At 8.30 am, SRP David Alexis who is based at the Arima Police Station and his son Brent secured their house at Carib Homes, Cleaver Wood Arima and left. At 11 am neighbours observed smoke coming from the house and alerted police.

When officers responded they observed fire in one of the rooms of the house and alerted fire officers.

The same team of officers then observed that the house appeared to be ransacked and they coordinated an exercise which resulted in the three suspects being held a short distance away from the scene of the robbery and arson. According to reports, officers found the three suspects casually walking along the roadway with bags around their shoulders.

When they were confronted, the three suspects attempted to escape but were held. Inside the bags were the stolen bullet proof vest and police sweater along with a quantity of household items. The suspects were taken into custody and the items were later identified by two victims. Yesterday officers searched the homes of the suspects and discovered several other stolen items.

Fire officers were able to save the officers’ home from being gutted, restricting damage to one room.

Unfortunately, there were no displays for recent public holidays, including Indian Arrival Day and Labour Day.

I am suggesting that steps be taken to resume the staging of these exhibitions in an effort to disseminate historical information to the general public and visitors to the country, and also to make the airport more attractive.

Hopefully, the Airports Authority, the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, and the Ministry of Works and Transport would be able to address this matter so that the staging of exhibitions could be resumed.

In a related matter regarding the promotion of history outside the classroom, one wonders why the Museum of the City of Port of Spain and the Central Bank Money Museum have remained closed for so long.

IAN GREEN Couva

“If you are so powerful, contribute something to a poor family.

Come and show some mercy to these people whose children cannot go to school, who are getting sick, who the rains have flooded out their homes.” R ama d h a r s i n g h issued the challenge through the media after Unicomer Courts distributed $50,000 worth of household appliances to some families in the Woodland area who lost stoves, beds, and fridges to flood waters last week.

“We call upon the people who have been spared. The businessmen.

The powerful interest groups in the community.

We call upon those powerful interest groups to show some mercy to south Trinidad. Come forward. Come from Port of Spain. See where Woodland is, where Debe is, where San Francique is.” Ramadharsingh said the goodwill of corporate Trinidad was the only salvation for affected communities as the regional corporation is under-resourced to alleviate all of the problems. Ramadharsingh also criticised the three-week processing time for the distribution of the $25 million relief fund that was approved by Cabinet to be given to storm victims for household repair.

“Applications are not being processed in an emergency format. They are being processed run of the mill, as if you are making an application on the basis of poverty.

That means that it may be months before these people get approval because those things have to be approved by a board in the ministry, the permanent secretary.

I am not sure that anyone who has a roof broken can wait to get a grant to repair that home.” Unicomer Courts gifted five stoves, five fridges, ten washing machines, and three microwaves to families living along Pluck Road, Woodland, whose homes were flooded out.

“I personally want to thank the councillor in the area, who came to my aid and helped me sandbag the river to ensure it didn’t flood my house again, at least for a little while,” said Imtiaz Baig, a Pluck Road resident whose home was flooded by three feet of water.

“I lost a stove, a couch set and a fridge. I am really grateful for the stove I’m getting today.”

“It’s totally unacceptable that someone would retire at 60 and not get their pension and gratuity until (say) 63. My objective,” Dhanpaul told the PAC, “is that you retire today and you get your pension tomorrow. (This) is something I’ve been discussing with the Treasury Division.

“There’s no reason why at least 50 percent of the gratuity of every pensioner cannot be paid the next day after retirement, because the Treasury is fully aware of what the 100 percent should look like…I think if we can solve that, it would be a significant breakthrough as far as the provision of pension when necessary for the retired public servant.” Asked by Independent Senator Jennifer Raffoul, to provide some time frames for measures to improve the pension system, Dhanpaul said the ministry is working on “fixing the IT (information technology)” involved in pension data collection.

He gave the example of a 40-year-old public servant being able to go online and find out how much pension they would get upon retirement.

“The perfect situation is that you are 40-yearsold and you can go online and know, on your date of retirement, what your pension would look like. That’s the perfect system. I would like to get there within a time frame of maybe two years.

“Right now, we’re working on an IT system within the Pension Division of the Treasury to track files. Unfortunately, the Treasury does not operate independently.

We have to depend on the other ministries and when there are delays in other ministries, you have delays at the Treasury Division.” Dhanpaul then asked the Deputy Comptroller of Accounts in the Treasury Division, Karen Seebaran-Timothy, to elaborate on what he had just said. “As PS indicated, we do rely on other ministries and departments to submit reliable and accurate information (but) often times, it is not so. What we have done in the interim, though, is work assiduously and closely with each ministry and department by establishing liaison officers so that we have communication on a direct basis” which has reduced the need for internal memos.

Seebaran-Timothy said the Treasury Division has also “re-engineered” its internal processes to make them “a little more efficient” as well as reduced some time frames internally.

