News

Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem promised on Wednesday that he will look into the possibilities to keep open the automatic teller machine (ATM) of the Windward Islands Bank (WIB) in The Bottom, Saba. The Minister stated this in response to written questions submitted by Members of the Second Chamber of …

With immediate effect, Samsung Galaxy Note7 devices will not be permitted in checked or carry-on baggage and may not be carried on board any Winair flight, according to a statement from the airline on Tuesday. Customers travelling with this device will not be permitted to travel. The phones also cannot …

Minister Ronald Plasterk intends to give more attention to maintenance costs of projects in Caribbean Netherlands. He promised this during the discussion of the budget for Kingdom Relations. Questions about the tackling of poverty remained largely unanswered, because this is a responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. CDA MP …

The trajectory to achieve full independence for Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten should be completed. The Dutch Government should approach the United Nations (UN) to discuss this. The liberal democratic VVD party and the Socialist Party (SP) made this call during the second day of the handling of the 2017 …

A service level agreement was signed on Saba between St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS) and Saba Health Care Foundation (SHCF) on September 30 in presence of the Supervisory Board of SHCF. The service level agreement between the two organizations will enhance the SHCF’s laboratory quality and services provided to the …

There was little change in the number of tourists visiting Saba and St Eustatius in 2015, compared to the previous year. Some 11 thousand tourists landed at St Eustatius’ airport: 2 thousand day tourists and 9 thousand tourists who stayed overnight. Of the latter, 41 percent spent more than a …

Wellknown Dutch comedian Jörgen Raymann is calling on everyone to vote for Saba in the “Most Beautiful Nature Area of the Netherlands” public election. Raymann, who is the ambassador of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), said he was impressed by Saba’s nomination as one of the thirteen candidates in …

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) “Save Our Sharks Project” started its Shark Research Initiative on St. Maarten two weeks ago, with renowned shark scientists and underwater videographers joining teams from Nature Foundation and Saba Conservation Foundation in researching and tagging various species of sharks in local waters and on …

The formation of the Saba Hyperbaric Society is complete, concluding a multi-year process to repair and transition Saba’s hyperbaric chamber operations. The creation of the Foundation and the Supervisory Committee was a critical and final step to the reestablishment of a functional hyperbaric program on Saba. “It was great to …

On Thursday, September 29 we were informed by our provider that they had experienced an important break-in into their servers. They could not easily assess the extent of the damage, so they decided to take the websites off-line that might have been compromised. The provider indicated that they have optimized …

Stakeholders of Saba’s tourism private sector, continue to invest in Saba’s Calendar of Events, with the intention of increasing the attractions available for tourists, as well as highlighting the many unique offerings of Saba. A select group of organizers have made the initiative to invest in Saba’s culinary scene. With …

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Thursday showed its commitment to fight poverty in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba with two motions to introduce the family bound budget (“kindgebonden budget”) and implement a decent social minimum. Poverty on the islands has been a source of concern of the …

The entire Dutch Kingdom, including the Dutch Caribbean, now complies with the international guidelines of the World Health Organisation to fight infectious diseases. Dutch Minister of Public Health, Welfare and Sports Edith Schippers stated this at a large international congress of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in Rotterdam on …

Under the distinctive patronage of the Executive Council of Saba, you are hereby cordially invited to attend the official ceremonies marking the 41st anniversary of Saba Day, December 2nd , 2016. The official ceremonies will commence at 8:30 am and take place on the grounds  of the Saba Comprehensive School …

Saba, with the highest point in the Netherlands, Mt. Scenery, and its surrounding waters has been nominated for the “Most Beautiful Nature Area of the Netherlands” elections. Mt. Scenery’s Elfin Forest is of exotic, even mystical aura, full of water tripping, moss laden mountain mahogany, bromeliads, ferns, rare orchids and …

The Party for the Animals in the Dutch Parliament has voted for Saba in the public elections of the Most Beautiful Nature Area in the Netherlands, stated Senator Christine Teunissen during a plenary debate on Tuesday. She encouraged others to do so as well. Teunissen made mention of Saba’s nomination …

In 2013, the Public Entity Saba (PES) initiated the Employment Opportunity Saba (EOS) program meant to provide young Sabans who struggle to enter the labor market, an opportunity to work at an organization or company in the regular labor market through wage subsidies. The ultimate aim of the program is …

The constitutional securing of the position of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba as part of the Netherlands and the arranging the voting rights of Dutch nationals residing in the Caribbean Netherlands for the Senate are now one step closer. On Tuesday, the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, the Senate, …

The rate of inflation increased marginally on Bonaire and Saba in Q3 2016, but decreased on St Eustatius. The rates on Bonaire and Saba rose to 0.6 and 0.2 percent respectively. The CPI-based inflation rate on St Eustatius fell to -1.0 percent, according to Statistics (CBS). Saba The inflation rate …

Saba is one of the thirteen nominees for the prestigious “Most Beautiful Nature Area of the Netherlands” elections. The nomination of “Saba and surrounding sea” was announced during the popular talk show “De Wereld Draait Door” DWDD on Dutch national TV Monday evening. Saba was one of twenty entries that …

