Saba News News and Information from Saba Island, Dutch Caribbean

On International Data Protection Day, the Data Protection Authority BES (the Authority) will be focusing on the subject of data breaches. A data breach involves unauthorized/illegitimate access to personal data, such as through the accidental loss of a USB stick, a misdirected email or a criminal hack carried out on …

Online income tax returns for 2021 can already be submitted. Since last year, this has been possible via the www.MijnCN.nl platform which is more effective and guarantees the security and efficiency of the online services. Last year, a huge number of taxpayers submitted their tax returns online. We hope that …

The World Customs Organization (WCO) has declared the 26th of January as ‘International Customs Day’ and this day is celebrated worldwide. This year, the WCO has selected the following theme for the year 2022: “Scaling up Customs Digital transformation by embracing a data culture and building a data ecosystem” In the …

On January 17th, 2022, Mark Zagers, Managing Director of the Saba Electric Company (SEC), officially handed over the keys to Peter Johnson, President of the Saba Conservation Foundation (SCF), the new tenant of the old power plant at the Fort Bay harbor. Also present were commissioner, Bruce Zagers, other SCF …

The Financial Services Complaints Institute (Kifid) in The Netherlands has rejected a complaint by a resident of Bonaire about the ‘foreign surcharge’ that ABN AMRO charges residents of the Caribbean Netherlands. The bank is allowed to do this because European legislation is not in force on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and …

Update Covid 19 status, Wednesday, January 26th On Wednesday, January 26th there are no new active cases. 3 people are recovered and out of isolation. Update Covid 19 status, Sunday, January 23th On Sunday, January 23rd, there are no new active cases. 3 people have recovered and are out of …

Pending her visit to the six Dutch Carib­bean islands, new State Sec­retary of Kingdom Relations and Digitisation Alexandra van Huffelen has asked the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament to post­pone a meeting scheduled for February 23. Van Huffelen sent a letter to the Second Chamber’s Per­manent Committee for King­dom …

It was a proud moment for owner James Granger when his new F3 Fun Free Fitness Center opened in The Bottom on Saturday, January 22. For Saba, the new fitness center is a very welcome addition to the healthy lifestyle that many residents have adopted. Present to perform the official …

In Q4 2021, consumer goods and services on Bonaire were 5.7 per cent more expensive than one year previously. The inflation rate was still 4.3 per cent in Q3. Year on year, the price of electricity rose by 31.1 per cent and the price of water by 6.7 per cent. …

— Committee to islands late February — The Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, in anticipation of its visit to the Dutch Caribbean in February/March, has invited new State Secretary of Kingdom Relations and Digitalisation Alexandra van Huffelen for a meeting on February 15. The Senate Committee during its first …

In February 2022 a follow-up inspection will take place in the Caribbean Netherlands regarding the corona support measures that were carried out from March 2020 through October 2021 by the RCN unit SZW. Through the ‘SZW Emergency Regulation’ and the ‘EZK compensation’ a total of about 98 million EUR of …

Despite the rocky start of the new year, Saba Commissioner of General Affairs Bruce Zagers looks at the future with much optimism. The local economy is recovering, ongoing initiatives continue to be enhanced and several important projects will start this year. “We saw how quickly our economy and private sector …

Two pallets with self-test kits for the schools on Saba arrived on Wednesday, January 19. The COVID-19 self-tests, 10,800 in total, were financed by the Ministry of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sport (VWS) and transported on Royal Dutch Airlines KLM from Amsterdam to St. Maarten on Tuesday, January 18, and …

Dutch min­isters and state secretaries have to limit their visits to the Dutch Caribbean due to the small scale of the islands. This is stated in the manual for members of the Dutch government, the so-called Blue Book, which has been released in connection with the installation of the new …

The Temporary Regulation COVID-19 measures for Bonaire, St. Eusta­tius and Saba have been adapted to secure mea­sures in connection with the surge in infections, such as the wearing of face masks for five days and group restrictions for incoming travellers. The adapted regu­lation, submitted by Dutch Minister of Public Health, …