The Island Council, Executive Council and support staff on Tuesday, September 12 and Wednesday, September 13 took part in a program that focused on roles, procedures, and teamwork.

“Coaching sessions like this one are important for the Island Council and Executive Council to enhance their functioning, to better use the tools they have available to them,” said Island Registrar Akilah Levenstone.

Levenstone explained that the Island Council and Executive Council, and by extension the Registrar’s Office, have many tools at their disposal and that it is important to know how best to use these tools to achieve the maximum results, which is also in the interest of Saba and its people. “This is the first time that we had a coaching session together and it worked out well,” she said.

The two-day program was facilitated by Jeroen van Gool, Director of the Association of Aldermen (Wethoudersvereniging), former interim St. Eustatius Island Registrar Hans Andeweg, and social domain specialist Anja Richt who has worked in St. Eustatius. Van Gool has helped to support processes before on Bonaire and St. Eustatius.

“The program was mainly about enhancing teamwork so that together, they can carry out their role even better. We looked at who plays what role, how do we work in relation to each other, how procedures work, how to work together effectively and how can we do things together that are good for Saba,” said Van Gool.

The hands-on program is tailor-made for Saba and specifically caters to what is important here, explained Levenstone. The two-day session came at a good time, she said. “Our new Island Secretary Bram Streppel just started and we have a new Island Council that is energetic, eager to make a positive impact and wants to function properly and effectively on behalf of the Saba people.”

For Andeweg and Richt, the coaching session was the start of a trajectory of providing support to Saba’s Island Council and the Registrar’s Office for a period of at least 6 months with regular visits to Saba. The program is sponsored by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations (BZK).

GIS