Saba News News and Information from Saba Island, Dutch Caribbean

Dear Editor, I am writing on behalf of many concerned Sabans who are increasingly disillusioned with the current political and economic climate on our island. There is a growing sense of frustration as more and more foreign workers are brought in to fill positions that should be offered to qualified …

The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science OCW is investigating possibilities for strengthening Caribbean media. The focus is on media on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (so-called BES), but cooperation with Curacao, Aruba and St. Maarten is possible. This is what Minister Eppo Bruins wrote to the Second Chamber …

The Dutch Ministry of Education is hav­ing a new study conducted into study financing in the Ca­ribbean Netherlands. It con­cerns a comparison with the system of student financing in the European Netherlands. A decision on higher financ­ing has therefore been postponed, wrote Minister Eppo Bruins of Education, Culture and Science …

  The Tourist Office recently hosted two groups of prominent US travel journalists, providing them with exclusive experiences that highlighted the island’s natural beauty and warm hospitality. These visits were expertly organized by Saba’s public relations partner, Diamond PR. Group 1: Day Trip Highlights The first group enjoyed a day …

The site DossierKoninkrijksRelaties writes that a report from Nibud has sparked shock and outrage in both the Caribbean Netherlands (BES islands) and The Hague, revealing that the purchasing power of low-income residents is set to decline by nearly 10% starting January 1. Critics have labeled the government’s policy changes as …

The purchasing power of residents in the Caribbean Netherlands—Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba—is expected to decline significantly in 2025. This sharp drop is attributed to the termination of temporary policy measures and delays in implementing parts of the BES 2025 tax plan. In some cases, households may see their purchasing …

The Saba Fire De­partment is taking impor­tant steps to improve the working environment and intensify operational co­operation, according to a press release from the Na­tional Department Carib­bean Netherlands RCN. The management team recently launched several initiatives that contribute to both team development and strengthening safety on the island. In October, …

Saba, fondly known as the “Unspoiled Queen of the Caribbean”, proudly secured six prestigious Scu­ba Diver Readers’ Choice Awards at this year’s cere­mony hosted by PADI dur­ing the DEMA Show 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The island was recognised in the following categories: Big Animals, Macro Life, Wall Diving, Advanced …

Wind­ward Islands Airways In­ternational WINAIR an­nounced on Wednesday the reintroduction of its code-share agreement with Roy­al Dutch Airlines KLM. WINAIR said in a press release that this collabo­ration makes travel easier and more convenient for passengers connecting be­tween KLM flights and WINAIR’s flights to St. Barths, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. …

An administrative judge on Wednesday dismissed a case initi­ated by nine goat owners in Saba who wanted the government to immedi­ately halt its controversial culling pro­gramme. The goat owners based their case on a government letter issued in May 2021. This was the start of what has become more than …

Over the past year, the Public Entity’s reforestation team has been busy growing and caring for the young trees in its nursery that will be used to reforest different parts of the island. Their efforts have resulted in approximately 3,400 saplings in the nursery of various tree species that are …

The Dutch government is discuss­ing options for specialised childcare with the local ad­ministrators of Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba, it was stated by State Secretary of Participation and Integra­tion Jurgen Nobel in a let­ter sent to the Dutch Sec­ond Chamber of Parliament last week. This because an investigation into the …

The in­crease in taxes in the Ca­ribbean Netherlands will be postponed for at least a year, it was decided in the Second Chamber of the Dutch parliament last week. An amendment to tempo­rarily halt the implementa­tion of various tax measures for the year 2025, submitted by Christian Union, Groen­Links and …

Glenn Thode, Chairman of the former Social Minimum Committee, has expressed surprise at the Second Chamber’s decision to postpone the linkage between the statutory minimum wage and the tax-free allowance for at least a year. The amendment passed despite government objections, was intended to give time to develop targeted solutions …

Marijke Geelhoed approved the publishing of her last column on the site DossierKoninkrijksRelaties before leaving Saba for Bonaire. Anyone following the news knows that education on Saba is in dire straits—an understatement, to say the least. As yet another group of professionals investigates recent years’ events, more skeletons tumble out …