Island Government of Saba

Lynn Johnson, Chris Johnson, Margaret Childs

Subject:  Sacred Heart School Board takes responsibility of Daycare Center

Tuesday, March 31^st, 2009 – The Bottom:

As of April 1^st, 2009, the Sacred Heart School Board will be taking over responsibility of the local daycare center in The Bottom.  Since October 1^st, 2008, the Island Government of Saba has been responsible for financial restructuring and providing sound financial management to the Laura Linzey Daycare Center. 

Commissioner of Education, Chris Johnson told GIS that he is satisfied with the fact that this move will bring the Daycare center under the guidance of the Education Department.  This will legitimize the center and bring it within the education structure.

Johnson went on to explain that, “at this time of transition it is very important that all education facilities receive proper supervision and management in order to further develop Education as a pillar in our society”

Being a legitimate and well-functioning Board, the Sacred Heart School Board will be able to provide effective management and daily operations of the Daycare Center.   President of the Sacred Heart School Board, Lynn Johnson, welcomed Director of the Daycare, Margaret Childs, and both have made it clear that they look forward to working together in the near future.

The Sacred Heart School Board made it officially known that the daycare center will now be called the “Sacred Heart Early Childhood Center”.  The structure in which the center is housed will still be referred to as the Laura Linzey building.

Source: Saba Government Information Services

Education & Youth, General

March 30, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

Early this morning Commissioner Bruce Zagers convened an urgent meeting with the Harbor authorities, planning bureau, public works, Big Rock engineering, and HESCON to discuss the latest developments concerning the landside on Sunday.  Several ideas were discussed and the Government is looking for a short-term solution that will ensure public safety. However, it was acknowledged that there is no real short-term solution.  A permanent solution will have to be devised to limit the erosion.  Over the years the hillside has deteriorated and because of this landslides are becoming more frequent and more dangerous for people and structures in the Harbor.

Government has placed additional security at the Harbor to control the traffic.  It is understood by the Government that this is the only entrance to the commercial part of the harbor as well as the landfill.  However, to ensure public safety these additional controls are mandatory to be put in place.  The Island Government looks forward to the communities’ cooperation with this until the problem is solved.

The area where the landslide came down is also the location where the community uses as a recreational swimming area.  There are very limited areas in Saba to make use of the ocean, however unfortunate; this will no longer be possible at the Harbor for the time being.  As of today, a letter is being sent out to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles. This will also be forwarded to all other relevant authorities within the Antilles and Holland which explains the problem and seeks assistance with the disaster area.  Currently an engineer from USONA is coming on Wednesday to assess what can be done for short and long term plans. 

Commissioner of Harbor Affairs, Bruce Zagers, stated that “it was very unfortunate that one lady was injured.  On behalf of the Government, we wish her a very speedy recovery and our prayers are with her and her family”. 

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

General

March 27, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

For the past four days Bernard Mencke from the Gemeente Assen, Capital of the Province of Drenthe in Holland, has been performing a quick-scan of how the Government works.  This process entails analyzing the business processes within Government and making recommendations on how the Government can run more efficiently through its current constitutional changes.

During his visit, he had twenty-three interviews, many with Department Heads of the Island Government.  During the interviews he spoke with people about their tasks and duties, and how they are related to the entire Government organization.  Mencke stated that the people he interviewed were proud of their work and were willing to share information openly.

Another issue that he pointed out was that the position of Island Secretary needs more clarification.  Currently it is unclear what the position of the Island Secretary entails and what to expect from that office.  In Holland the Island Secretary is considered the General Director of all Departments.

It was noted during his initial scan of that Saba has many departments with only a couple people working in them.  An idea will be presented to possibly combine departments and instead of having approximately twenty departments, they could try to bring it down to around five.  Mencke told GIS that, “It is remarkable how Saba has such a diverse set of tasks.  I have a deep respect for how Sabans are able to juggle this list of tasks, which are often done by much larger organizations within Holland”

Friday morning Mencke met with the Executive Council to give a verbal presentation and remarks on his findings.  The meeting went well with many questions and considerations for the future.  A short term action plan was drawn up and the idea of having an Implementation Manager to assist in the changes to work full-time was brought up.  Mencke further stated that, “If the Government is to exist and grow into a first world functioning organization, then transitions like these are to be expected”.

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

General

March 25, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

Today, the Executive Council met in an extraordinary meeting at the Lt. Governor’s residence in preparation for the transition to a public entity.   It has been noted by the Executive Council that some departments were not functioning up to par.  This meeting was a follow-up of previous brainstorming sessions held earlier  in the year by the Council.  The Executive Council’s intention is that the policies laid down by the Island Council are properly enacted.  The Council realizes that many of these decisions will be unpopular, however they need to be implemented in order to ensure good governance.

Some 44 decisions have been made during this meeting.  These decisions will cover a broad sector of Government and no-one should feel they are being singled-out.  Strict deadlines have been placed on many of these decisions, as the Council would like to see an immediate improvement in these areas.

At times the community has been very vocal about Government’s inadequacies and the time has come to make the unpopular decisions that are necessary for this transition.  The goal of Government has been to take the existing services that we have and improve them to a position equivalent to a first-world country.  The Council realizes that the outcome of this meeting will not solve all problems on Saba or within Government; however, it is considered a proactive start.

Within the coming weeks, they will again hold an extraordinary meeting to discuss the implementation and decisions that were made.  The decisions that will be delivered to the Department heads are expected to be drafted and delivered by Friday, 27^th 2009 – at weekend.

The Island Government of Saba is busy restructuring its entire civil servant apparatus, salary scales, and Government services.  This action of the Executive Council is considered to be a necessary step in the organizational restructuring. 

