This law also permits the Commissioner or a police superintendent to grant or cancel permission given to anyone to discharge fireworks.

The ministry reminded citizens to follow specific safety tips to ensure their use of fireworks do not cause accidents and injury.

These include keeping pets indoors if possible or ensuring their enclosure/kennel is comfortable and securely locked if pets are kept outside; make sure it is legal to use fireworks if your area; never light fireworks indoors or near dry grass; always have a bucket of water and/ or a fire extinguisher nearby, know how to operate the fire extinguisher properly; supervise children around fireworks at all times; stand several feet away from lit fireworks; if a device does not go off, do not stand over it to investigate it, put it out with water and dispose of it and always read the directions and warning labels on fireworks.

The ministry said, if a device is not marked with the contents, direction and a warning label, do not light it.

And, on Saturday, the Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago will be staging a tournament at the St Paul Street Sports Complex, East Dry River, Port of Spain.

This contest will run from 1-4 pm and will include the Open and Women’s categories, while there will be awards for Kantosho and the Best Ippon, as well as the Japanese Embassy Cup for the overall winner. The Embassy Cup will be presented by a member of the Japanese Embassy of Trinidad and Tobago which has endorsed Saturday’s tournament.

Eddy Devisse, president of the Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago, said, “We are really excited about this year’s championship and are expecting some great matches. Kendo is starting to grow in popularity here in Trinidad and Tobago and the National Championships and the awarding of the Japanese Embassy Cup is the highlight of our calendar.

“We hope that people will take the opportunity to come and see this dynamic and unique Japanese martial art and will be tempted to try it out for themselves.” The Kendo Federation of Trinidad and Tobago is the governing body for the sport locally and is recognised by both the International Kendo Federation and the Confederation of Latin American Kendo.

The sport of kendo began formally in the twin-island republic in 2004 and members practise on a weekly basis in Port of Spain.

Members have competed in a number of tournaments worldwide, including events in Chile, Mexico, Venezuela, Aruba, Cuba, Ecuador and Colombia.

In addition to local Kendo members, the National Championship will be attended by foreign guests from the United Kingdom, Mexico and Japan. Photo and video coverage of the event will be found on the KFTT’s Facebook page: www.fb.com/kendo4tt.

In a statement, the association said the politicians described the detention as a ploy to distract attention away from the escalating murder rate, the Tobago ferry “fiasco” and the revocation of the appointment of the Minister of Public Utilities Robert Le Hunte .

The association said such accusations called into question the independence of the police service and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and undermine public confidence in the administration of justice .

“If it is the experience of those who operate within the corridors of power that the DPP and the police are susceptible to political influence, then the proper and constructive approach is to propose reforms which would insulate law enforcement officers from such interference in the exercise of their powers,” the association said .

The association cautioned members of the public to reserve comment until after a court of law has pronounced .

They also cautioned all concerned against using these events to inflame political passions .

“In that regard, seeking out the opinion of politicians, including the prime minister, on an ongoing criminal investigation can only serve, unhelpfully, to politicise the issue,” the association said .

Woods, of Indian Walk, however admitted villagers become unruly and not only cursed police officers, but seized a pair of handcuffs which fell out the hands of the police as they tried to handcuff another villager known as “Fathead”.

They also seized a spent shell after the melee which erupted at Teesdale Road Junction, Indian Walk. Video footage of the incident have since been uploaded on social media.

“We are fed up with the police,” Woods said. “The men in here are always the usual suspects. Is stereotyping all the time. My husband is a rasta, he is a mason, a quiet person who don’t interfere with anyone and he was on his way to work with a bag filled with tools. He did not have a gun.” She said it was the reason the community immediately came to his defence and the situation escalated.

Woods told Newsday because of Jules’s past experiences with police, he opted to run away instead.

Only last year and two other men were arrested and charged with possession of marijuana, she said.

She alleged when Jules ran into the bushes, police fired two shots at him. It is one of those shells that residents recovered and refused to turn over to the police when they came to investigate allegations.

They however handed members of the St Mary’s Police Post the handcuffs which the officers lost in the melee.

Yesterday in a media release, police said a warrant is to be issued for the arrest of a male suspect who allegedly assaulted police officers during the conduct of their duties.

Once held, he is expected to face charges including assaulting an officer, resisting arrest and using obscene language.

