According to Mayor Malene Vahl Rasmussen, the temporary suspension of alcohol sales has led to a noticeable improvement in South Greenland. The municipality will now discuss a gradual reopening with Brugsen and Pisiffik.
In the two weeks leading up to the suspension of alcohol sales, the police were called 22 times to incidents involving alcohol. Since the suspension, that number has dropped to two.
This was announced by Malene Vahl Rasmussen, mayor of the Municipality of Kujalleq, in a post on the municipality’s Facebook page, in which she provides an update on the municipality’s work and a series of meetings with Naalakkersuisut, the police, and the business community.
The mayor does not specify how long the two on-call shifts following the closure will last.
According to Malene Vahl Rasmussen, the police commissioner expressed support for the initiative at a meeting and noted that police personnel in South Greenland have already seen a rapid and noticeable improvement.
Aims to maintain positive growth
The mayor emphasizes that the municipality is working to ensure that the temporary closure will bring about lasting change.
– We don’t want to go back to the way things were. We need to look ahead and bring about change together—and that also requires us to stand together as citizens, she writes on the municipality’s Facebook page.
During a visit to Nuuk, she met with the Naalakkersuisoq for Children, Youth, Justice, and Gender Equality, as well as the Naalakkersuisoq for Health and People with Disabilities. According to the mayor, the parties agreed on the framework for their cooperation during the lockdown.
She also states that a meeting has been scheduled with the CEOs of Brugsen and Pisiffik to reach a mutual understanding regarding the gradual reopening of alcohol sales. The announcement does not include a date or specific terms for the reopening.
Cost-Cutting and Debt on the Agenda
The municipality’s finances have also been a key topic during the meetings in Nuuk.
Malene Vahl Rasmussen briefed the Naalakkersuisoq for Finance and Taxation on the consequences of the budget cuts and the resulting layoffs in the municipality. According to the mayor, there was agreement that other solutions must be found.
In addition, the municipality is to meet with the director of GrønlandsBANKEN to negotiate a new repayment plan for the municipality’s debt.
More visits to South Greenland
The mayor has just returned from the Arctic Circle Assembly in Iceland, where she took part in discussions about how upcoming mining projects might affect the municipality.
In addition, several visits are scheduled for the next two weeks. The mayor of Aarhus will arrive with a delegation to sign a new sister-city agreement, while high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be briefed on conditions in South Greenland that are relevant to foreign policy issues.
The board of directors of Grønlands Erhverv will also visit the municipality. The organization is scheduled to hold a board meeting and host a conference for young people.
Source: The Municipality of Kujalleq’s Facebook page.
