje van Oranje award ceremony at the Noordeinde Palace in The Hague on May 18.   In November Child Focus presented their After School Activities project in Curacao to a panel of Oranje Fonds representatives. Child …

Dutch caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk has announced the start of the Committee of Wise Men for St. Eustatius. Members of that committee will be former Aruba Governor Fredis Refunjol and Member of the Council of State Jan Franssen. In order to assure an objective, …

On Sunday, May 21st , 2017, around 01:45 AM, the police received  a report that a fight was taking place, on the E.A. JOHNSON road in the vicinity of The Hide Away Bar & Restaurant in Windward Side, where witnesses would have seen that a man with the initials J.L.S.F. …

Roughly 20 per cent of electricity consumers on Saba will see an increase on their electrical bill per July 1, as a result of an increase in tariffs. In a town hall meeting on May 16, the Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and the Saba Electric Company explained the …

The lower section of the Ladder Bay Trail will be temporarily closed and the dive-site buoy will be tem­porarily removed during the salvaging process of motor yacht Elsa. A public notice issued Friday by the Public Entity of Saba reads that due to precautionary measures, the Lad­der Bay Trail will …

Last week, the social organizations on Saba, Bonaire and St. Eustatius, were informed during information sessions about the new funding scheme “Opportunities for all children”. From 2017 until 2021, one million euros will be made available, with the aim to provide all children between 0 and 17 years who are …

St. John’s, May 22, 2017 Re : Invitation Town Hall Meeting Dear SCS Stakeholders, By means of this letter we respond to the information we received last Friday, May 19, 2017, about the Town Hall Meeting. On May 11th, The Saba Educational Foundation (SEF) held an informative meeting with both …

The St. Maarten Sport Fishing Foundation hosted their fourth annual Island Water World Mahi tournament on Saturday at Bobby’s Ma­rina in Philipsburg. There were 16 registered fishing teams from both sides of the Friendly Island, Saba, St. Barth’s, and St. Kitts. Fishing vessel Lorna Mae from St. Maarten, cap­tained by …

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parlia­ment has started the process of the second reading to amend the Dutch Constitution to embed the constitutional basis of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba and to es­tablish an Electoral Council for the islands, despite Statia’s objec­tions. The proposal to amend the Con­stitution has …

Violations by the maritime sector at the Saba Bank remain a problem. Ship owners keep trespassing in the restricted area, and the number of vi­olations has not decreased last year. The Dutch Car­ibbean Coast Guard wants harsher measures against multiple offenders. The trend in which au­thorities noted a 50 per …

Retired civil servants of Bonaire, St. Eusta­tius and Saba receiving a pension will not be compensated for the 3.5 per cent reduction of their monthly pay-out by Caribbean Netherlands Pension Fund PCN. “The Dutch Government is not considering flanking policy in the form of compensation of pension cuts that were …

To mitigate the threat to Saban English, more attention should be given to this unique island dialect in schools. Author Theodore “Ted” Johnson made this call during the presentation of his book “A Lee Chip, A Dictionary and Study of Saban English” at the Aruba House in The Hague last …

Commissioner Wilson officially opened Book week 2017, on Monday May 15th at the Sacred Heart School. The Commissioner encouraged each student to read daily, as this will broaden their vocabulary and knowledge. Book week is an annual event, hosted by the Queen Wilhelmina Library that promotes literacy (reading&writing). The theme …

Outgoing Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Friday sent a stern warning to the St. Eustatius Government: it has to abide by the law, and cannot just toss aside valid legislation and legal decisions. The Minister made it very clear in a letter that he …

Effective July 1st, 2016, a new Law Electricity and Drinking Water BES went into effect for Saba, St. Eustatius and Bonaire. Following consultation with relevant stakeholders, The Authority for Consumers & Markets (Autoriteit Consument & Markt, has set new tariffs for electricity which goes into effect July 1st, 2017. The …

Public Notice  The Central Committee of the Public Entity Saba will meet on Thursday May 11th, 2017 at 2:00 pm at the Government Administration Building. The agenda for said meeting is Opening Approval of the agenda Approval of the Minutes from the Central Committee meeting on March 16th, 2017 Opportunity …

