THE BOTTOM – Leader of Saba’s extra-parliamentary party United People’s Movement Dave Levenstone has denounced what he calls the lack of formal consultations with the Saba community when it comes to the work conference of this week about changes to the Wol-BES and Fin-BES laws. 

Levenstone said he is a proponent of several proposed key reforms, including increasing the Island Council membership to 7 members by 2027, with conditions regarding infrastructure and electoral law changes. 

He also said to support having 3 Commissioners instead of 2, and said to be of the opinion that the title of Commissioner should be changed to the more common title of Minister.  Levenstone also proposes limiting the Governor’s powers to ceremonial duties, with the eldest Minister assuming the role of Chairman of the Council of Ministers. 

Levenstone furthermore suggests abolishing the Kingdom Representative position or rotating it, stressing the importance of checks and balances and upholding good governance. Additionally, Levenstone calls for Saba to appoint an envoy in The Hague, advocating for more autonomy in decision-making and tailored laws for individual islands.

Saba, DWI

Levenstone, who is critical of the current structure of the three Public Entity being seen as one, also critizied the use of the name BES and asserted that Saba’s should be referred to as Saba, Dutch West Indies.