In a release the authority noted children who run away from home are at high risk of being exposed to physical and sexual abuse, as perpetrators have access to them.

An appeal was made to parents to know where their children are and ensure they are supervised by a trusted adult.

The authority also advised parents to set boundaries on where their children are allowed to go, and enforce them, and make sure safety measures are taken for Carnival. Parents should encourage children to check in with them when they are not at home, know their friends, monitor their social media and cell phone activity and observe changes in behaviour which may reveal signs of abuse.

Newsday has published ten reports of children under the age of 18 who have gone missing in the past two months. While some children returned to their homes, others suffered a worse fate.

One of them was Abiela Adams, a 15-year-old footballer who took part in the CONCACAF Under-15 Women’s Championship last year. Less than 12 hours after she was reported missing on February 11, Adams was found dead with her throat slit, on the side of the road in Courland, Tobago.

She was lauded as a footballer with great potential and was set for screening to join the under- 17 team.

Since her death, three people were held and questioned but were released.

Up to yesterday the proprietress, Yan Kui Li, 50, of Ste Madeleine, remained at the San Fernando General Hospital in a serious condition, police said.

Police reports are that at about 7.45 pm on Tuesday, three men pretending to be customers walked into Ken Ming Restaurant located at Manahambre Road near the Ste Madeleine Primary School. Li was conducting sales and one of the men pulled out a firearm which was hidden under his clothes.

He and his accomplices announced a robbery. Police said Li, fearing for her life, ran off and, while doing so, the gunman opened fire. She sustained a gunshot wound to her back and the bandits ran off. They fled the scene in a vehicle.

Officers of the Ste Madeleine Police Station were alerted and, despite combing the area, no arrests were made. Cpl Flaviney is continuing investigations.

Being critical of the Minister of Sport makes no sense.

We are all on the same team.

Players, the ball is at your feet. Put it in the back of the net.

AV RAMPERSAD Princes Town

When we leave out God, we create chaos.

So the Prime Minister is speaking to an all-important matter of a man-woman relationship.

A relationship that normally has marriage as a consideration. Yet nowhere in his conversation is there mention of God. He is advising the women of this nation to choose their spouses only through their eyes.

The flesh is the only means of choosing a spouse in this present age. This is the main problem that is causing family life decay in our nation. We are choosing our spouses without consulting God. God is the one who instituted marriage and if He is left out of marriage and family life we will be heading for chaos.

As nation we are taking too long to recognise our downfall.

Our downfall is the fact that we have turned our back on God and we are reaping the consequences of our choices.

Finally the head honcho in our fight against the crime scourge, acting Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams, comes to the realisation that we have left out God in the fight against crime and “we are in perilous times.” At the seventh of the nine interfaith services being held nationwide by the Police Service, he said the TT PS believes it has arrived at the point where it is a necessity for the officers to go beyond hard work and seek “a level of divine intervention” and called upon God for guidance, “to provide what we cannot provide.” Williams said after the completion of the nine services, the TT PS intends to have a voluntary day of prayer and fasting.

The commissioner sounded like a preacher. However his sincerity really sent home the message of helplessness of mortal man in the face of failure. But he has hope in the all-sufficient God and therefore he is calling out God to help our nation. His choice is God and God alone.

So I cannot understand how our Prime Minister left out God in his advice on woman- man relationship. There are so many influential people and organisations in this nation who have no regard for God.

When one listens to some women and the feminist movement speak, one is amazed about their regard for God. Are they hearing their “conscience message” when they are walking crooked before God? There seems to be a mixup between human rights and morality by these women. Human rights ought not to be a gateway for immorality in our society. Why should we allow the moral fabric of our nation to be eroded in the name of human rights? Is it a human right to walk our streets in seminude/ suggestive attire? When it comes to attire, the choice of God is modesty.

Modesty in attire is a rear commodity in our nation. And in this Carnival season, most women think it is their human right to walk the streets in semi-nude or suggestive attire.

What is the Government doing about this dress problem? This is a problem that seems to be on the backcloth of violence against women. Women should be aware of this problem and should seek to work with it.

However, there seems to be a presumptuous posture by women that it is their human right to dress/do as they please and they are not listening to anybody.

So one can understand why they unleashed their fury on the Prime Minister for his advice.

Some of these women were so furious the following morning that Diana Mahabir- Wyatt met them in her office blaming the Prime Minister for his simple advice. Why didn’t she encourage them to have a devotional time before they work instead?

Rev Robert Dash Tableland

The Just Because Foundation is an incorporated, non-profit, Paediatric Cancer Support Organisation established by Noel and Chevaughn Joseph who, after a tenacious two-year battle, lost their 5 1/2 year old son, Jabez “JB” Joseph, to Alveolar Rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare form of childhood cancer.

