The Executive Council of the Public Entity of Saba, has decided to establish a Department of Economic Affairs and has also made the decision to appoint Dave Levenstone to setup the new Department, Mr. Levenstone, was the former Chief of Protocol, a department that has become redundant since the transition, and the duties of taking care of top officials have been taken over by the RCN. The department falls within the portfolio of the Commissioner of Economic Affairs, Chris Johnson.
The decision to set up an Economic Affairs Department was taken because of the many concerns that have been raised by the community since the transition, especially where it concerns prices. Therefore the department will primarily concentrate on two main areas: price control of goods that can be controlled by government and the monitoring of essential food items that are not controlled.
While it was originally reported two years ago by then State Secretary Ank Bijleveld-Schouten that there would be no possibility to control prices, there is legislation that enables the Public Entities to do so and government has taken the position that they will abide by the legislation and will also enforce it. The law provides for the control of 13 basic food items and it can be expanded to 15; another product that can and will also be regulated is the price of fuel.
When asked how the department will go about setting prices for basic items, Levenstone replied, "The department is responsible for recommending the adjusted prices and it is up to the Executive Council to approve them."
The controlled prices are set based on a percentage mark up after certain factors are taken into account. This will also be done in close cooperation with the other Windward Islands, to determine what the price levels on Saba are and what the factors that determine the costs are. So an essential part of price monitoring will be checking both wholesale and retail prices on St. Maarten, and comparing them to prices here.
Another task that will be carried out by the new department will be monitoring of rental units, particularly where it concerns the effects of the medical school on the availability of apartments on the island.
The first phase of the assessment will entail making an inventory of the number of units available on the island and determining how many of them are vacant. This is being done for both the benefit of locals and students, and the idea is also to work along with the administration of the medical school to determine if there is need for more rental units on the island and if so, what amount.
Landlords will also benefit from having access to a standard lease, that they may use if they elect to do so, for rental agreements. Apartment owners also may be subject to having their apartments inspected by the Economic Affairs department in cooperation with the hygiene and fire department, to determine if their apartments are in a condition to be rented.
While these are the two main tasks that the department will carry out for now, Economic Affairs covers a broad spectrum and can be expanded as the department grows.
Commissioner Chris Johnson said that he wanted business to know ,"that the intention is to work along with business and business associations to find a common ground." He also invited consumers on the island to create a consumer organization "to protect their rights" .