KANUKOKA (Kalaallisut: Kalaallit Nunaanni Kommunit Kattuffiannit, Danish: De Grønlandske Kommuners Landsforening) is an association of Greenland's municipalities, led by Enok Sandgreen.[1] 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, Qaasuitsup, Qeqqata, and Sermersooq. Based in Nuuk, the organization runs the municipal elections every four years, with the last election taking place in 2008.[2] All municipal authorities in Greenland are currently members of the organization.[3] The association is overseen by Maliina Abelsen (Inuit Ataqatigiit), the Minister for Social Affairs in the Government of Greenland (Kalaallisut: Naalakkersuisut).[1][4] The annual budget of the association is 12,5 million Danish krone (DKK), with the funds coming directly from municipal budgets.[5]
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KANUKOKA was founded on 24 July 1972,[3] 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 660,000 km2 (254,827.4 sq mi)[6] and 531,900 km2 (205,367.7 sq mi),[7] respectively.
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.[8] In light of this extensive reduction of scope,[8] the association is perceived as an expensive and redundant layer of bureaucracy, hampering the direct cooperation between the municipalities and the government.[5][9] 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.[1][10] 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.[1][11][12] The reform is expected to be completed by 2013.[9]
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