News

Saba Reach Foundation’s (SRF) Adult Education Department organized Microsoft Office Word and Excel levels one and two courses as a part of its fall 2016 term course offering. Each course began in September and consisted of nine one-and-a-half-hour sessions taught by certified instructor Nina Pedersen. Each course culminated with a …

The election for Board Members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of St. Eustatius and Saba, which was held on Tuesday, had a surprising outcome on Statia. Incumbent Chamber President and Island Councilman for the Democratic Party (DP) Nicolaas “Koos” Sneek was defeated by young entrepreneur V. Fernando Simmons. …

On Tuesday, the tombstone for the late fireman of the Caribbean Netherlands Fire Department Carlos Leverock was unveiled on Saba. Leverock, who was born on Saba, was a fire fighter in St. Eustatius for years. He passed away two years ago. On Tuesday, General Chief of the Caribbean Netherlands Fire …

Two genetic disorders will be added to the neonatal screening, the so-called “heel prick” in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, Dutch Minister of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports Edith Schippers recently informed the Dutch Parliament. Per January 1, 2017, the illnesses alpha-thalassemia and beta-thalassemia will be added to the neonatal …

By Suzanne Koelega. Convinced that children in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba deserve the proper attention and that the rights of this group have to be safeguarded, Dutch Children’s Ombudsman Margrite Kalverboer will draft a report in the near future on how to best serve the interests of children in …

This week, the Minister of Security and Justice, Mr. G.A. (Ard) van der Steur  in his capacity as a police force manager will nominate Mr. Jose Rosales to King Willem Alexander for appointment as Chief of the Dutch Caribbean Police Force. The appointment goes into effective on January 1st , …

Windward Islands Bank (WIB) has delayed its closure of its Saba branch until the end of January 2017. The bank had initially set the closure of its local branch for November 30. In addition, the Dutch Government has agreed to cover the cost of keeping the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) …

United Telecommunications Services (UTS) has successfully completed an upgrade of its billing platform for its Chippie mobile services over the weekend. The upgrade was carried out between the hours of 3:00pm on Saturday, and 5:00am on Sunday. The system’s upgrade was carried out for the islands of St. Maarten, St. …

This week’s symposium on Caribbean coral reefs at the Royal Palace on the Dam in Amsterdam has raised questions by Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party. Bosman sent four written questions to Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations …

St. Eustatius should have a new detention facility by 2018 to facilitate local clients, as well as those of Saba. Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur and State Secretary of Security and Justice Klaas Dijkhoff stated this in a letter that was sent to the Dutch …

The Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean COPPPAL rejected by communiqué the possible attempts to re-colonise the so-called Dutch Antilles in violation of the agreement signed at the United Nations (UN) in 1954, and urged the Netherlands to initiate a process of decolonisation and self-determination …

The Dutch Government will intensify the cooperation with the justice sectors in Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten. This is in the interest of the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, but also of the Kingdom as a whole. Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur …

Specific measures for youth delinquents, continued focus on financialeconomic and border transgressing crime, combating of corruption and border security are some of the policy themes to further develop the security and justice sector in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur and …

On December 3rd 2016, Kevin Baldauf won the Sea to Scenery race that was a part of the Saba Day Weekend schedule of events. Baldauf, who finished in 51 minutes and 30 seconds, ran the course along with 10 other participants from the Cove Bay, located just below the Juancho …

Dutch State Secretary of Social Affairs and Labour Jetta Klijnsma has partly given in to the wish of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament to look at setting a social minimum for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba that is based on the benchmarks of the basic cost of living. …

The Saba Rock Sport Fishing Foundation, organizers of the “Saba Day Wahoo Tournament” are pleased to announce that this year we had a record breaking number of 28 boats take part in our event: 11 boats from Saba, 5 from Dutch Sint Maarten, 2 from French Sint Martin, 2 from …

~ Documents up to 1954 widely accessible ~ The Dutch Caribbean Digital Platform of the Leiden University and the University of Curaçao with more than half a million scans that were made of old books, magazines, articles, manuscripts, newspapers, photos, maps and charts went online on Saturday. With only a …

Dear Residents of St. Eustatius, Due to recent developments in the relationship and communication between the Public Entity St. Eustatius and the Dutch Central Government and recent local developments on St. Eustatius, as Kingdom Representative I have the responsibility to inform inhabitants of St. Eustatius about the position of the …

On Sunday, December 4th, a collision took place on Pasture Street. A family car crashed into a truck. At that time there was a person in the back of the truck and his hand was hanging out of the truck. His hand got stuck between the car and the truck. …

Despite showery conditions, a good crowd of more than 50 people gathered to celebrate the opening of the new Everyt’ings gift shop and Five Square Art Gallery shopping complex at the old police station in Windwardside last Thursday. The doors opened at 5 o’clock precisely, with some people having been waiting …

Victims of violent crimes in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba might very well become entitled to damages from the Compensation Fund of the Dutch Government in the future. Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur on Thursday promised to look into this possibility and discuss this next …

