It’s starting to be critical for the companies in the Municipality of Kujalleq that depend on income from the sale and serving of alcohol.
This is the opinion of Jim Riis, who owns two pubs, Hinnarissuasik and Rockhouse in Qaqortoq. In a written notice addressed to the Municipality of Kujalleq, he criticizes the municipality’s handling of the temporary ban on alcohol sales. According to him, parts of the restaurant industry have now been without earnings for three weeks. He is therefore calling for both a concrete plan for the reopening and a clarification of how the affected companies are to be compensated.
It’s starting to be critical for the companies in the Municipality of Kujalleq that depend on income from the sale and serving of alcohol.
This is the opinion of Jim Riis, who owns two pubs, Hinnarissuasik and Rockhouse in Qaqortoq. In a written notice addressed to the Municipality of Kujalleq, he criticizes the municipality’s handling of the temporary ban on alcohol sales. According to him, parts of the restaurant industry have now been without earnings for three weeks. He is therefore calling for both a concrete plan for the reopening and a clarification of how the affected companies are to be compensated.
– It is starting to become very critical for these companies, writes Jim Riis.
He believes that the municipality has not yet presented a plan for how long the closure will last, or how the companies that have invested in good faith and started business in the municipality are to be helped financially.
Suggests municipal emergency pool
Jim Riis therefore suggests that Kommune Kujalleq set up an emergency pool as soon as possible, from which the hardest-hit companies can apply for support. According to him, the purpose is to avoid that companies have to close permanently or that the case ends in lengthy compensation cases.
He also refers to the fact that Mayor Malene Vahl Rasmussen has previously expressed that the municipality would rather pay the affected companies than reopen alcohol sales too early.
– We hold her up to this, writes Jim Riis.
He believes that the municipality has a responsibility to treat all businesses in the municipality fairly, regardless of the industry they belong to.
– Right now, personally and as a company, we are stuck in ignorance. It is not sustainable in the long run, he writes.
Mayor: Naalakkersuisut must go inside
Municipality Kujalleq’s mayor, Malene Vahl Rasmussen, understands his concerns.
– I can understand his concern, and it is understandable that he wants to do something and needs more information, she says.
But she emphasizes at the same time that the municipality cannot take on the task alone.
– We must discuss the solution together with Naalakkersuisut. We cannot give him an answer from the municipality now, because it also affects several departments. We will talk about that in the future. Right now we are focusing on what needs to be registered, which initiatives need to be initiated, and on making proposals for how a reopening might look, says Malene Vahl Rasmussen.
Sermitsiaq is working to obtain a comment from Naalakkersuisut on which initiatives Naalakkersuisut plans to implement.
