The President has today thanked the management of CBK for successfully steering the banking sector,monetary policy and our national payments system, in a challenging global and domestic environment.
The Head of State said the Kenya shilling has remained fairly stable and competitive thanks to the hard work and commitment by CBK. “Equally encouraging the banking industry has been vibrant, competitive and most innovative in the continent.
The President gave these remarks at the Central Bank of Kenya in Nairobi when he presided over the launch of new generation Kenya Shilling coins that conform with the provisions of the 2010 Constitution.
“This has gone a long way to support our social and economic transformation agenda that is articulated in the Vision 2030 National Blueprint,” said the President.
The President said robust public institutions are a prerequisite for effective public service delivery and the realization of sustained development for any nation, Kenya being no exemption.
He said independence of institutions is a necessity for the success of every nation but the institutions should operate knowing that they are not independent of Government.
“We achieve positive outcomes when public institutions, like the Central Bank of Kenya,pursue their Constitutional and statutory mandates in an environment of liberty and their constitutionally guaranteed operational independence,” said the President.
The President called on the banking sector, which was well represented at the event, to extend more credit facilities for the SMEs. He said SMEs is the most important sector in Kenya’s economy.
“Avail more credit to SMEs. They are the ones who create jobs and guarantee you good returns,” said the President.
He said banks should know that the days when only big borrowers were trusted to be secure are long gone. National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich and Central Bank Governor Patrick Njoroge also spoke at the event where the Head of State symbolically received a dummy cheque of Shs 800 million from the bank on behalf of the Government.