News

Saba’s Commissioner of Education Bruce Zagers and Island Secretary Tim Muller recently returned from their extensive tour of United State colleges and universities which included visits to six schools in five states. Agreements that will benefit Saba students were signed with three schools. The institutions visited were: St. Thomas University …

On the heels of Tuesday’s Island Council meeting concerning the recent pension reduction, the WIPM party is calling for more constructive debate on the floor of the Island Council. The meeting which saw the passage of a motion urging the Executive Council to work with stakeholders to solve the pension …

Foreigners are frequently employed in the Caribbean Netherlands and such employment is regulated by law. The “Wet arbeid vreemdelingen” for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES) forbids foreigners to work in the Caribbean Netherlands without a valid work permit TWV. The law is intended to protect the local labour market …

Considering that the Pension Fund Caribbean Netherlands PCN is underfunded, which led to a reduction in the gross pension from April 1, 2017, to 3.5 per cent, that may be followed by a second reduction of approximately 12 per cent on April 1, 2018, the Island Council of Saba unanimously …

On Thursday April 13th , between 11 AM and 12 noon a traffic check was held on the J.Z. Ridgeroad. A total of 56 vehicles were checked and 6 fines were written out for, among others, driving without a driver’s license, driving without a valid driver’s license and driving without …

The Dutch National Ombudsman received some 210 requests of Caribbean Netherlands residents in 2016. People of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are increasingly finding their way to the Ombudsman. The 2016 annual report of the National Ombudsman, which was presented on Wednesday, states that many people know how to find …

Arti Legi presents from April 6 to May 7, 2017, the exhibition “Weide en Wildernes” (Meadow & Wilderness).  The works of three Dutch artists are presented. They use different techniques to express the beauty of meadows and wilderness. For decades, Heleen Cornet lives on Saba. Her source of inspiration is the …

Commissioner of Social Affairs Rolando Wilson on Wednesday called upon Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk and on State Secretary of Social Affairs and Employment Jetta Klijnsma to reconsider their decision to cut the pensions of members of Pension Fund Caribbean Netherlands PCN. “As Commissioner of …

The Windward Islands People’s Movement (WIPM) fraction in the Island Council has requested an Island Council meeting to be held Tuesday, April 18. The meeting is to discuss the recent 3.5 per cent reduction in the gross pension premium which was introduced on April 1, and the twelve per cent …

As per April 1, Marva Donker has been appointed Secretary on the board of Saba Educational Foundation (SEF), after the resignation of La-Toya Charles. Donker is currently employed by the Island Government in the position of Head of the Personnel Department, which she has set up. During the past 31 …

The Wet arbeid vreemdelingen BES (Wav BES) is intended to protect the local labor market and to prevent unfair competition between businesses and with regards to employment conditions. As of April 1st, the policy rules for the work permit (TWV) have been tightened. The tighter policy rules aim to ensure …

Child Focus Foundation’s Jitterbugs theatre group recently performed their own rendition of “The Little Mermaid” on Saba. The performance was showcased on five nights and each night was sold out to an audience of 90 people. The new version of the play was the brainchild of director Jackie Daley, who …

The Island Governor of the Public Entity Saba hereby invites the general public to attend a Public Island Council meeting on Tuesday April 18th at 10:00 am at the Government Administration Building. The agenda is as follows: Opening 5 percent pension reduction and the planned 12 per cent reduction by …

The 23rd trade mission “Connecting sustainable businesses from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean region” will be visiting St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius, on May 30, May 31, and June 1, respectively. The 23rd trade mission in the Dutch Caribbean is organized by Managing Director of …

Experts are calling for a below-normal hurricane season this year, as a potential El Niño may limit the development of storms. AccuWeather meteorologists are predicting 10 named storms, five of which are projected to become hurricanes and three of which may become major hurricanes. “The big factor is going to …

Sunday April 2nd was the start of the second Restaurant Week on Saba, which will conclude on the upcoming Sunday, April 9th. After the resounding success of the first Restaurant Week in September 2016, it was decided to make this a bi-annual event. This development was met with much enthusiasm …

The most feasible of the three options to solve the funding shortfall at the Caribbean Netherlands Pension Fund PCN is to lower the payable pension, Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk informed the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday. The three options are: having …

On April 2, 2017, the special needs students from teacher Helen’s class enjoyed the Jiu-Jitsu class in the Peter L. Granger Sports Auditorium in St.John’s. The class was given by instructors from Renzo Gracie, JIU-JITSU, St.Maarten. This was the first time that the students experienced any type of self-defense manoeuvres. …

Update April 3: Operations for the salvage of the vessel Elsa are still proceeding. While the ocean conditions did slow the process down, the salvage company continued to work when the swell permitted. Since the operation began, various goals have been accomplished, the most significant of these goals being the …

Commissioner of Education Bruce Zagers, along with Island Secretary Tim Muller, will be travelling today to the US on an educational mission to visit six different universities in five states. The universities which the Commissioner will be visiting are: St Thomas University in Miami, Florida, Universal Technical Institute in Orlando, …

