The five members of Saba’s new Island Council for the period 2019-2023, Eviton Heyliger, Vito Charles, Carl Buncamper, Hemmie van Xanten and Esmeralda Johnson, all of the Windward Islands People’s Movement (WIPM), were sworn in on Thursday, March 28. WIPMs two biggest vote getters Bruce Zagers and Rolando Wilson during the March 20 elections took the oath as Commissioner.
In total, the Island Council met three times on Thursday. The first meeting, at 10:00am, was the last meeting of the 2015-2019 Island Council. The meeting started with the reviewing of the credentials of the five incoming Island Council Members by a three-member committee consisting of Monique Wilson, Eviton Heyliger and Carl Buncamper.
After the vetting and approval of the credentials, it was time to bid farewell to outgoing Island Council Members Ishmael Levenston and Monique Wilson, both of the Saba Labor Party (SLP). Levenston was not present for health reasons. Monique Wilson gave her farewell speech in which she looked back at the last four years, thanked the voters and her colleagues in the Island Council, with special mention of Levenston.
Chairman of the Island Council Island Governor Jonathan Johnson thanked Wilson and Levenston for four years of good working relations. He referred to Levenston as a “unique figure in our politics” having been an Island Council Member for five times.
After a short break, the second Island Council meeting took place during which the five new Island Council Members took the oath: Bruce Zagers, Rolando Wilson, Eviton Heyliger, Carl Buncamper and Vito Charles. After the swearing in, all five Island Council Members held an inaugural speech in which they thanked their voters as well as outgoing Island Council Members Levenston and Monique Wilson.
Zagers and Rolando Wilson only remained Island Council Members for a few hours, because during the third meeting at 2:00pm, they resigned. The new Island Council unanimously voted in favor to appoint Zagers and Wilson as Commissioners. The Island Council then moved to review the credentials of the two new Island Council Members, Hemmie van Xanten and Esmeralda Johnson. Van Xanten first took the oath, followed by Johnson. Then it was the turn of Zagers and Wilson to take the oath as Commissioners.
Van Xanten and Johnson held their inaugural speech in which they thanked their voters and gave an outline of the important issues that they want to tackle in the coming four years. The two newly appointed Commissioners also gave a speech in which they promised to continue working hard in the best interest of the Saban people and the island’s development. Chairman Johnson said he was happy to see a large turn-out at the installation of the new Island Council and the appointment of the two new Commissioners. To the new Island Council Members and the Commissioners, he said: “There is a lot of work at hand and many issues to deal with.”
At 4:00pm, there was a fourth meeting, this time to officially install the Electoral Committee. This Committee comprises of five members: Zagers, Van Xanten, Rolando Wilson, Buncamper and Monique Wilson. After their credentials were reviewed, the five members took the oath. On May 27, the Electoral Committee will gather for a second and last time to cast their vote for a Member of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament.
