Saba open to assistance from The Netherlands with permits, inspection and enforcement 

THE BOTTOM – The Inspection for the Environment, Nature and Transport (ILT) has analyzed the situation with regard to policy, permits, inspection and enforcement on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The findings and advice were sent to Parliament on Tuesday, June 13th, 2023. 

Key finding is that the three public entities struggle with these themes and that assistance could be organized by specialized environmental protection agencies from European Netherlands. Now that the research has been presented, a formal reaction by State Secretary of Infrastructure and Water Management Vivianne Heijnen will be drafted. 

The Executive Council of Saba is thankful for the efforts by the team of ILT for its in-depth research on Saba. The Executive Council recognized that permits, inspection and enforcement of the most complex installations is a task where assistance by specialists is welcome. 

The Executive Council sees that experienced specialists from an environmental protection agency could be of great help in the processes with regard to, for instance, the airport, the harbor, the energy plant and the gas station.

Further consultations with the national government will be held about the advice to task an environmental protection agency for all permits, inspection and enforcement, also for simpler building permits and smaller routine installations. In those cases, local knowledge is of great importance. 

Harsh tone

The Executive Council of Saba is somewhat surprised by the harsh tone of the report, that does not seem to match with the actual situation on Saba, where the inspectors complimented the Public Entity Saba during their visit about how well organized the island is and how well the general situation in the built environment is. 

In the conversations with the national government about the formal response to the report, the views of the Island Council and the Executive Council will be brought forward. The report by the ILT and the first reaction by the national government is published online. The ILT report on Saba contains an English summary.