On Friday, October 8th a unilateral collision with a motorcycle took place on the Lambert Hassell Road. The driver lost control of the steering wheel and crashed. During this he hit his head against a wall. The victim was taken to hospital by ambulance for medical treatment and was later …

The Laura Linzey Day Care Center celebrated its twenty year anniversary on October 1st 2016. Twenty years ago, the commissioner at the time, Christina Woodley Charles, along with the Foundation of Early Childhood Care Saba, whose members were Dave Levenstone, Amorelle Granger, Franklin Wilson and Edwarda Richarson, made the dream …

As of October 1, 2016 the Prosecutor’s Office Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, OM BES, will be doing its own external communication. Chief Prosecutor, Henry Hambeukers will remain responsible as spokesperson of OM BES for the content of all that will be communicated. Norman Serphos and Gino Bernadina will maintain …

September 27th 2016, is World Tourism Day, and as a part of this special day, we would like to highlight some positive developments in the tourism industry of Saba. In August, a Tourism Action Plan was finalized, which outlined goals for the upcoming two years in this industry. Already there …

Since the last update in early August 4 more patients tested positive, adding up to a total of 9 confirmed Zika cases; 4 imported and 5 local transmissions. The graph shows that a few weeks have passed without new confirmed cases. Even though this promising, it is too soon to …

The Dutch Government is reducing its expenditures for and in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba by some 25 million euros next year. The so-called free remittance in the BES Fund and the contribution of the Dutch Ministries will all slightly go down next year. The BES Fund, the financial component …

Chairman James Finies of Foundation Nos Ker Boneiru Bek (NKBB), or “We want Bonaire Back” in English, visited St. Eustatius and Saba from Thursday through Sunday in a bid for solidarity and support among the islands of the Caribbean Netherlands. NKBB submitted a request with the United Nations Special Committee …

Finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem presented the government’s 2017 spending plans to parliament on Tuesday afternoon while admitting that many people have still not benefited from the economic recovery. The government, he said, had tackled overspending and structural weaknesses in the budget and the economy was now well-placed to deal with …

The Netherlands is a strong country in an unstable world, king Willem-Alexander claimed on Tuesday in his traditional speech that opens the parliamentary year. Since there is a general election in 2017, the address did not include any new policies. Instead, the king gave a positive assessment of the state of the …

The assessment to introduce an automatic registration for a second child and subsequent children to receive child’s allowance (“kinderbijslag”) in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will be concluded this year. Dutch State Secretary of Social Affairs and Labour Jetta Klijnsma stated this in a letter that she sent to the …

The Saba Bank was equipped with two acoustic noise loggers in 2015 and 2016 to support marine mammal research on Saba Bank. Humpback whales don’t just sing songs- they compose with the whales around them, singing a song that evolves over time. Scientists didn’t know this until they started recording …

Saba’s disaster management organisation had three days of training last week to be better prepared for incidents and disasters. With the assistance of Head of the Disaster Management Department of St. Maarten Paul Martens, the focus of the training was on sharing information and collaboration between the different safety partners. …

Like an experienced shovel operator, Commissioner Bruce Zagers of Education started the demolition process, as part of the building project that will result in a new school complex in St. John’s, Saba. It concerns a new building for the school complex with Laura Linzey Daycare and renovated buildings for the …

On average, the purchasing power on St Eustatius fell by 0.8 percent in 2014, whereas Bonaire and Saba saw purchasing power improve by 1.2 and 2.7 percent respectively, according to Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The changes are consistent with the contracting economy on St Eustatius and the economic growth on Bonaire, …

This weekend, for the first time, Saba will be joining the Open Monument Days which have been organised in the European Netherlands since 1987. A wide variety of monuments ranging from historic forts, churches, dwellings and industrial monuments will be open to the public for an entire weekend. Cooperation between …

Monday evening, September 5th, was the kick off night for the second edition of a program on Saba that aims at helping children and their families to live a healthier lifestyle. Saba Fit-The Course is a ten week program, which is an an initiative of Saba-Fit, the Public Health Department …

The Bottom, Saba – On August 18th, the Long Haul Grill B.V., located in the Windwardside on Saba, received the very first Operational Permit (‘exploitatievergunning’) in the history of the Dutch Caribbean Islands. This Operational Permit was granted to the Long Haul Grill by the Governor of Saba, following their …

Commissioner Rolando Wilson will be traveling to Bonaire on Sunday for an official working visit to the island. On Monday morning, he will be paying an official visit to the medical facilities of Fundashon Mariadal, to be followed by a meeting with the Executive Councils of Bonaire and St. Eustatius. …

The Saba Government and Commissioner of Tourism Bruce Zagers are looking at a number of changes to the Tourist Bureau, the Harbour Office, the airport, the Tourism Committee and the taxi services in order to make the Saba Tourism Action Plan 2016-2018 a success. The Tourist Bureau will take a …

Restaurant Week Saba, a recurring culinary event with the intention of spotlighting the local restaurants, and encouraging all inhabitants and tourists of Saba to dine out and enjoy the good food the island has to offer, will start this Sunday, and last until September 11. For eight belt-busting days, food …