Yesterday, the foundation received over 100 care packages from the sports and youth club of the Planning and Development Ministry. The packages containing toiletries and other hygiene products, were presented during a simple ceremony at the playroom of the paediatric department at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope.

The packages will be given to patients, who range from infants to 16 years, who come in to the ward.

“I am pleased that I could be part of it. I really want to congratulate the family because they have made a disconcerted effort to keep this foundation going and they have done well. I call on corporate Trinidad and Tobago to assist them in any way that they can.

“I understand the pain of having a child diagnosed with cancer.

My child was 24 at the time, but she is still my child, so I understand the pain of that kind of diagnosis. It is heartening having gone through that, and unfortunate that they had to survive the death of a child, that they are willing to give back to other parents whose children are going through the harrowing experience of cancer,” Robinson-Regis said.

The minister said people need to play a greater role in assisting such organisations as cancer could ravage not only the actual victim, but also the family.

“It affects everybody differently and I think corporate TT needs to step up and assist the children, especially the children who are going through this because a number of children are here for years. Some children have been left here by their parents and that is sad. Even though the Government is doing its part, corporate TT can assist by providing whatever their needs may be to make sure that this kind of situation is easier for people,” she said.

While admitting that the ministry did not have anything in place at this time to assist organisations such as this, the minister said there were other things that ministries could do as they could assist in other ways.

Ali was addressing a seminar hosted by the Chamber titled- “Banking and Finance made simple” at the Chamber’s Camden Road, Couva conference hall on Tuesday.

Saying it was not the Chamber’s intention to “discredit anyone”, however pointed out that it was the consumer’s right to be treated justly and fairly.

“We are not pleased with the present rate of interest being offered on deposits at commercial banks,” Ali said, adding, “we are calling for the Central Bank Act to be amended to allow the Central Bank governor greater authority to regulate the commercial banking sector.” And pointing out that he had the support of several other business chambers including the Penal/ Debe Chamber of Commerce and the Siparia Business Association, Ali said: “We are calling on the politicians to amend the Central Bank Act so consumers can get the advantage of protection.” “This is not a Chamber issue but rather this is a national issue,” he said. He then issued a call for the nation’s indigenous bank, First Citizens Bank to “do the patriotic thing” and eliminate the “nonsensical charges which now exist in commercial banks.” Ali also called for the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries to initiate the necessary legislation to make the ADB into a full-fledged commercial bank saying this would stimulate the agricultural sector.

Also addressing the seminar was Independent Senator David Small who described the local banking and financial sector as “horribly complicated” saying banks had “pushed the limits of what they can do” while the citizenry had not “pushed back.” Meanwhile, former prime minister Basdeo Panday, who also addressed the seminar, described the fees charged by the banks as “unconscionable” as it laid tremendous stress on the accounts of poor people.

“I have since written to the Minister of Finance (copied the Governor of the Central Bank) calling upon them to intervene in this matter by enacting and/ or enforcing the necessary laws and regulations to bring the Banks under control,” he said.

The meeting took place Monday and Tuesday at IDB Headquarters in Washington DC. Officials of the Ministry of Planning and Development represented Trinidad and Tobago.

Also on the agenda was the macroeconomic situation of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Region; successful strategies and techniques to deliver results in the public sector; the performance of the IDB portfolio; the future of the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) ; the Emerging and Sustainable Cities Initiative and the Vision 2030 National Development Plan.

This pre-meeting provided an opportunity for Inter-American Development Bank Governors from the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago as well as representatives from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) to hold discussions on the issues and challenges affecting Caribbean member countries in order to reach a consensus on solutions prior to the Annual Meeting of the IDB.

The meeting of Governors of Caribbean IDB member countries is taking place in preparation for the 58th Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the IDB and the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) scheduled to be held in Asunci?n, Paraguay from March 30th to April 2nd 2017.

At a press briefing held by Carnival stakeholders at the National Carnival Commission (NCC) VIP Room at the Queen’s Park Savannah on Tuesday, Richardson said the system was developed in partnership with their stakeholders. These include the NCC and the special interest groups (TUCO, NCBA and Pan Trinbago), fete promoters, the TTDF, Fusion Service, TT Prison Service, traffic wardens, the ODPM and municipal police. He said whether it is Carnival or not, they will be looking beyond that period, hence the reason they made a special effort to meet as many different stakeholders as possible, with focus on land, sea and air.

Richardson said the system created is expected to minimise opportunities to commit crime and obstructive behaviour, minimise traffic congestion, provide high visibility in both Carnival and non Carnival areas, including residences and businesses and to provide responsive service to the public.

NCC chairman Kenny De Silva chairman said one cannot over emphasise the issue of security in Carnival since it is not only limited to the capital city of Port-of-Spain, but consideration also has to be given to the fact that there are 58 regional carnivals happening at the same time and have to be taken care of as well.