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

General

Subject: BES discuss Education with Dutch Ministry

March 24, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

Last week, delegations from the three BES islands (Bonaire, Eustatius, & Saba) travelled to the Netherlands to have direct talks with the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science.  As one of the four pillars of society, Education would play a crucial role of raising the overall level of the BES islands.  The Dutch ministry of Education felt that, as opposed to a two-hour slot during BES week to handle issues, it would dedicate a few days to deeply investigate topics.

The topics that were discussed during the week were secondary education, technical education, Department of teachers, study financing, primary education, media/libraries, early childhood care, as well as issues concerning culture and archives.

During the meetings the BES delegations were split into different groups to discuss specific topics.  Commissioner of Education, Chris Johnson emphasized that civil servants of the Dutch Ministry took a hands-on approach to dealing with the respective delegations.

“The BES islands exist as a legal form, but it is important for the Dutch civil servants to realize that each of the BES is becoming part of Holland.  Therefore one on one negotiations are essential to a proper development of each individual island”, stated Johnson.

The subject of study financing was touched on and note was taken that it would closely resemble our current system.  The current system allows students to study within the United States and this will not change. 

During the trip, the Saba delegation was able to hand in specific requests for materials, school transportation, and teacher recruitment packages directly to the representatives in Holland.  One very positive note was taken that the primary school on saba was declared to be equivalent to that of a primary school in Holland.

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

Education & Youth, General

Lipscomb Group 2009

Subject: Lipscomb has annual Saba trip

March 24, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

Last week, Lipscomb kicked off their seventh annual trip to Saba.  Lipscomb have been coming her efrom Tennessee since 2003.  Their yearly arrival is highly anticipated by the children and schools on Saba.  This year’s theme is Dreams and teaching kids how to achieve their own dreams.  All their events surround core values such as family, religion, love, community, and public service.

The events featured this year was Father/Sons dominos tournament, Mother/Daughter banquet, Teacher appreciation day, Government appreciation day, Fitness walks, and Saba Stomp.  Saba Stomp is the annual Friday night concert showcasing the primary school children in a song and dance in the Carnival village.

On Government appreciation day, the children visited the administration building and handed out gift baskets, while the children thanked civil servants for their work.  Commissioner Bruce Zagers stated, “I as well as the rest of the island look forward to Lipscomb every year.  It’s great to see the children, teachers, and community come together to share in positive events all week.”  Zagers went on elicit his thanks to the Lipscomb group for their annual dedication to Saba and its community.

Lipscomb group coordinator Michael Thomas told GIS, “We work all year long for our trip to Saba and look forward to it as much as the kids.  We also have hopes that these type of events will become contagious to the community.”  Currently, Lipscomb now has trips going to Eustatius and Nevis with Saba being its founding Island to spread their message.

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

Education & Youth, General

Subject: Saba gearing up for Carnival 2009

March 24, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

 The Bottom, Saba – The Saba Cultural Foundation is currently busy with preparations for the island’s 33^rd celebration of its Saba Summer Festival in the latter part of July. Public Relations Officer, Chulani Levenstone informed GIS that “plans have been underway since the early part of January to ensure that events and troupes were coordinated efficiently.”

According to the Cultural Foundation, three troupes have officially signed up though it is anticipated another one or two would before June. In addition to the troupes only one night has been purchased by a promoter. Levenstone expressed concern about this situation and would like to encourage any other willing promoters, local or international, to contact the foundation if they are interested in providing entertainment during the week by the advertised deadline on March 31^st. “

On March 31, the foundation will meet to go over the requests and finalize the program line up, as well as, troupe participation.  Commissioner of Culture, Bruce Zagers, stated that he “looks forward to the event and hopes that the community can throw in their support to make it a huge success”

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

Culture, General

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General, Newsletter

March 8, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

This past Sunday, March 8th, Saba civil servants were invited to celebrate International Women’s Day.  Womens Day has been celebrated on Saba for the past 10 years and is an event women of the island look forward to.   121 people RSVP’d for the event on Sunday and the majority were in attendence.   The theme of the event this year is: “Women and men united to end violence against women and girls”

Commissioner Zagers stated that he was glad to see a good turnout this year for the event.

The event started off with mass at the Sacred Heart Church in The Bottom at 9:00AM.  The mass was followed with a brunch and Lollipops restaurant for female civil servants.  Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the food and time spent together amongst colleagues.

Governments International Womens Day coordinator, Angelita Peterson stated, “It was a pleasure working on this project for the civil servants. I look forward to participating in this event every year”

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

General

Subject: Saba Dispensary has Opening

March 3, 2009 (SGIS) – The Bottom, Saba:

This week, the Saba Dispensary had its grand opening to the public and invited guests.  The privatization of the pharmacy on Saba has taken several years, but Saba now has a dedicated facility.  Commissioner of Health, Bruce Zagers stated in his speech, “I am proud to see that this transition has been realized during my term as Commissioner of Health”.

This facility is a major improvement to the previous pharmacy which was owned and operated by the Island Government.  This should provide a central location and improved service for the community of Saba.  The pharmacy is reminiscent of a facility within a large country or storefront.  For the relatively small area on Saba, it definitely provides a new and modern look to the island.

Even now, the Island Government continues to have a strong working relationship with the Saba Dispensary – Friendly Island Drugstore.  Friendly Island has been the main supplier for the Governments previous pharmacy for years.

Upon visiting the pharmacy you can find not only medication but canes, vitamins, lotions, and various other amenities.   Joep Groenendijk will often be on-hand to courteously answer all questions and fill your prescriptions’.

Source: Saba Government Information Services – gis@sabagov.com

General, Health