Meanwhile, police are also searching for an individual who allegedly seized the gun which police claimed fell from the initial suspect.

“It is heartbreaking and difficult to know what he has to go through, but we would always be there for him,”she said.

The family, Babwah said, is still struggling to come to terms with the murder of Harrylal but are still awaiting the results from the DNA testing before preparations begin for funeral arrangements.

On August 25, Michelle Harrylal, 26, her common-law husband Michael Applewaithe, 35, and another male were discovered in the ashes of the burnt out house.

It is believe intruders invaded their home while they slept, tied them up and set the house ablaze. At about 8 am, a villager in a car was alerted to the tragedy when he saw Harrylal’s four-year-old son wandering barefoot along the roadway.

The villager said the boy appeared to be traumatised.

The crying child told the woman his mother was burnt in a fire and is in heaven.

Newsday understands Assistant Commissioner of Police Ainsley Garrick, who is in charge of Special Branch, is expected to be sent on leave. He will be replaced by Senior Superintendent Wendy Wilkinson who heads the Western Division.

Other changes made by Williams include Senior Superintendent Inraj Balram being sent on leave and Senior Superintendent Rawle Hercules being transferred to the Port of Spain CID. Superintendent Gallindeau has been elevated to the rank of Snr Supt at the Homicide Bureau. Senior Superintendent Anthony James will serve as acting Assistant Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner Harrikrish Baldeo will act as Deputy Commissioner.

Sources alleged Williams’ actions stemmed from an alleged conflict between Special Branch and an elite intelligence unit. It was revealed that a high-level meeting was recently held among the high-ranking officers during which there was a heated argument. Newsday understands the matter was reported to Williams. Lee is to be replaced by Wendell Williams who is in charge of the Port of Spain CID. The new person to fill the post at the Port of Spain CID is Ag Snr Supt Ajith Persad.

Contacted for comment, Garrick told Newsday he was not aware he was being sent on leave.

Efforts to reach Williams proved futile.

Adam Frank of Pasea Road in Granville was found in a kneeling position with the hammock wrapped around his neck. He was taken to the Point Fortin Area Hospital where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy at the San Fernando General Hospital mortuary revealed death was as a result of asphyxia.

Relatives said they were watching television when, shortly after 8 pm, a female relative saw Adam kneeling with the hammock around his neck near the kitchen.

Moments earlier he was seen walking about in the house “as normal” relatives said.

Adam’s father McAllister Frank, 37, told Newsday his only son often played games in the hammock by wrapping it around himself and spinning around.

Frank, who has two daughters, said somehow the game ended in death and although relatives were at home, no one heard any scream.

“It appeared he made a knot with the hammock and placed his head in and then tried to spin,” Frank said. “It was an accident.

This is no suicide thing. Adam never did it before with his neck, only with his waist. He was playing and somehow this happened.” Adam, a former pupil of the Granville RC Primary School, was expected to enter form one at the Cedros Secondary School next week.

“Adam was excited to go in his new school. He was really looking forward. We bought everything already – books, uniform, sneakers.

He was such a nice child,” said a visibly shaken Frank.

Other relatives complained that had doctors at the hospital been more proactive, Adam may have been alive today.

“First we called for an ambulance and none showed up.

When we reached in the hospital a doctor pronounced Adam dead while he was still alive. The doctor leaned over Adam without touching him or anything. He just said that he (Adam) was dead and walked away,” said a relative.

Funeral arrangements are being made and Cedros police are investigating.

In April, 15-year-old Luke Israel Rolle, of Claxton Bay, accidentally hung himself while swinging on a tree. According to police, children in the Forres Park area were accustomed playing on the swing made from nylon rope and which was attached to a tree branch.

Today, Trinidad and Tobago celebrates 55 years as an Independent nation, having transitioned from being a Crown Colony of Great Britain on August 31, 1962. Unlike many other countries globally, Trinidad and Tobago enjoyed a smooth transference of power, while retaining some residual ties to its former British colonisers.

Despite our accomplishments to date, we are now marking of our 55th anniversary with the country seemingly standing at a crossroads. Currently, in the grip of an economic downturn, our nation appears to be facing conditions that sadly, could have been mitigated. Crime is at unprecedented levels, while many of our institutions appear to be in a state of inertia or at best, are functioning below acceptable standards.

