THE BOTTOM – The Executive Council of the Public Entity Saba has responded to a letter from Acting State Representative Jan Helmond, urging for improved transparency in the publication of decisions taken by the Executive Council. 

While the Council acknowledges backlogs in information flow during late 2022 and early 2023 due to what they describe as ‘capacity reasons’, they state to be fully committed to transparency. “The Executive Council admits that in the last quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 there were backlogs in the flow of information. This was because of capacity reasons, while the Executive Council has always stressed the importance of transparency”, according to a statement sent out by the Executive Council. 

“The Council holds weekly meetings where various decisions are made, some directly affecting individuals or employees and are therefore not publicly disclosed for privacy reasons. However, decisions on policies, initiatives, permits, and finances are actively communicated with the Island Council and publicized on the website within a week after the meeting”, according to the same statement.

According to the Executive Council, efforts are also made to engage the public and businesses in policy development through meetings and consultations. “Island Council meetings are open to the public and are live-streamed online, and decisions are always publicized through press releases and social media”.

Plan

While not fully agreeing with the contents of the letter from Jan Helmond, they also confirm that the improvement plan requested by Helmond, will be delivered to him before the date indicated by the Kingdom Representative.