People’s Party urges minister to withdraw port-fee proposal

The People’s Party’s representatives on Tórshavn municipal council have urged minister Jacob Vesturgaard to withdraw a proposal that would exempt Strandferðslan, the ferry service, from paying port charges. KVF reports that the change would cost Tórshavn Port about seven million kroner.

The two councillors, Birgir Nielsen and Høgni Vilhelmsen, said it was too easy for the minister to take money from the port that he could not provide from his own budget.

They argued that the proposal conflicts with the Home Rule Act and the Constitution, interferes fundamentally with municipal autonomy and threatens the basis for Tórshavn Port’s operations.