President Uhuru Kenyatta expressed what he loves most about the new look currency that he launched on Tuesday. Uhuru commended the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) for taking into consideration the public’s aspirations and ideas in the production of the new generation coins.
https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/1072450013433876481
The money contains symbols that represent significant aspects of the nation which will serve as a means of preserving the Kenyan culture and passing relevant knowledge.
“A nation’s currency is not merely an instrument for exchange of value. The motifs & design elements on currencies present a unique way of recording history, celebrating a country’s diverse culture and natural environment. The new coins have aspects that best describe our country,” read Uhuru’s tweet
https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/1072432059459821568
He also stated that the coins have features that make them more accessible to the visually impaired.
The introduction of the new currency was in line with the constitutional requirement that barred Kenya from printing money containing the face of a president.
Wallace Kantai, who heads the Communications department at the Central Bank told that new look currency notes would be launched soon.
https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/1072432669412204546
In the new design, a one shilling coin now bears the image of a giraffe, a five shilling coin bears the image of a rhino, a Kshs 10 coin bears the image of a lion while a Kshs 20 coin bears the image of an elephant.
Circulation of the new coins will commence immediately with a total cost of printing new currency expected to hit Kshs11 billion.
However, the company that won the tender to mint money, De La Rue, has claimed that it will require Kshs15 billion to complete the currency overhaul.
https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/1072432848689422337
fficiating the launch of the new generation currency at the CBK, he noted, “We shall be unveiling a set of new generation coins which are compliant with our 2010 constitution. I am extremely pleased that today we can achieve another milestone.”
“I am informed that the new generation coins continue the tradition of depicting an aspect that best describes our country,” he added.
The new coins will begin to circulate from Tuesday and will bear symbols not portraits of persons.
The new currency will contain features that make them accessible to visually impaired people.
https://twitter.com/UKenyatta/status/1072433513595588609
He received the coins which are now legal tender and distributed some to people present during the event.
Uhuru explained that the country’s economy could not grow without factoring in small and medium enterprises.
“Next year, we need to sit down with you and see how we open up access to credit for the young people of Kenya. They have ideas, but no title deeds. They are innovative, but no logbooks. We have to find a way to enable them to fund their idea,” he stated.
The President further received a dividend cheque from CBK being that the government is a shareholder of the bank.
He received a cheque worth Kshs800 Million which he, thereafter, deposited at the CBK banking counter.