Work starts on notes and coins without president’s portrait

By Saturday Nation Reporter
Posted Friday, April 22 2011 at 22:00

The design of new bank notes and coins without a portrait has started.

The new Constitution says that notes and coins shall not bear the portrait of an individual.

Instead, they will have images that depict Kenya or an aspect of the country.

Finance assistant minister Oburu Oginga told Parliament the redesign would take more than a year.

“This is a very complicated process and it can’t be done overnight,” Dr Oginga said.

The design, printing, and distribution of the new coins and bank notes will take at least a year and nine months.

The minister was responding to a question by Rangwe MP Martin Ogindo, who also questioned circumstances under which the government cancelled a three year contract with Ms De La Rue International of UK.

The contract was signed in May 2006 to print 1.71 billion new notes at a cost of $51.2 million.

According to Dr Oginga, the contract was cancelled to allow joint venture negotiations between the government and De La Rue.

He said the Central Bank of Kenya had received 1.4 million bank notes at a cost of £40.6 million between May 2006 and March 30, this year.

But Mr Ogindo claimed the government had entered into a more expensive contract by about Sh2 per note. Dr Oginga said that was not true.

Looking outside

Garsen MP Danson Mungatana asked if the ministry had considered looking outside the West for contracts.

“I am informed that a company in Brazil can do what De La Rue are doing at half price,” he noted.

The assistant minister said printing of currency was a security matter and many countries chose to print their own currencies.