Minister Ottley activates the scholarship; Desalination Resource Development Program (DRDP)
On Monday November 15th, the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labor, Omar Ottley and the Director of Seven Seas, Mr. Franklyn Richards signed the Agreement for the Desalination Resource Development Program (DRDP) to officially launch a fund to provide scholarships and internships for Sint Maarteners. This program was created for persons who demonstrate the knowledge and traits in the field of water production, distribution and other relevant technical fields, which is an added value for the continuity of energy and water production.
This program will allow Sint Maarten to strengthen its local resources in order to one day own and operate its own water production facility. The fund will mainly be used for scholarships, but can also be used for internships at the Seven Seas Water Production companies or at GEBE. The fund will also be for donations to secondary and tertiary educational facilities to improve, modernize, enhance, or implement programs/curriculums within the field of mechanical and electrical engineering; to assist students as they pursue their education within the given field.
?One of my main goals as Minister is to strengthen our local capacity; it is the best investment we can make. We cannot continue to build our country, if we do not build our people. I would like to thank Seven Seas for their support in launching this fund. Within the next 120 days we will have an operation plan detailing how the fund will be executed, and registration for interested persons will go live.?