Monday, May 8th, the Pension Fund Caribbean Nether­lands, PCN, held an informative meeting on Statia for pensioners and (former) contributors to the fund about the recent pension reduction of 3.5 per cent. PCN’s board members Valdemar Marcha and Roy Hooker spoke on various topics related to the reduction during the meeting. …

On Monday, May 8th, the Island, and Executive Councils sat down with the Saba Educational Foundation board(SEF). The SEF provided an update to the Island and Executive Councils, where they thoroughly explained the financial situation at the school and what measures have been taken to ensure the educational institution remains …

On Monday, May 8th, the Island, and Executive Councils sat down with the Saba Educational Foundation board(SEF). The SEF provided an update to the Island and Executive Councils, where they thoroughly explained the financial situation at the school and what measures have been taken to ensure the educational institution remains …

On Monday May 8th, members of the Saba Festival Foundation (SFF) met with safety stakeholders facilitated by the Public Entity Saba, to discuss their safety plan. In attendance were Julio Every (Chief of Fire Department), James Hassell (Fire Department), Koen Hulshof (Public Health), Krijn Pons (Policy Advisor for Social Affairs), …

On Friday, May 5th at approximately 11.30 AM a man with initials J.L.S.F.  was arrested on the  Samuel A. Charles Street for domestic violence. Press release KPCN

A not-to-be-missed “Learning-By-Doing” opportunity is on offer to a national from any Overseas Country and Territory* (name OCT – see list below) in Brussels, Belgium, to work with an experienced business person whose specialization is innovation. This is a great opportunity for an enthusiastic entrepreneur to learn more about the …

On Monday, May 8, operations for the salvage of motor vessel Elsa will resume. The 48-metre luxury motor yacht ran aground at Ladder Bay on March 22. Rijkswaterstaat, an entity of the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, has hired salvage company Koole-Mammoet to remove the vessel. This is the …

Today as we commemorate Memorial Day, Government officials of Saba, civil servants and SCS students gathered at the monument in The Bottom. This is the monument dedicated to those who lost their lives during World War II. Members of the Island and Executive Councils, along with the SCS students laid …

Organisations in the Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) which have projects to boost children socially, via sports, culture and at school can apply for grants stemming from the one million euros extra per year made available by the Dutch Cabinet until 2021 to increase opportunities for children. Organisations …

On April 18, 2017 the Saba Labor Party (SLP) fraction requested for a public meeting on April 26, 2017 to have the Executive Council address the Island Council regarding the recent developments pertaining to the high school, Saba Comprehensive School (SCS). The SLP fraction was made aware of the crucial …

Choosing a career can put a lot of pressure on young people when they are trying to study. Most students are unaware of which career path to choose and what qualifications are required for their career choice of interest. That is why Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) promotes job shadowing for …

Julieta Woods of Saba was the lucky winner of the CC1 St. Maarten Coca Cola St. Maarten Carnival 2017 promotion. She won an all-expense paid trip for two to St. Maarten. Her prize includes two roundtrip tickets to St. Maarten, one-week stay in Simpson Bay Resort, Carnival season passes and …

Saba’s Juancho E. Yrausquin has topped a global travel poll of the world’s most scenic airport landings, conducted by the private jet booking service PrivateFly. The results were announced on Tuesday. St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport made number seven in the poll. A panel of major names in the …

As a neutral organisation the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) doesn’t get involved in political discussions on the issue of poverty in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Nonetheless, CBS Manager Henk van de Velden painted an interesting picture of the developments in the Caribbean Netherlands based on statistics of the …

On the basis of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) reports that the inflation rate on Bonaire slipped to 0.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. Year-onyear, prices of goods and services also decreased on Saba (1.0 per cent). On St. Eustatius …

During an expedition last year, a number of tiger sharks were caught on the Saba Bank and fitted with satellite tags to study how these animals move around the Caribbean Sea. This research provides invaluable information about shark migration and it is the first time that work of this kind …