KANUKOKA is an association of Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

's municipalities, led by Enok Sandgreen. The name is an acronym formed from the first two letters of each of the constituent words of the organization's name in the Greenlandic language.

The aim of the organization is to facilitate cooperation between all four municipalities of Greenland: Kujalleq

Kujalleq

Kujalleq is a new municipality in the southern tip of Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. With 7,589 inhabitants as of January 2010, it is the least-populated municipality in Greenland. The administrative center of the municipality is in Qaqortoq...

, Qaasuitsup

Qaasuitsup

Qaasuitsup is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. As of January 2010 its population is 17,749. The administrative center of the municipality is in Ilulissat...

, Qeqqata

Qeqqata

Qeqqata is a new municipality in western Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. The municipality was named after its location in central-western part of the country. Its population is 9,677 as of January 2010. The administrative center of the municipality is in Sisimiut...

, and Sermersooq

Sermersooq

Sermersooq is a new municipality in Greenland, operational from 1 January 2009. It is home to Nuuk , the capital of Greenland, and is the most populous municipality in the country, with 21,232 inhabitants as of January 2010...

. Based in Nuuk

Nuuk

Nuuk, is the capital of Greenland, the northernmost capital in North America and the largest city in Greenland. Located in the Nuup Kangerlua fjord, the city lies on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea and on the west coast of Sermersooq. Nuuk is the largest cultural and economic center in...

, the organization runs the municipal elections every four years, with the last election taking place in 2008. All municipal authorities in Greenland are currently members of the organization. The association is overseen by Maliina Abelsen

Maliina Abelsen

Maliina Abelsen is a Greenlandic politician and MP for the party Inuit Ataqatigiit , holding the position of the Minister for Social Affairs in the Government of Greenland , in office since June 2009...

 (Inuit Ataqatigiit

Inuit Ataqatigiit

Inuit Ataqatigiit is a leftist and separatist political party in Greenland. The party was born out of the increased youth radicalism in Denmark during the 1970s. The party strives to make Greenland an independent state.In the 2005 elections, the party won 22.6% of the popular vote and seven out of...

), the Minister for Social Affairs in the Government of Greenland . The annual budget

Budget

A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...

 of the association is 12,5 million Danish krone

Danish krone

The krone is the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is subdivided into 100 øre...

 (DKK), with the funds coming directly from municipal budgets.

History

KANUKOKA was founded on 24 July 1972, at which time there were 18 municipalities and 3 counties. After the administrative reform of 2008 was executed on 1 January 2009, there are four municipalities of Greenland, while the counties were discontinued. Two of the new municipalities—Qaasuitsup and Sermersooq—are the world's largest and second largest municipalities, in that order, with an area of 660000 square kilometre and 531900 square kilometre, respectively.

Future

The formation of new municipalities brought new challenges to the association, with some of its tasks taken over by the new administrative entities with enlarged prerogatives. In light of this extensive reduction of scope, the association is perceived as an expensive and redundant layer of bureaucracy

Bureaucracy

A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...

, hampering the direct cooperation between the municipalities and the government. There is an ongoing discussion over its future, with a possible refocus from an independent organization to one being a vehicle for coordination of growth and development within the municipalities. The proposed changes are part of the ongoing reform of the public sector in Greenland under the new government, in office following the 2009 parliamentary elections

Greenlandic parliamentary election, 2009

Parliamentary elections were held in Greenland on 2 June 2009. Prime Minister Hans Enoksen announced the election date on 15 April 2009, stating that he would prefer for a newly elected parliament to administer Greenland when the self-government reform takes effect on 21 June 2009...

. The reform is expected to be completed by 2013.