State Secretary Klijnsa is not sensitive to pleas from the BES-islands, unions and pensioners to avoid a cut in pension benefits. In a letter sent to the Public Entity Bonaire yesterday, Klijnsma says that she is saddened by the measure, but that the cut is necessary to make the fund …

Police officers and other civil servants working in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba may in the future be better insured in case of a work related fatal accident. Authorities are looking into ways to arrange a fitting employer’s provision for Caribbean Netherlands civil servants who have a fatal accident at …

The 31-year-old man, suspected of involvement in the homicide of a 24-year-old student at Saba University School of Medicine (SUSOM) on April 15, 2015, will appear at the Court of First Instance in Bonaire on April 13 for a so-called pro forma hearing, the Prosecutor’s Office stated. Suspect S.C. was …

Effective April 1 st, 2017 the pensions for all pensioners and active members of the Pension Fund of the Caribbean Netherlands, PCN, will be reduced by 3.5%. Dave Levenstone has taken the initiative for a petition addressed to the responsible minister Plasterk, to urgently take the necessary actions to avoid this reduction to …

During the upcoming weeks, there will be construction forz some meter walls and fibre-optic cables to be installed by SEC and HES Con throughout Saba’s road infrastructure. This week, fibre-optic cables will be installed from Carl Hassell’s residence to Juancho Yrausquin Airport. From Friday, March 31, until Monday, April 3, …

The Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations KOREL of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, on Tuesday, urged State Secretary Jetta Klijnsma of Social Affairs and Labour to hurry up with the research to arrive at a social minimum for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. “The State Secretary has not …

Registrar of the Caribbean Examinations Council CXC Glenroy Cumberbatch (standing) visited St. Eustatius and Saba (in photo) last week. Purpose of this visit after two years of work on the introduction of the CXC system was to gauge how far the islands are with the introduction of this education and …

Restaurant Week Saba is a recurring culinary event with the intention of spotlighting the restaurants of Saba and encouraging all inhabitants and tourists of Saba to dine out and enjoy the good food Saba has to offer. ​During the week, food lovers can enjoy great lunching & dining experience for …

Satel, under the direction of Managing Director Jennifer Zagers, is proud to announce several exciting new products available immediately. At an open house for customers on Friday, March 24th, Satel celebrated a year-long effort on the part of the Technical Staff to make these new products and rates available to …

Update March 25 The Saba Conservation Foundation and the Public Entity of Saba have responded to the tragic events. Read their reaction here. The Elsa stranded just south of the Ladder trail. Diesel is flowing from the vessel. A description of the vessel indicates that the fuel capacity of the …

On Friday March 24th The Caribbean Netherlands Fire Brigade (BKCN) held a special wet down ceremony for its brand new crash tender at the Juancho Yrausquin Airport at Flat Point. This new fire vehicle was commissioned especially for operation at Saba’s airport and has been put into use after a …

“The driving force behind harmonious and constructive consultations, after years of conflict.” President of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Khadija Arib could not have said it better in her farewell words directed at Chairman of the Second Chamber’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations Jeroen Recourt. Recourt (46) left Parliament on Wednesday, with pain in his heart. “There was so …

On Tuesday, March 21st 2017, the Good Governance Program kick-off took place on Saba at the Sunny Valley Youth Center in the Bottom. Throughout the past year the Public Entity Saba, in close collaboration with the Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations, has been working on its goal …

Investigators of the office of the National Ombudsman will be visiting the Caribbean Netherlands late March until early April. They will be holding consultations on Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius to investigate complaints about Government. One of the most recent investigations by the National Ombudsman concerned the Public Entity Statia. …

In the past two weeks the first teachers of vocational education on Saba and St. Eustatius participated in an “Assessor training workshop”. The aim of the workshop was to train the teachers in the planning and use of testing, based on the CBET (Competence Based Education and Training) testing methodology. …

On Sunday morning, the reconstruction of the S-curve on Fort Bay Road was still in full swing. Take a look at the progress.

On Saturday morning a salvage team from St. Maarten salvaged a French sailing yacht from the rocks in Ladder Bay. On Monday the yacht had drifted of its mooring and stranded on the rocks. The crew, a family of five with three small children had spend the night ashore. No …

The preliminary results from the 2017 election of the members of the Second Chamber have become available. A total number of 385 were cast from from the set of 889 eligible voters. In 2017, the turn out on Saba was significantly greater than in 2012: 43.3% compared to 28.4% in 2012. Two votes …

The Arnold family has been an unwavering supporter of the Saba Marine Park and the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF) since its inception. In fact, Mr. Edward Arnold, one of the SCUBA diving pioneers and original owner of the Saba Deep dive shop, was one of the founding members of the SCF in 1987. Furthermore, since 1991, …

The CXC registrar, mr. Glenroy Cumberbatch, will be visiting Saba from March 22nd to 24th to solicit information about the progress in the introduction of the CXC system, to get feedback from all involved and to provide general information about CXC. All parents, including those with children in Primary school …