There are those who would testify that what we are witnessing can be attributed to a shortfall in revenue from our main export products – oil and gas – amidst a global drop in prices. But is that really so? What, then, lies at the very core of our challenge, that we seem oblivious to the fact that we cannot continue to function in an environment where we get little to no value for money; or be satifised with infrastructure that makes our roads gridlocked and inaccessible after a brief rain shower; or sett le for less than first rate inter-island transportation; or display a sense of apathy with leaders who seem disconnected from current realities as they pertain to crime. These examples illustrate how far behind Trinidad and Tobago lags, from where we ought to be in terms of policy, infrastructure, modern facilities and mindset.

To fulfil the promise of hope that sprang forth in 1962 when our national flag was first hoisted, the word that comes readily to mind is “transformation”.

Transformation is not an overnight process and will require an attitudinal shift that must be driven primarily by our country’s leadership in all spheres. Rebuilding our institutions and reshaping them into effective mechanisms of support for much needed change, is an attainable goal for which we must reach. Perhaps the reason economic diversification has been so difficult to achieve lies chiefly in the failure to transform our society and institutions.

Pivotal to our development and critical to preserving our democracy, a transformed society embraces – among other things – a fair and viable Industrial Relations environment – one that endorses productivity; an efficient and effective Public Service that delivers with the right levels of bureaucracy to maintain checks and balances while defying sluggishness.

It is obvious that now more than ever, the ti me is right to diversify our economy. Trinidad and Tobago may be two small islands, but we have given much to the world, and presumably, we have much more to offer yet. In this global village, our youth are ready and willing to enter career paths which lie off the beaten track; they embrace innovation, are quite nimble and adaptable to change. The challenge for us, as a maturing society, is to ensure that we preserve a world worth living and thriving in for our youth and future generations to come.

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce extends warm greetings to the people of Trinidad and Tobago on this our Independence anniversary.

This, coupled with activity on social media about the 2017 edition of TT Restaurant Week (TTRW), leaves them feeling confident that this year will be as successful as previous editions.

Always held in September, usually mid-month, this year ‘foodies’ can try specially-priced menus at more than 80 restaurants across the country.

As usual, diners can choose from four price points: TT $120; $200; $300; and $400.

Some restaurants offer two price points but most have only one.

The confidence that this model will continue to hold widespread appeal in the current economic climate comes from TTRW founder, Shira Mohammed.

Responding to Business Day’s question about the economy during the August 17 launch of TTRW 2017 at Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, Mohammed said, “Our Facebook page has grown by thousands over the past two weeks.” “People are liking our Facebook page, people are commenting. Once we post a menu, we are seeing that menu being shared more than liked. Why? Because they plan to partake or they’re trying to convince someone that, ‘Hey, we need to go and take part in TRW and try this menu’.” “Furthermore,” Mohammed added, “TTRW was designed initially, and it still is, as a means of being able to get people who don’t normally go out to restaurants, to come out and try this while being reassured that the price point holds.” Highlighting the fact that “the price is an incredibly discounted price from restaurants,” Mohammed also told Business Day that with more people choosing to ‘staycation’, TTRW presents an ideal alternative to expensive overseas trips.

“Instead of taking their trip to, say, Miami, people are staying home. You can now stay home and still have great advantages during Restaurant Week – fantastic food (at) incredible prices.” “So no, we have not seen any dropout. As a matter of fact, we’ve been growing still. There’s always a cause to celebrate, so I don’t see it happening (drop off in TTRW reservations), even though we’re in this state of watching our pennies. People need to eat and why not pick Restaurant Week to eat at a reduced cost?” Some people may prefer Restaurant Week to begin at month end, when they have more disposable income still in hand.

Business Day sought clarification on the mid-month timing, which Mohammed explained was set at the request of participating restaurants; to help offset what was a traditionally slow period for them.

“TTRW would not exist without the restaurants. It took me two years of planning and meeting with different chefs across TT to be able to tweak the event, so that we could make it one that everyone would want to partake in.” “Generally, September is a slow period; it’s ‘back to school’ time, therefore people watch their pennies.

They don’t go out as much but with TTRW offering you fantastic food at fantastic prices, why not (dine out)? That’s why, from inception, we’ve always held TTRW in September,” Mohammed shared.

In 2016, Scotiabank TT became a platinum sponsor of the event.

This year, the bank has introduced something extra for its customers – three percent cash back once they pay with their Scotiabank credit card at participating restaurants.