“We’ve also re-assigned staff from other sections and branches, so that we have more assistance in the pensions management branch. We’re also taking a closer look at full automation,” Seebaran- Timothy told the PAC.

Some of the allowances for the period 2014 to 2016 affects officers at the Inter Agency Task Force, Guard and Emergency Branch, community policing, Financial Intelligence Bureau, Sergeants and Inspectors in charge of stations, police assigned to Government Ministers, Professional Standards Bureau, officers sitting on tribunals, motorcyclists, Breathalyser Technicians, Detectives Polygraph Examiners.

These include officers in the First and Second Division, the Association and the absorption of Special Reserve Police .

Newsday understands that under the new proposals to the CPO, the Association is now asking for: Hot Spot Allowances, for officers patrolling areas such as Laventille, Enterprise, Beetham, and other hot spot areas; polygraph examiners allowance; allowance for officers who perform duties as interpreters; special clothing allowance for officers who are required to be formally attired while carrying out duties with officials; special allowances for officers of the Professional Standards Bureau as well as the Police Complaints Unit, as well as an allowance for officers who carry out duties of judicial officers in tribunals, and officers who provide duties as emergency medical technicians; as well as a breathalyser allowance; as well as special responsibility allowance, the Association is also asking an allowance for officers who are qualified crime analysts among other allowances.

Yesterday, Secretary of the Police Social and Welfare Association Acting ASP Anand Ramesar, the chief negotiator for the police confirmed to Newsday that “these allowances are included in the new proposals and that whilst the association remains very confident that there is justification for officers to be paid an allowance for these special duties performed, and the value proposed is based on sound compensation principles, it is concerning that at this stage the CPO has not indicated whether or not the management of the TTPS has been consulted.

A ward at the St Jude’s Home for girls is among two teens reported missing in separate incidents over the weekend. The two missing people have been identified as 16-year-old Mariella Alleng and 14-year-old Angelina Ravello.

Mariella Alleng, who was identified as the ward at the home, was last seen near the Carenage Fish Market, at about 5.15 pm on Saturday last. She was reported missing on Sunday by her mother Juliet Joseph.

Mariella has been described as being of East Indian descent, standing at five feet, seven inches tall, with a medium build, brown complexion and long black hair.

Angelina Ravello was last seen at her John Lane Extension, D’Abadie, home on Saturday. She was reported missing at the Arima Police

Fete Match 7s is a seven-a-side football festival that will be held on July 8 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium Training Ground in Mucurapo. It will feature teams participating in four categories (Open, Under-40, Over-40 and Over-50), vying for trophies, medals, hampers and undisputed Fete Match 7s bragging rights for the next 12 months.

Prizes will be also be awarded in the following categories: category winners and runners- up, best liming squad, category leading goalscorer (golden boot), category best goalkeeper (golden gloves) and category most valuable player (MVP).

“This event is SW Touring’s addition to our footballing calendar which includes Futsal Invitational and the sport tourism venture – Tobago Masters Football tournament. The event was conceptualised to encourage camaraderie amongst community, corporate and promotional fete match teams of varying age groups in true Trinbago party style,” commented tournament director Geoffrey Edwards.

He further added, “8Six8 Family has partnered to provide full day entertainment for all players and spectators thus, creating the ultimate sport entertainment package.” The tournament is part of SW Touring’s “Be.Champions” initiative which aims to foster and develop lasting friendship in a safe, secure and family-oriented environment. Each registered team will receive a case of water, sports drink, alcoholic beverage, a tent, tables and chairs.

The festival will expose participants and spectators to the unique identity of Trinbago culture, entertainment and culinary masterpieces.

Fun for the day is the game plan as organisers promise sports and entertainment with rhythm section, music from disc jockeys, live commentary, a wellstocked alcoholic bar and a festive food court.

For further information, including registration details, contact the Tournament Secretary by email info@swtouring, com or call 787- 7678 or 682-1709.

Addressing the National Centre for Persons with Disabilities’ (NCPD) annual general meeting at the San Fernando City Auditorium, Harris Promenade on Wednesday night, Seebaran- Suite said there was a need for a national registry of persons with disabilities as this figure was not known locally.

She however surmised that there was approximately 15 per cent of the population or 180,000 persons with disabilities in Trinidad and Tobago. “We have not yet mainstreamed people with disabilities in Trinidad and Tobago,” she said, adding that the educational policy did not address the specific needs of children with disabilities.

Meanwhile, NCPD chairperson Shereen Baksh described the past year as “challenging” due to the centre’s limited financial resources, its monthly commitments and a “national economy rife with downsizing and retrenchment.” “While our national economy depends heavily on the energy sector and oil prices have not yet rebounded as expected, the threat of inadequate government funding is real,” Baksh, who is legally blind, said.

At the weekly police press briefing on Wednesday at the Police Administration Building in Port of Spain, Sgt Dale Joseph and PC Candy Saunders- Alfred, both of the Cyber Crime Unit, indicated that ransom ware which is a programme that prevents or limits users from accessing their systems until a ransom is paid, has been rampant in Europe and TT cannot count itself immune, given the global inter-connectivity afforded by the internet.

