A non-profit organization in La Brea is calling for an urgent meeting with officials of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts to discuss reimbursement for services rendered and the issue of being locked out of offices they have used for years.
00:00A non-profit organization in Labre is calling for an urgent meeting with officials of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
00:07to discuss reimbursement for services rendered and the issue of being locked out of offices they have used for years.
00:14The group, No Youth Left Behind, claims the locks to three rooms within the ministry's facility at the Labre pitch lake were changed over the weekend.
00:24They were unable to access tools and equipment they need for their operations, which are stored there.
00:30Founder of the community group, Quincy Joseph, believes this action was taken by the ministry
00:35after the NGO began requesting some reimbursement for landscaping and janitorial services their group conducts on site.
00:44We would have been purchasing the garbage bags, the napkins, the strings, the toilet paper, the bleach,
00:51all during COVID, the gloves, the temperature guns, the operational aspect for both the janitorial and the landscaping.
00:59We are asking for a reimbursement.
01:03We wrote a letter for a meeting because we didn't think it had gotten to the point where we would get an eviction notice.
01:10When contacted, the Ministry of Tourism and prospective PNM candidate for the Labre constituency, Randall Mitchell,
01:18says the ministry was looking into the claims and a response would be provided.
01:22However, he says he does not believe any contract exists between the group and the ministry.
01:28Joseph says for years they carried out the services for the ministry under the impression an official contract would legitimise the arrangement.
01:37But that never happened.
01:41Time, we were not opposing the move.
01:44We just wanted more time because we have our items there.
01:47Stuff like power washers, things we use for eco-tours for children, tools, files, paperwork.
01:55Even some of the awards that we would have gotten are in the office.
01:59All we are asking for is a sit down. All we are asking for is an understanding.
02:02All we are asking for, even if you don't want to work with us, be just, be fair.
02:07You know that we have maintained this facility since TDC has closed in 2017.
Be the first to comment