As is customary, a number of persons and organizations were awarded tokens of appreciation by the Government of the Public Entity Saba during the official Saba Day 2016 celebrations Friday in St. John’s for their dedication to Saba and its inhabitants. Governor Jonathan Johnson gave an award to board members …

Saba marked its national holiday Saba Day during an official ceremony Friday morning at St. John’s. Thursday evening an ecumenical service was held in The Bottom. On that occasion Island Governor Jonathan Johnson delivered his traditional Saba Day speech. In his official address for the 41st celebration of Saba Day, …

Conservation organisations from Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten recently joined a research expedition organised by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography and the WAITT Foundation. The research aims to monitor coral reefs around the windward Dutch Caribbean islands, gathering valuable data on coral reefs and fish populations. From November 7 …

Minister of Education, Culture and Science Jet Bussemaker expressed satisfaction with the progress made in education during her visit to Saba on Tuesday and Wednesday. Accompanied by Commissioner of Education Bruce Zagers, Dutch Government Representative Gilbert Isabella and a delegation of education civil servants from The Hague and the Caribbean …

The technical stream of Saba Comprehensive School is the first vocational education MBO institution in the Caribbean Netherlands to achieve basic quality in education. Minister of Education, Culture, and Science Jet Bussemaker announced this on Wednesday morning when she visited the school’s Leather Factory at Cove Bay, where instruction in …

Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) caught and tagged a total of 22 sharks in October as part of a region-wide “Save our Sharks” project. Little is currently known about the status of shark populations in Dutch Caribbean waters, and tagging studies are a pivotal first step in determining which sharks …

Minister for Education, Culture and Science, Jet Bussemaker, paid a visit Saba on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week and has expressed satisfaction with the progress, which has been made in education. On Wednesday, accompanied by Commissioner of Education Bruce Zagers, Kingdom Representative Gilbert Isabella and a delegation of education …

The team at Everyt’ings gift shop and Five Square Art Gallery are confident that they will be ready for the unveiling of their new store complex in Windwardside on Thursday, at 5:00 pm. After six months of planning, designing and building they are in the fi nal stages of preparation …

To All Businesses, Foundations and to the Community of Saba, The Executive Council of the Public Entity Saba would hereby like to invite you to attend the 41st Annual Saba Day Celebration on December 2nd 2016, which will be hosted at the Saba Comprehensive School in the village of St. …

Minister Jet Bussemaker of OCW (Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap; Education, Culture and Science) and representatives of the Caribbean Netherlands educational institutions signed the ‘Second Caribbean Netherlands Education Agenda 2017 – 2020– Working Together On The Next Step’ during the Third Education Conference. The signing of this new education agenda was …

After a few months without confirmed cases, two new positive results came in this week. The patients have no travel history before getting sick, which means that the Zika virus was transmitted locally. Over the last weeks the family doctors at Saba Health Care Foundation have seen a rise in patients …

Sabans again voted for their favourite personalities in the categories of music and art, sports and education, and business and economy in the annual Saba People’s Choice Awards. The awards in music and arts went to: Best Band, Believe In The Youth Academy (BYA); Best Female Singer, Abianne Saul; Best …

Every year the determination of the amounts of contributions and benefits takes place in the Caribbean Netherlands. This effects, e.g., the legal minimum hourly wage, the General Retirement Insurance (AOV), the Widow and Orphans Act General Insurance BES (AWW), the special relief, the child benefit and the maximum daily wage for …

The Ombudsperson for Children stands up for the rights of children and young people. Recently, she is visiting Saba on Thursday, November 24. In order to do this work well, the Ombudsperson would like children and young people to tell her the things that need to improve for them in …

From November 27th, till December 1st, Jet Bussemaker, Minister of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) pays a working visit to Caribbean Netherlands. On November 28th she will open the third Education Conference of the Caribbean Netherlands on St. Eustatius. Participants in the conference are the commissioners of education of the …

Recently, The Daily Herald reported that Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk informed the Dutch Parliament, that the construction of the optic fibre cable that connects St. Eustatius and Saba to the international optic fibre cable in St. Maarten, St. Kitts and St. Barths was successfully …

More than half a million historical books, documents and photos from the Dutch Caribbean islands have been digitalised as part of the project Dutch Caribbean Collections up to 1954, and will become accessible for education and research purposes. The project is a cooperation of several institutions in the Netherlands and …

Season’s Greetings, give thanks! I am happy to inform you that a committee has been established by the Public Entity Saba to oversee the preservation of the Queen Wilhelmina Park in the Bottom. And we are pleased to announce that this year we will once again be hosting Christmas in …

Last week, the Commissioner of Tourism Bruce Zagers visited St. Barths with a delegation of four persons on a mission to facilitate building a stronger touristic relationship between Saba and St. Barths. During the visit the delegation met with some key stakeholders of the tourism industry in St. Barths. These …