In Europe, over 200,000 computers were infected with the malicious programme which is also called “Wanna Cry”.

Major companies like Renault and NHS were practically crippled by the malware.

In light of the recent upsurge in this new method of crime, the police service thought it prudent to warn the public.

“Ransom ware has been a growing trend over the past two years, locally and regionally and this is just a culmination, a grand reveal to the wider world of just how big a threat it is to our quality of life,” Sgt Joseph said.

Ransom ware features unbreakable encryption which means it has the ability to encrypt all file types from documents to pictures, videos, audio files and others stored in the device.

People using Cyber Ransom would usually request payment in Bitcoins, because online currencies are harder to track.

Criminals would usually demand a small payment from the victim to regain access to files, but the extortion would continue as long as one has the programme on one’s computer.

Usually, the ransom payments have a time-limit, to add another level of psychological constraint to this extortion scheme.

Going over the deadline typically means that the ransom will increase, but it can also mean that the data will be destroyed and lost forever. Ransom Ware can also go undetected by traditional anti virus programmes, so police are advising that people be particularly vigilant when downloading or opening files sent to their computer via email or social media. Police advised that people refrain from opening spam emails or emails from unknown senders or to open any link or attachments from spam emails.

Police also advised against downloading or installing pirated software, music or movie files as these may contain malicious applications which would make your device vulnerable to attack. Police also said that people should use ad blockers to defend against ads with malicious software.

As for anti virus protection, it is recommended that people buy reliable, paid anti virus products that include automatic update modules and real-time

This was revealed by Angela Edwards, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts at the launch of cultural camps at the VIP Lounge, Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain on Tuesday.

According to Edwards who was speaking on behalf of Minister Gadsby-Dolly, initiatives such as these go a long way in providing value, transforming lives and building capacity in our communities.

Nineteen cultural camps are open to children age nine to 17 years. Each camp which hosts 50 participants who will be exposed to the arts and local heritage with topics covering the performing arts (dance, drama and music), literary arts and visual arts. Technical camps are open to participants from 18 to 65 years and will focus on several areas including carnival arts, visual arts, literary arts, fashion design, makeup for stage, music and other areas.

Damian Richardson, cultural officer II, emphasised the importance of the cultural camps which are geared towards educating young people about their heritage and art forms.

Director of the Culture Division Ingrid Ryan-Ruben reiterated the important role of camp facilitators and underscored the need for commitment by all interest groups.

“When you interact with young people you have the opportunity to help define what kind of cultural citizen young people will become.

Indeed, it is an opportunity to build young people and by extension Trinidad and Tobago,” she said in a media release.

Some of the stakeholders attending the launch were Beverly Reid-Samuel, deputy permanent secretary of the Ministry; and several organisations including Arts-in- Action; Dianjen Media Co Ltd, Fashion Fundamentals, Benoit Academy of Steelpan; Keylemanjahro School of Arts and Culture, La Dramatique Expression of School Theatre and the Lloyd Best Institute of the West Indies. For more info about the camps contact the Culture Division at

Carmona was yesterday speaking at the opening of a two-day symposium, Enhancing Ocean Governance in the Caribbean Region, held at the UTT campus in Chaguaramas He said without co-operation among states to implement the UN agreement, TT will continue to witness the decline in fish stocks and loss of revenue to fisher-folk in the region, exacerbate insecurity and undermine rural communities which depend on the fishing industry.

“There are calls for the full and effective implementation of existing rules which flow from legally binding obligations under various international legal instruments to which all Caribbean countries are stake parties,” said Carmona.

“The primary one being the 1982 United Nation Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is timely the attention is being drawn on the implementation of the outcome of the United Nations conference to support the implementation of sustainable development goal, conserve and sustainable use of the ocean and seas and marine resources sustainable development.” Carmona said the symposium is welcomed as it comes at a time when greater international tension is being focus on the development of new rules to improve ocean governance globally.

Ensuring the resources of TT’s oceans and seas are protected, Carmona said it must be conserved within and beyond national jurisdiction for the benefit of current and future generations.

However, he said critical work has to be done in order to achieve the objective of enhancing ocean governance.

“Political leadership and political will, must be demonstrated by all nations for example to ensure all stake parties to the convention honour the obligation to protect and preserve marine environment in keeping with the provisions of article 1982.” Carmona said the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) has stated that 30 per cent of the global catch, amounting to 11 to 26 million tonnes and worth $10 trillion to $23 trillion, are the result of illegal fishing, and countries affected adversely are developing states and small island developing states.

“In the Caribbean, action must be taken in real terms, and I listen to the cry of the fisher- folks to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing from foreign long-line fishing vessels.” According to FAO, Carmona, said illegal fishing it is one of the threats to the sustainability of Caribbean fishery resources.