Scotiabank TT’s District General Manager, Rory Bhikarrie, said, “This added value is part of what we do to help our customers become better off.” “Our customers are our priority and we are continuously looking for ways to help serve them better. (This) is an incentive and it’s also a value-added for our card holders.” Bhikarrie’s point about always striving to enhance customers’ experience was echoed by Scotiabank TT’s Head of Marketing and GM of the Scotiabank Foundation, Kameel Baksh-Edwards.

“One of the things that we try to do is really to involve customers and get their feedback. After (TTRW 2016), the feedback we got included questions about how could we ‘do something more with this?’ So we decided; based on that, to actually provide this additional benefit of three percent cash back.” Details on TTRW 2017 can be found on its Facebook page and on its application (app); TTRW, which was unveiled at this year’s launch.

The app is free to download from all major app stores and comes with “filter” options to make finding your ideal restaurant, menu and or price point much easier.

Data is important as it has always been the backbone of the decisionmaking process and the viability of businesses depend on the quality of decisions made. The processes for oil and gas exploration, development and production generate large amounts of data and the volume of this data grows daily. Big Data analytics are expected to be fully utilised by the oil and gas industry in the future. Hopefully, this is a point not loss on all stake holders in this country.

According to a recent Reuter’s report, in today’s US shale fields, tiny sensors attached to production gear harvest data on everything, from pumping pressure, to the heat and rotational speed of drill bits. These sensors are leading Big Oil’s mining of so-called big data, with some firms envisioning billions of dollars in savings over time by avoiding outages, managing supplies and identifying safety hazards. The industry has long used sophisticated technologies to find oil and gas but only recently have oil firms pooled data from across the company for wider operating efficiencies. When oil traded at more than $100 a barrel, data analysis was an “afterthought” for most oil firms. However, with prices at about $47 a barrel, the efficiency aspect is considered far more important.

A 2016 survey by Ernst & Young examined 75 large oil and gas companies and found that 68 percent of them had invested more than $100 million each in data analytics during the past two years. Nearly three quarters of those firms planned to allocate between six and ten percent of their capital budgets to digital technology. Simple sensors already increase safety and savings by eliminating the need to send workers to rigs or production facilities to gather data. Automating drilling decisions can produce more consistent results by cutting out human errors. The driller is now able to focus his attention on the well and the performance and safety of his crews, as opposed to the manual manipulation of controls.

Occidental Petroleum Corp also uses an analytical tool to find the best design for hydraulic fracturing wells. A new version of the software analyses data on well completions and geology to recommend whether injecting steam or water would produce more oil.

Abhishek Gaurav, a petroleum engineer for closely-held Texas Standard Oil, said he uses big-data analytics to help his company choose which properties to explore. Using Spotfire, the same program utilised by Conoco Standard applies a combination of data science and petroleum engineering to rank asking prices for land based on a variety of completion, production and geological variables, such as the amount of sand that likely would be required to complete a well in a given formation. This technique has reduced the time needed for evaluating land parcels from weeks to hours, and resulted in better decisions.

Unfortunately, some of the information needed by oil firms is not very easy to gather or analyse.

Surveys and maps that companies use to acquire acreage for drilling, for instance, are often not digitised.

Older company data on wells may be unstructured or spread among suppliers using different storage formats, making integration and analysis a challenge. General Electric and its oil-and-gas unit are moving aggressively into the business of digitising industrial equipment for other firms, and have invested in large data processing centres for energy clients. GE sees huge potential for market growth: a company study estimated that only three to five percent of oil and gas equipment is connected digitally, and less than one percent of the data collected gets used for decision-making.

Clearly, we are entering a new era of unprecedented data availability, where digital trends are disrupting traditional business models. These trends have enabled the emergence of big data and advanced analytics, which is rapidly becoming a big industry.

There are four key applications that are emerging for big data in oil and gas companies – digital fields, predictive plant and drilling analysis, Remote operations and Reservoir modeling and seismic imaging. Research shows that “big data” can help to reduce costs, improve decision making and operational performance, achieve greater efficiencies and develop new business models with increased market presence and revenue. Assuming our oil and gas producers are at various stages of use of these new techniques our policy makers must examine how best they can contribute to increased efficiency. At the present gas and oil prices, all stake holders should exploit ways of lower costs and ensuring profitability in the oil and gas sector.