He appealed to bandleaders to ensure that their masqueraders do not deface other people’s property and warned that things will be in place for it to be monitored.

De Silva said they have told residents to send, to the NCC, pictures of anyone violating their property.

The NCC will then give the evidence to the police after which the band leader will be charged a fine of $2,000. He said he hoped it would have been more but that is the existing law.

De Silva also announced that this year has seen an increase of junior bands from 80 to 100 and also the seniors from 45 to 62.

He added: “We are coming out to ensure Carnival 2017 will be one of the better carnivals. Carnival is necessary in 2017 for people to breathe.” Avion Mills of the Tourism Development Company said since the launch of the Go Trinbago app earlier this month, there have been 3,500 downloads thus far, with the waterfalls, doubles and Lara Fete among the most searched.

The Ministry of Tourism will have branded kiosks at all ports of entry and on social media, and for visitors who just want to relax, security will be beefed up at the Las Cuevas and Maracas beaches, as well as the Pitch Lake.

Mills stated that there are 35,000 bookings for Carnival and a cruise ship bringing 2,900 passengers and just under 1,000 crew members is also expected for Carnival.

Dr Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, Minister of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, said Carnival is very special this year given the achievement of Calypso Rose who won the prestigious French music award so close to Carnival. “It is a wonderful foreboder of what will happen in Carnival 2017,” she said.

However, she too pleaded with masqueraders: “Do not let your enjoyment be to the detriment of others.”

We need to teach culture in our schools,” she said.

Rose made the comments last Friday during a panel discussion at a workshop on the Business of Calypso at the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA), Port of Spain. It was organised by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with its state agency and subsidiary company, The Trinidad and Tobago Creative Industries Company Limited and the Trinidad and Tobago Music Company Limited.

Minister of Trade and Industry, Paula Gopee-Scoon, described Rose as “an outstanding example of a calypsonian who has excelled and shattered the proverbial glass ceiling in the process.” She said Rose entered the calypso fraternity, “at a time when this art form was primarily male dominated, and became the first female Road March winner and the first woman to win the Calypso Monarch title. She also copped the Calypso Queen title for five consecutive years from 1972 to 1977.” Gopee-Scoon assured members of the audience, “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago appreciates and understands the social, cultural and economic importance of calypso music to our nation and beyond.” She said Government is “fully committed” to the development of the creative sector of which music, indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago, is a key component.

Referring to the NAPA building in which the workshop was being held, she said “In fact, this facility, the National Academy for the Performing Arts, is testament to our Government’s vision to diversify the economy through investment in infrastructure to bolster the creative industry.

“In order to succeed, small and medium enterprises in the music industry must have greater access to financial support.” She said the Ministry of Trade and Industry, for instance, has been working with the World Bank to establish a Secured Transaction and Collateral Registry where movable property would serve as collateral, meaning that non-traditional assets, such as equipment could be used as collateral. She said another area which needs strengthening is that of intellectual property and those wanting to make a career in the music industry, including songwriters, singers and producers, must therefore be well-versed with assessing the value of their intellectual property and must use mechanisms to protect these assets to ensure their rightful income streams.” According to Pricewaterhouse- Coopers, revenue from the global music industry is expected to grow from U.S. $42.93 billion in 2015 to just over U.S. $47.7 billion in 2020.

Trinidad and Tobago’s burgeoning industry is therefore not only critical to the preservation of the culture, but also to the country’s sustainable development.

A bye-law was passed at the final sitting of the Council under former Mayor Kazim Hosein last October to restrict people from feeding the homeless on the streets. It remained unclear whether the bye-law was assented to by the President, but the practice has continued, said Regrello. “People have this way where they want to give back.

As they have done well in life, they will pull up with their Mercedes and pack it with food warmers and give out food and once you are doing that, you are already encouraging persons who do not want to be put in a home and provided with care to remain on the streets.” “We have to really make this system very unfriendly for them.

And I say ‘unfriendly’ in a very humane way meaning that certain things will not available to them. Once there is a shade or a tree they will gather there.” The centre on the wharf, said Regrello, was better suited to serving the homeless in a more humane manner and would also lead to less littering in the city from the homeless.

Regrello said the centre was completed, and just needed outfitting before it could begin operating.

However, Regrello expressed concern about the proximity of the centre to the developing waterfront project. “You also have to consider that at this point, the waterfront is earmarked for major development and we must ask ourselves ‘do we want to have a homeless centre where you are going to have major development?’ If you going to use there as a major tourist site and for business, do you want to have that structure and that place there?” Asked whether this meant the centre would be moved mere months after its completion, Regrello said, “It is already there, major investments were made there so we will support it. But the major decision- makers in Port-of- Spain could have other plans and we will just adhere to whatever they say.” Regrello said a task force visited the facility last week and will make recommendations about the future of the centre to the relevant ministries.