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 …